(AN: Finally, an update! charis_nikola and I took time off for summer classes and for me to sort out copyright issues, but now we're back on!! Hope to stick to the weekly updates on Sundays! Much love. -Rach)
As the weeks went by, Alana found herself beginning to be unnerved by her training partner. The two of them were supposed to work in tandem training the younglings at the temple. Alana became frustrated with Cieralai constantly belittling her or insisting on the 'proper' techniques, so she began to offer lessons in private, helping the students like Zora in order to teach them techniques that would help them in battle.
One afternoon, Alana found herself training little Zora, working on a new grip technique that allowed her to use her tail better for balance.
Zora had just finished knocking down three little practice remotes, and Alana clapped her hands as the youngling pulled off her helmet.
"That was very good, Zora," she said, a smile on her face. "You're getting so much better."
"Thank you, Master," Zora said, smiling widely, but soon her face twisted into a face of discontent. "I just wish that Master Windu would let us use the techniques you're teaching us in class."
"I know," Alana said, trying not to allow her frustrations to show at the mention of Cieralai. In her honest opinion, the only Master Windu there should be was her former Master, Mace, but she buried that thought deep inside her mind, focusing on Zora. "But it is good that you are learning both. In the long run, you will be better off. Now, why don't you try it one more time? This time, make sure you don't stay on the ground for too long."
Zora nodded and put her helmet back on. Alana turned on the remotes and sent them to the air, watching as Zora calmed and readied herself for the remotes to begin. Soon enough, they were whizzing through the air, and she was deflecting away the blast fire.
However, Cieralai herself was passing through the area and heard the training blast fire from where she was. She rounded the corner, standing in the doorway just as Zora fired back a blast shot, powering down the last remote. She stood for a moment, watching as Alana went over and congratulated her.
"Perfect, Zora. Now keep this training in mind-" she trailed off, as if sensing the woman's presence.
Alana whirled around, coming face to face with none other than Cieralai, leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, and an unreadable expression on her face.
"Please. Don't stop now. Continue as if I were never here."
"Master," Zora suddenly piped up, noticing her too and bowing.
"I see Master Skywalker has been giving you some private lessons," Cieralai responded casually, but everyone in the room appeared to be on edge despite hearing her nonchalant tone.
Alana nodded and turned back to Zora, the hair on her back prickling up.
"Why don't you head back to your quarters, Zora," she said. "You've done well."
Zora hesitated, looking back and forth between the two masters before scurrying out of the room.
Meanwhile, Alana turned from the door, picking up the helmet and the droids slowly, not wanting to even speak to Cieralai. She was tired of Cieralai always being around, trying to tell her what to do or how to oversee her. And now, she had discovered their training, which had become the only source of freedom Alana had felt since arriving back on Coruscant. Over the past weeks, Alana had been under constant supervision from the Council and from the medical staff due to her injury. Even though she was constantly feeling better with each passing day, and she was nearly ready to return to the field, Alana felt micromanaged and she rarely had the space to think for herself. That coupled with the secret she was hiding, and the complete inability to contact Kenobi was enough to keep her teetering on the edge.
Finally, Alana spoke.
"I'm going to meditate," she said, turning to see that Cieralai had not moved from the door.
"Why do you go behind my back, and undermine my authority with the Younglings?" Cieralai asked, keeping Alana from leaving the room.
"I'm not doing this now, Cieralai, I'm tired of constantly arguing with you. It's an extra training session, that's all," Alana said.
"And how many of those have you done?" Cieralai asked. "Because from what I've overheard, you do this for each and every youngling. They do not need to learn extra techniques until they have mastered the most simple and correct techniques. That's the way it has always been done, and that is the way it will always be done."
"You are trying to confine the idea of becoming a Jedi to a cage of rules and tradition. Stop being so... so... nit-picky!" Alana said, finally sputtering at the way Cieralai was trying to tell her what to do.
Cieralai snorts softly. "I highly doubt that wanting the students to have perfect technique is being 'nit-picky.' This is nothing compared to the training I endured as a Jedi Sentinel. Clearly, you don't have the experience that it takes to actually be a great Jedi Master. You should be grateful that I'm here to help the Younglings advance in their skills and technique. On a regular day, I would be across the galaxy, serving the Jedi as you should be. But instead, I'm here babysitting you."
"Babysitting me? A woman of such incredible experience?" Alana mocked. "I thought you had so much experience, that the Council could never assign you to something so very simple. Apparently you don't have the experience you think you have," Alana said, crossing her arms across her chest, her voice rising up, louder and louder. "Besides, you know who I have never seen on the battlefield, Cieralai?" Alana asked. "You." She jabbed her finger at Cieralai's chest.
