We Need to Talk

[Dune Rhur]

A Private Garden, the Jedi Temple, Ession

They were back from Helska IV now. Back to where Master had first met Apprentice some months ago. It seemed appropriate to start at the beginning. A lesson was going to be taught today just as it had then.

Eol Sha had caused him to begin to wonder about Ra'a'mah Numare. Helska IV had elevated that feeling to genuine worry over her current path. She had indicated 'other sources' of her learning. Dune was going to find out what they were.

For now he had invited her for a lesson here in this small garden within the Temple grounds. It was in stark contrast to Ession. Full of flowering plants and trees and very much alive. Even his keen olfactory senses could not smell the scents of an industrialized world here.

It seemed a world apart with it's soft grass and softer birdsong. This place had become his favourite very quickly. A peaceful place to meditate or simply relax. He often stopped to smell the flowers as he was now.

Dune would feel Ra'a'mah's approach and so he had his back to the door. With hands folded behind his back he admired the myriad colours around him. His keen auditory senses heard the birds call to each other in their secret language. Call and response much like many kinds of music.

 

[Riamah]

Dune and Ra had returned to Ession after completing their mission to Helska IV, the destruction of the Imperial base and its battle droids a success. This was where they had met when Dune was caring for some of the wounded refuges and Ra just getting started within the Dominion. The Force, something new to her and Dune became her Master then. Times being what they were, she knew how busy he was and cherished all the time he devoted to her and Alema.

Today, though he invited her for a private session. She wasn't sure if it was going to be training or a conversation about the mission, so she came prepared for a lesson. She had her knives, hair braided and balled as well as her blaster and staff. While they were on Helska though she had left her staff behind since it was pretty useless yet. She was still learning how to use a lightsaber and didn't even have one of her own. Ra trusted Dune enough to know when it was time for her to get one.

Walking along the path to where Dune was waiting surprised Ra. The fauna and flora here were amazing and calming. The peace within was such a contrast to what was outside the temple. She watched as a butterfly flew past on its quest to find nectar and pollinate the flowers in the process. A part of the chain of life for these small creatures.

Having spent the better part of her time with Dune over the past few months, she knew his presence in the Force. His was an ever calm beacon in the greater storm, one she had learned to rely on and count on to be there for her. A beacon she would follow to the place she now called home. Knowing he was in the garden, she followed that beacon to find him standing with his back to the door. This was a place of peace and now her weapons felt heavy on her and she wished she had left them behind.

"Dune, you wanted to speak with me?"

Ra walked into the area where he was, not giving him his title of Master as that was not something he had ever requested, at least not in private. In public situations, thought she gave him the title and the respect he had earned from her.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

He felt her coming long before she spoke. A student and teacher formed a bond in the Force and were as distinct to each other as two bird's songs. When she spoke he didn't acknowledge her right away. Instead her watched a butterfly flit to a startlingly purple bloom.

Turning to face her he examined the young woman. Both with his eyes and with truer senses. His eyes lingered on her weapons a second or two longer. What he really noticed was her energy.

It had changed. It wasn't so clean any more. Around the edges there seemed a darkness creeping in. It was very fine and he had to strain to notice but it was there.

"Do you remember our first meeting here on Ession," he asked her "Do you remember what we talked about."

 

[Riamah]

Dune didn't speak at first and instead watched a butterfly go past, similar to what she had done minutes ago. Eventually he turned and studied her. She felt his scrutiny and wondered why. He looked at her weapons and then at her, but still no comment. After a few moments under his gaze, he spoke.

"Of course, it was the Jedi Code and that was very enlightening. Some of it, I still have a difficult time with though."

Admitting even that was hard for her, she dislike being weak and while she did her best to follow its tenants, she still had difficulties. Especially when it came to her emotions. She hadn't grown up a Jedi and had always kept her emotions hidden from others. They were always there and at times she just needed to let them out.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"Yes," he replied quietly "You do."

Dune turned back to study the flowers and began to pace along the row.

"There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge."

The Bith let this hang in the air a moment. He stopped go gently cradle an orchid in his palm. Dune stroked it with a long digit and smiled faintly. If one looked closely the flower would've grown a minute amount.

"Tell me, Ra'a'mah Numare, what do you know?," he asked while straightening from his crouch.

