Meditation is always a toss of the dice. Some days, Loraana finds it difficult to remain still long enough to clear her mind. Today, as she sits beside Obi-Wan who nervously awaits the return of his master, she somehow finds it easy to just slip away, her thoughts receding into the background and giving way for the Force to infiltrate her mind.
She can still hear him beside her, feel his leg bouncing to every other beat of her heart, sense his frustration with his master though he would never admit it out loud. With Obi-Wan, she has always found it easier to do anything: from training to meditating. In fact, it was Obi-Wan who gave her the idea to practice with dual sabers when he beat her three times in a row. Knowing he favors his right side, she then picked up two batons as the Jedi would never allow younglings to train with real lightsabers without supervision, and struck him off guard. From then on, she had never lost a fight against him.
When she catches the smile growing on her face, she forces it away with a shake of her head along with thoughts of the man sitting beside her. Her futile efforts only result in other memories boiling to the surface like the fear she has pushed down for days after escaping Naboo. When she had landed, she could barely move. Her ship was an outlier, landing where it shouldn't have, so she knew right away she was nowhere near Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon. But then she saw smoke in the distance and her heart nearly gave out.
As a Jedi, she has been taught to push away intense emotions such as rage or terror, but in that moment, her legs had given way beneath her weight. Never before had losing him felt so close, and in that moment, she failed as a Jedi. She let her emotions overwhelm her in a way they never had before.
She had managed to push those feelings away, but meditation has a funny way of reminding her what lies just beyond her grasp. Those emotions hit her gut, knocking the air from her lungs as liquid pools in the corners of her eyes; she finds herself gasping as her body falls deep into the holes she has created for herself in the Force. It surrounds her, infiltrating every crease and pore on her skin digging deep into her body without regard for her wellbeing.
A red light flashes in the distant darkness.
"Loraa!"
Hands grip her arms tightly and drag her up and up and far away from the bottom she will never reach. The Force ebbs away, slinking out of her body as her eyes open, air barely making it into her lungs.
Obi-Wan stands before her, his gaze darting around her face with his expression contorted in worry. "Loraa? What's happened? Are you all right?" He asks, his grip on her arms tightening.
"Something's coming," she rasps as she tries to blink through the tears in her eyes. "Take off on my signal."
She jumps to her feet, but Obi-Wan stops her from moving anymore. "What do you mean? What's coming?"
A little boy runs into the room along with Padmé. "Them," Loraana says. She takes Obi-Wan's surprise as an invitation to slip from his hold and rush out of the ship, her purple sabers glowing in the dusty desert.
She finds Qui-Gon locked in battle with a man—not just any man, a Sith. "Master!" She calls out, racing forward to meet the Sith's blade with her own. The red melts into the purple and flickers against her skin before she lets out a battle cry and throws the Sith onto his back.
Qui-Gon grips her arm and motions up. Both jump as the ship flies overhead, landing on the open mouth and rushing into the safety of the hangar where Obi-Wan and the young boy are already waiting.
"Master, are you ok?" Loraana asks quickly when he falls back. An unexpected wave of exhaustion hits her, sending her to her knees beside him.
"I think so," Qui-Gon says. When she meets his gaze, she knows she is in for a lecture when he's regained his strength, but Obi-Wan's arms circling around her bring her a comfort she doesn't know she needs. "That was a surprise I won't soon forget."
"What was it?" Obi-Wan asks, his eyes darting between the two.
"I don't know, but he was well trained in the Jedi arts. Perhaps Loraana has an idea as she decided to risk her skin for a chance to fight?"
If she had the energy, she would roll her eyes. "I believe he was a Sith, Master." Qui-Gon's harsh gaze softens. "I felt danger, and I did not feel it was reckless to aid you against someone so powerful. Two Jedi are better than one, right?"
She looks back at Obi-Wan whose grip has tightened around her waist from behind. As her head leans against his chest, she can feel his pounding heart against her skull, taking comfort in the constant beat.
"My guess is he's after the queen," Qui-Gon says after a moment of silence.
The boy cocks his head to the side. "What are we going to do about it?"
"We will be patient." Qui-Gon glances between the boy and the Padawans' confused expressions. "Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi and Loraana Windu."
"Pleased to meet you." Anakin shakes Obi-Wan's hand before doing the same with Loraana's. "Wow! You're a Jedi too? Your lightsaber was so cool! I didn't know it could be purple."
Loraana lets out a sigh. "This will be a long trip, won't it?" As she looks back at Obi-Wan, her heart burns in her chest: the glint of concern has reappeared, and It does not seem to be leaving any time soon.
★ ✫ ★ ✫ ★
If there is one thing Loraana hates more than the cold, it's a meeting with the Jedi Council. Naturally, as Master Yoda's Padawan, she has attended too many to count, usually by his side with the occasional reprimand. The room itself has never felt welcoming or peaceful to her—it just feels like tension whenever she steps foot inside. Luckily, with Obi-Wan by her side, Loraana pushes away her discomfort more easily, even with her brother staring at them intently.
"He was trained in the Jedi arts," Qui-Gon explains, facing the senior-most members of the council. "My only conclusion can be to agree with Loraana—that it was a Sith Lord."
"Impossible," Master Mundi replies. "The Sith have been extinct for millennia."