"So tell me, where have you been during all of these battles?" Alana continued. "Where were you when many Jedi were killed on Geonosis and then many soldiers on Mon Cala, Kamino, and Christophsis?! I watched my friends fall before my eyes. My men. My soldiers. They have lost their lives to fight this war when you could have been there instead. Why didn't you come to assist us, especially since a woman with your reputation and experience clearly could have saved us all?"
Cieralai's eyes narrowed and she scoffed, "I hardly feel the need to justify myself to you, but since you will continue to shout at me, I was sent on many missions by order of the High Council, and was busy fighting across the galaxy, destroying the dark side users that you failed to find and identify. I was cleaning up your mess, Skywalker."
Alana froze and she immediately stared at the ground in shame. She used to be one of those Dark-Side users, and she knew that the woman in front of her most likely would've killed her where she stood if she knew about this. Alana choked down her uncertainty and found the words to respond.
"My mess, huh? I was looking through your personnel file and there was a sealed mission report. Sealed. What mess are you hiding from the Council? From the Jedi?" Alana demanded.
Cieralai's eyes narrowed and the room appeared to drop in temperature as she coldly responded to Alana through gritted teeth. "That mission is none of your concern, Skywalker. You are treading close to dangerous territory, and if you know what's good for you, you will shut. Your. Mouth."
Alana didn't want to back down. She wanted to know. She needed to know. "I will find a way to unseal it if I have to. Does the Council even know of the file? I'm assuming not. Who even gave you the authorization to seal it?"
Cieralai clenched her fists and glared at her. "Master Yoda, himself."
"Master Yoda be damned," Alana replied. "I am sick and tired of the Council hiding things from the rest of the Jedi Order. It's something I've begun to notice in recent years. What are you hiding? What is the great Sentinel Cieralai afraid of?"
At that moment, something within Cieralai snapped, and she roughly gripped the collar of Alana's robes, pulling her towards her. "I am not afraid of anything, Skywalker." She seethed as she stared down at the woman. "And I will warn you now. if I receive word that you attempted or have tried to gain access to that file, I will kill you. By any means necessary."
Alana narrowed her eyes, her mind briefly flashing to the child she carried within her. If she pushed Cieralai too far, she would put the both of them at risk. But it was too late, words were already spilling from her mouth.
"And those are the words of a liar and a coward who does not want to take responsibility for their failings," she snapped back. "You disgust me, hiding behind your lies. People like you were the reason I was sent from the Order when I was a child. A CHILD! There is no wonder that people have begun to leave the Order in droves. There is no wonder at all of the enticement of the Dark Side. It grows around us with each and every day. I feel it. And I know you feel it too. Soon, because of your hiding and your deceit, there will be a reckoning. A reckoning against you and every other leader who does as they please with no thought to the repercussions. You will be the death of us all. So go ahead. Kill me. It will only join me with the Force all that more quickly. The rest will soon be following."
Cieralai stared down at her with barely concealed rage, then she let go of Alana's collar and turned away from her. "You think you know everything. You think you can understand what is going on. You're so quick to play the victim but you don't realize that the Council knows what they're doing. My mission was hidden for a reason. The Council knows what is best for the Jedi Order, regardless of the secrets they keep. You are playing into something that is much bigger than you realize, and it is not meant for you to know."
"You and your undying loyalty to the Council," Alana rolled her eyes. "Despite what the Council says and does, there are times when the Council is wrong. Even as I sit on the Council, I know I have been wrong before, but at least I know that when people are in danger, the formalities of the Jedi life must be adjusted!" Alana exclaimed. "The Code should not be used as an excuse to hide."
Cieralai responded coldly and her icy blue eyes once again flashed with anger, "All this time you continue to call me a liar and a coward, but you fail to look at yourself. I think you need a reminder that the only reason you were put on the Council was because we lost so many great Masters in the battle at Geonosis. You are unworthy of the seat you sit so proudly upon."
Alana's jaw snapped shut. She stood there, stunned, unable to comprehend the anger that now coursed through her veins. She had the urge to reach out and slap the woman before her, but deep in her heart, she knew that Cieralai's words were right.
She didn't deserve to sit on the Council. She had broken many rules of the Jedi Code, especially now as a Master. Not only was she secretly married, but she now had to deal with the weight of having a child. Besides, the darkness of her past made Alana acutely aware of the accuracy of Cieralai's statement.
"Let it be known that I will find a way to access that file," she said. "Even if I have to go down for it, I will expose whatever I find within."
"As I said, I will kill you should you attempt to look into those files and as such, you will not only be defying the orders of Master Yoda but of the Jedi Council themselves. You will be breaking the Jedi Code because of your defiance."