 

[Riamah]

At least, they both agreed on something and she would work on whatever that was. His voice was quieter than normal when he answered though. She watched as he paced along the row look at the flowers.

He stated some of Jedi Code and asked her what she knew. She gave him a very odd look and pulled her head back slightly.

"That's very broad, Dune. Knowledge is everywhere if you know how to look for it. Can you give me a better idea of what you're after?"

She knew a lot of stuff about a great many things, but was not a master in anything. What was he after with his question? Ra waited for his answer.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune stopped when she said knowledge was everywhere. He turned to face her again at that and bobbed his head in agreement. If you knew how to find it. He tapped a finger against his lips in thought.

"Where have you found knowledge, Ra?"

His large black eyes fixed on her golden. The Bith's face was unreadable but his gaze suggested every word she'd say would be crucial. Some found that lidless stare unnerving. He didn't intend it to be so but it could prove useful at times. Now being one of them.

 

[Riamah]

Dune stopped as she spoke about knowledge and asked where she had found it. Again he did not clarify what knowledge and Ra still wasn't sure what he was after. He then turned his full attention to her, he eyes unblinking and it felt like he was trying to bore a hole into her.

She took an involuntary step back and found herself almost the wall.

"What knowledge are you talking about?"

Shaking her head in confusion, without clarification she couldn't know how to answer.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"Such as the knowledge you've displayed on Helska IV recently," he told her "I didn't teach you that."

His tone never changed. There was no anger in it. He was only stating facts. But her reaction told him she knew something she wasn't telling. That was what bothered him the most.

"You also have displayed an almost unnatural aptitude for telekinesis since Eol Sha. Alema has trained longer than you despite her young age. Her connection to the Force is stronger than yours in spite of her gaps of knowledge. Yet you display that skill level."

He also let that linger. She needed to understand that he'd been carefully monitoring her progress. He was also aware that she'd spent time with other users of the Force. That in and of itself wasn't a bad thing.

What they may have taught her could be. Not just how to use the Force in new ways. More so the whys and whens concerned him. One could easily become drunk with their newfound power if they weren't careful.

 

[Riamah]

Taking a breath and relaxing only slightly Ra would carefully pick her answer.

"The telekinesis can be explained by me taking the time to practice on my own outside of our training with Alema. And on Helska, my own fears controlled me unfortunately and I let that scream out in fear. Nobody taught me that."

Both statements were true and while she hated to admit to allowing that fear to control her and vent it in such a way as that scream. It had served a purpose though and helped them accomplish their mission.

"I've also spoke at length with Ravana and spent some time with Darth Rage."

In her quest for knowledge, she had been on a mission for the Sith of the Dominion and her partner for that had been Rage.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune tilted his head as he listened. He titled it slowly the other way when she finished in consideration. His eyes never left hers as he did this. Dune had studied the way she had answered even more than what she had said.

"Alright, Ra," he said at last "I suppose it's possible what you did on Helska IV was out of fear. But you should know it was of the Dark Side. All things born out of fear are. Already I see it's corruption touching you."

"What I told you when we first met is true. It taints you and warps you until you are nothing of what you were before."

He sighed and shook his head.

"As far as the other, perhaps you have been practicing. But not on your own."

 

[Riamah]

Since Ra was telling the truth, she did not look away from Dune's gaze.

"I'm sorry, it's just well, I grew up with emotions and not having to worry about not letting them control me. I will try to do better in future situations like that."

How could using one skill start a taint? She left the question unasked and listened to Dune continue.

All of her practices had been on her own and in her own time. Outside of the training sessions with him and Alema. She shook her head at his accusation and opened her hands to emphasize this.

"It has been on my I swear. If I knew where my parents were buried, I would do so on their graves."

Could he mean that little pyramid? It has been guiding her in her practices. Ravana had told her to keep it a secret though so she had never told anybody about it.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"You're not telling me everything, Ra," he said "Are you."

He shook his head slowly and sadly.

"What you have accomplished has not been on your own. In fact, you once mentioned 'other sources'."

Dune gaze seemed to sharpen as he said this.

"What sources, Ra'a'mah. You must tell me."