Her brother, Mace Windu frowns. "I do not believe they could have returned without us knowing."
"Ah, hard to see, the dark side is," Master Yoda says, shifting his gaze from Mace to Loraana. She shrinks away from his eyes though she knows she should not be worried, especially in a room full of Master Jedi, but she almost feels ashamed for something she does not know.
"We will use all our resources here to unravel this mystery," Mace says, mostly looking at the other Jedi for assurance. "and discover the identity of your attacker. May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan and Loraana bow at the obvious dismissal before turning to exit. It only takes them both a moment to notice Qui-Gon's hesitance. She holds out a hand, stopping Obi-Wan in his tracks and turns them both back to the center of the room where Qui-Gon stands.
"Master Qui-Gon, more to say have you?" Yoda asks.
"With your permission, my master. I have encountered a vergence in the Force."
A shiver runs down Loraana's spine as some of the more junior members of the council blatantly lean forward in interest while Master Yoda simply smiles. "A vergence, you say?"
"Located around a person?" Mace asks.
"A boy," Qui-Gon replies. "His cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a life form. It is possible he was conceived by the midi-chlorians."
Mace furrows his brows in a way Loraana has seen too many times in the past. "You're referring to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?"
"I don't presume to—"
"But you do!" Yoda grins. It almost makes Loraana want to laugh. Master Yoda is so different from everyone else in the room. No one will ever come close to him. "Revealed your opinion is."
"I request the boy be tested, Master."
"Trained as a Jedi, you request for him?"
"Finding him was the will of the Force, I have no doubt of that."
Everyone turns to Mace. Though he is by far not Master Yoda, he is the unofficial leader of the council, even if no one will admit it. "Bring him before us, then," Mace sighs.
"While you get the boy, take my Padawan back, I will," Yoda says as he slips off his chair, arching a furry brow at the group of three. "Much to discuss there is."
Loraana hesitantly bows her head and follows Yoda out of the room. The four walk in silence through the temple until they reach the meditation room in which Yoda pauses. "See you soon we will."
Loraana smiles at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as something tugs at her chest. "Tell Anakin I say hi."
Yoda lets out a huff as he walks into the room. Loraana waits a moment for the other Jedi to walk away, her gaze locked on Obi-Wan's dangling braid. "Loraana!"
"Coming." She slips into the room to find Yoda already seated comfortably with a sly grin on his face. "Sorry, Master."
"Something bothers you." He motions to a seat. She quickly gets situated with her legs crossed and her hands resting comfortably on her knees, but she does not close her eyes. "About this Sith Lord."
Loraana tenses. "I was meditating and felt him approach," she says quickly. "Perhaps I am wrong."
"Wrong you are not, I believe," he says, closing his eyes. "Continue."
She frowns but continues. "He felt dark. He wanted to pull me down with him, but I resisted. It was like...I can't describe it. I couldn't breathe."
Yoda hums to himself. "Now, we meditate."
She gulps. "Master, maybe—"
"Meditate, young one." Popping an eye open, he watches her. "Conflicted you are, I feel. Clear the mind. On yourself, you must reflect to see the truth. Care for the boy, do you?" Loraana's eyes widen as panic strikes her heart. Yoda only chuckles. "Meditate."
From experience, Loraana knows she cannot fake it with Master Yoda. She reluctantly lets her eyes flicker shut, submerging herself into the depths of her consciousness, a familiar darkness she always enjoys. This time, just like last, that familiarity flees, replaced with raging fear, screaming, and crying.
The fear stems from everywhere: her own heart, the people of Coruscant, even Obi-Wan. It fills her mind, clinging to the walls of her consciousness and tearing it apart from the inside out. Ice runs through her body; her skin stands on edge with each passing second.
The screaming is pain. Deep pain. Not from a cut or bruise, but from a loss so profound it stops her breath. She can almost see it now: machinery, blasters, slow breathing, and red. So much red filling each hidden crevice like a snake curling around a hapless rodent, preparing to eat it whole. She sees soldiers marching and fire raging.
But, at the center of it all, a single child cries out for their mother. Loraana can only hear the child's heart-wrenching sobs, echoing as if in a cell. She calls out to the child, searching through the screaming and fear until she finds eyes staring at her through slits in a cage: eyes with innocence and terror coupled with a soft glow.
"Enough," she mutters as the slitted eyes disappear beneath the red. "Wait. Don't go!"
"Loraa." The voice drowns out the screams. "Loraa." It chases away the fear.
She swears it's him, but she does not dare hope. It's too cruel to hope that way. But then she sees him. Standing there in their hiding spot, looking out over the Coruscant sunset. When she reaches out, something grips her leg and tugs.
Her eyes drift open. Loraana remains seated beside Master Yoda, his eyes already open. He simply waits for her to speak, no questions needed.
"I fear war is coming, Master," Loraana whispers. "We are not prepared."
He nods. "Fear this outcome too, I do. Yet conflicted you still are."
Lifting her head slightly, Loraana meets his gaze. "It is not the Jedi way to be conflicted. I must simply work through it. And I will. I promise."
★ ✫ ★ ✫ ★
Obi-Wan and Loraana are adorable and, no, I'm not taking constructive criticism on that. Thank you.
Hope you enjoyed!
-L