"Then perhaps you should report this interaction to the Council," Alana replied stiffly. "This is not the first time someone has accused me of breaking the Jedi Code. If the Council finds me guilty, then it will be the last time you see my face."
Cieralai crossed her arms and turned away. "Then I look forward to hearing their decision."
Alana watched as Cieralai parted from the room, her jaw clenched. She would have to find out exactly what Cieralai was hiding, but in the meantime, she had to try to contact Obi-Wan again.
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Meanwhile, Cieralai had made her way towards the Jedi archive room, relieved to find her uncle conversing with Master Yoda just outside the entrance.
"Masters."
Mace and Yoda turned upon hearing Cieralai call out to them.
Master Yoda observed her from his floating stool. "Master Windu. A pleasure it is, to see that you've returned from the outer rim. Faring with the younglings, I hope?"
Cieralai stopped in front of them. "They are progressing very well, and the Force is strong with them. At the rate they're progressing they will soon surpass my generation in terms of establishing a strong connection with the Force. But alas, that is not why I have found you. I need to file a report and believe that someone has broken the code."
Master Yoda hummed and closed his eyes as if he was meditating on what she said. Upon hearing his niece speak about someone breaking the code, Master Windu turned to face her and uncrossed his arms. He knew that Cieralai would not report someone unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Who?" He inquired out of curiosity.
Cieralai contemplated his question before glancing away with a seemingly emotionless expression on her face. "I would..prefer not to say until I'm absolutely certain." She then stared at the ground. "My vision is...clouded, to say the least."
Master Yoda then spoke up. "Might I suggest that you meditate on this, Master Windu? Then, when your mind is cleared, speak with us, you will."
Cieralai nodded at his words. "Thank you. I will follow your advice, Master, and will return to you soon." She then bowed before turning around and leaving. As she left, she did not see the glance that was shared between Yoda and her uncle.
As she strolled through the temple, she decided that she made up her mind and went to Alana's quarters to inform her of the report that she would file against her.
In the meanwhile, across the temple, Alana was anxiously pacing back and forth in her room. Her mind was filled with questions as to whether Cirealai's threats would be made real. What would happen to the child if the Jedi found out? Alana huffed and went over to where she had stashed their scrambled communication link, and she stared at it.
Obi-Wan still didn't know. He needed to know. She pressed the link and waited as the link blinked rapidly, piggy-backing off of another frequency. She hoped Obi-Wan would answer.
Suddenly, it failed and Alana clenched her jaw, desperately needing to tell him. She needed his advice, and she needed him to tell her what to do. As she tried contacting him again, she closed her eyes and willed the transmission to work.
Suddenly the link sounded and the blinking stopped. The connection had been established.
As the transmission unscrambled, Alana saw Obi-Wan on the other end, being holographically displayed on the device.
"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked worriedly. They had not been in contact for over a month outside of Council meetings, and he knew something had to be wrong, based on the way she looked at him through the hologram.
"We have to talk," Alana insisted, letting her breath out. She had been trying to reach him for far too long. "Is now a good time?"
Obi-Wan paused, looking back at something behind him.
"It's never a good time during this blasted war, my love," Obi-Wan replied. "Can you be quick?"
"I'm pregnant," Alana replied, needing desperately to tell him that before asking him for his advice on the situation with Cieralai.
There was absolute silence as Obi-Wan stood, his eyes focused on something in front of him. Alana watched as he sliced down a battle droid before looking at Alana on the com, his face flashing through a wide mixture of joy, fear, worry, and confusion.
"Whe-" he was about to say something when suddenly the commlink failed. There must have been a disruption on Obi-Wan's planet. Alana opened her mouth, she wasn't sure how he was going to react. She needed to know.
Alana began pacing back and forth in her room, trying to contact him again, but she couldn't reach him. That's when she had an idea. She would make for the communications room in the Temple and try to use that to boost the frequency.
She made her way quickly to the door and pressed the button, allowing it to slide open, but she was frozen in her spot when she saw who was in front of her. Cieralai was standing right in front of the door, hand poised to knock, her eyes slightly widened as if she had heard everything that had just been spoken.
Alana panicked, and grabbed Cieralai's arm, yanking her into the room and locking the door behind her.
"How much did you hear?" Alana demanded, letting go of Cieralai's arm and blocking the door to prevent Cieralai from leaving. "Tell me. Now!"
"Everything," came the dreaded response.
"Have you been spying on me?" Alana demanded.
Cieralai then masked her expression into that of a stoic one, but it was hard to maintain after what she had heard. "No. In fact, I had just returned from speaking with Master Yoda and Master Windu. I wanted to inform you that I was planning on reporting you to the Jedi Council."