 

[Riamah]

Ra was done being intimidated by Dune and stood up instead of being a coward under his gaze. She stood up straighter and looked him in the eyes if not with defiance, but with inner strength.

"I am telling you everything."

She watched him shake his head, but it wasn't with anger. He then asked for the other sources she had mentioned before. She looked away before answering.

"The library here offers datapads as well as books and scrolls with information."

That was also the truth and she had done some research on her own there.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

"The archives here do not offer materials that would introduce corruption into you," he countered. She was leaving something out. A lie by omission was still a lie in his mind. He didn't like being lied to.

Especially not when it was his student. And when it was to obvious. It was almost an insult to his intelligence. His neutral mien slipped into a dire frown at her.

"I could dig out whatever you're hiding from me. Your mental barriers wouldn't withstand me long. But that isn't the way of a Jedi," he told her.

He saw her bristle at his gaze and knew she was reacting out of fear. Guilty knowledge. All of it was piling up against her. It was far better if she would simply tell him of whatever she had been learning from.

"It's better for you to tell me. I can feel the Dark Side around you and it must be curbed."

 

[Riamah]

"What corruption are you talking about?"

Ra had only done the one ​thing on Kelska out of fear, but how could that have started it. Well, there was also the fact she had used the Force while growing up to manipulate people so deals would go in her favor. It wasn't something she thought about doing anymore though.

He threatened that he could get from her mind whatever she hiding, but that it wasn't the Jedi way. In that, all she could do was trust him.

"Dune, there is darkness all around. I was touched by it on Irn and then my fear on Helska."

That event on Irn had been the first time she was touched by the dark. The dread seed had influenced her, but Cedric had called her away from it then and it was never talked about after.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune sighed and shook his head sadly. It hurt him that she would not tell him. He compressed his lips together and looked down to the grass at his feet for a long moment. He looked up against with resolve painting his features.

"I've already lost one student to his fascination with the Dark," he told her with a touch of that sadness creeping into his voice "I will not lose another. If you choose to continue this...it grieves me more than you can know...but I will not teach you."

"You may tell me and I can help you, Ra," he told her "Or you can continue on your path. Without me."

He turned his back to her with finality. Dune would say no more to her until she made her choice.

 

[Riamah]

Ra had always wanted knowledge because knowledge was power. Dune's looks and attitude change was apparent to her before he spoke his words. They came down on her like a hammer. An ultimatum she couldn't stop him from making. His words were like ice flowing over her.

His student had been Vorian and she had spoken to him before and wanted to learn more both about him and what knowledge he could pass on to her. She knew he had gone dark side, but still wanted to know. Their conversation had been enlightening, but nothing more than that.

Dune turned his back to her, closing off his sentence. She still needed him and wanted to remain at his side.

Ra felt like a child punished for something she didn't know she had done wrong. Almost wanting to cry, she looked at her master.

"What have I done?"

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune Rhur did not respond to his apprentice's plaintive tone. He instead sat while still facing the flowers. It was a hard thing for him to not reply. He had to check his emotions hard.

He repeated the first line of the Code as he studied the pollinating butterflies. It helped him find his own centre. Dune could feel his student's eyes on him there. Yet he did not give in to his wish to comfort and aid.

The position of the teacher had been made very clear. It was up to her to decide what she'd do.

 

[Riamah]

Dune did not reply to her and Ra sat in silence honestly considering her options. He wanted to know what other sources she had learned from and while Ravan had told her not to tell anybody about that little pyramid, she had known Dune longer. She trusted him more than anybody else and would continue to do so. She had been touched by the dark, all through her life and it would continue to be there even after today.

Now she did cry, but not out of frustration or anger at Dune, but at herself. She had lied to him. He had known somehow and she had hurt him. Ra attempted to shut her tears away before speaking, only partly being successful. She stopped crying, but her voice carried the weight of what she felt inside. Looking away from his back before speaking in a very hushed voice.

"I'm sorry."

If he turned around acknowledged her words, he would clearly see the tears in her eyes...if he hadn't already heard them.

"I have an item on my ship that has been teaching me outside of our lessons. It has been there since I found it and that was before I joined the Dominion and met you."

Her voice was just as soft as when she apologized, but no longer held the same amount of pain.

[member="Dune Rhur"]