Destiny Eclipse/Chapter XVI

--23 ABY - Three Days After Thespis--

Bakura – Jedi Temple
The day began like any other. Both Xander and Lyn rose early, jogging to the top of the Temple, sitting on one of the viewing balconies, over looking the forest. The two sat in meditation, breathing deeply and letting the life in the forest wash over them, submerging them in the lives of the animals in the forest.

Xander followed the adventures of two birds as they soared through the tree tops, before they dived, catching a pair of rodents that Lyn had been following. Lyn frowned slightly, concentrating on different animals.

Their adventure to Thespis had left them shaken. Humans were beginning to suspect that the Jedi were based on Bakura. The Council had been discussing it for the past three days, seriously considering moving the Temple to another world that would conceal them better, but the ancestry coupled with Vikro convincing Jak that they didn’t come from Bakura meant that the issue was tentative – if any further hints arose that they had been discovered, they would leave immediately.

A warmth crept across Lyn and Xander as the golden sun rose from its bed, to begin the day. More animals flocked from their dwellings, and begun to search for food to feed their hungry babes, or to satisfy their own hunger.

Finally Xander stretched and rose, moments after Lyn himself had begun to move. Lyn grinned at Xander, “One of these days I’ll last longer than you. I can be patient, you know.”

“Of course you can,” Xander quipped, “As patient as a Sith in a room of unarmed Jedi.”

“Why you,” growled Lyn playfully, racing towards Xander, who raced away towards the cafeteria. Xander felt a pang of regret, even after all these years. He remembered a time, just before he had left on his journey, when he and Jysek had raced. Then he had easily beaten Jysek, just as easily as Lyn was beating him now. Lyn had always been faster of the two, and Xander enjoyed that, as it separated Lyn from Jysek firmly, allowing him to view them both separately.

They reached the entrance to the cafeteria and stopped. Standing before the doors, obviously waiting for them, were Vikro and Kavar, with stern expressions on their faces. Xander reached out and probed his Master through the Force, questioningly. All he met was a brick wall. Vikro was hiding his emotions, unusual coming from him.

Kavar turned to Lyn and spoke softly to him, a puzzled expression blossoming on Lyn’s face. Vikro turned to Xander, “Come with me,” he said, disappearing up the hall towards the Council Chambers.

Xander glanced at Lyn, who shrugged and followed him, Kavar lingering at the back. As they reached the Council Chambers, the doors were shut, Vikro already inside. Xander understood. Many a time Vikro had summoned him before the Council, but as a Council Member, not his Master, and this would be one of those occasions.

As the doors slid open, the room was bathed in darkness, and as Xander and Lyn stepped in, Kavar stopped, letting the doors slide shut in front of him, before walking off. “Master?” Lyn said turning back, but was stopped by a figure.

Around the room, five lightsabers ignited, casting a mixed glow around the room. The purple, blue, and green light splayed over them. Xander reached towards his lightsaber, but stopped, no fear or anger emanated from the room. There was no danger. Although the blades were ignited, the faces of those who held them – the Council, Xander now realised – were still shrouded in darkness, presumably through the Force.

“Lyn Korak, step forward and kneel before me,” a female voice commanded. Lyn swallowed nervously, and stepped forward. The figure lowered her sapphire lightsaber, letting it hover gently above his left shoulder, then over towards his right. Xander’s eyes widened in realisation. He knew what this was.

“Lyn Korak, over the past twenty years you have grown from a young boy into a man. You have proven yourself over and over on missions with your Master, and now he has decided it is time. Rise Lyn Korak for the first time, as Jedi Knight.”

Lyn rose, grinning, and remembered himself, bowing before Abba, “Thank you Master Abba, I won’t disappoint you.”

“Xander Vos, step forward,” said a male voice, and Xander grinned, recognising it at once as Vikro’s voice. He stepped forward, kneeling before his old Master.

“Xander Vos, you were found after a planet was ravaged by Sith devastation, it was rumoured you would either leave us in great darkness into great light. With what has transpired since then, the correct fate is obvious now. Rise, Jedi Knight Xander Vos, and claim your rightful title as Blade of Light.”

Xander was a little unnerved, having never heard of these rumours, but deeply honoured to have been given such a wondrous title.

“Thank you Master Vikro, I pledge myself and all my strengths to the destruction of the Sith. May my strengths shatter them, and my weaknesses lure them into a false sense of security. I pledge myself to the Council, and give them my fealty, as Blade of Light.”

He rose, staring solemnly into Vikro’s eyes, now revealed as the ceremony neared its close. The two kept a passive expression on their faces. But after a moment Vikro broke into a smile, followed quickly by Xander.

“Congratulations Xander,” Vikro said, gripping Xander in a hug.

“Thank you, Vikro,” Xander said, feeling odd at not having to use the title Master before Vikro’s name, unless he chose to.

He stepped back, turning and embracing Lyn as well, the two staring into each other’s faces, grinning. Abba raised her arms, and the lights flickered on in the Council chambers.

“Go forth now, and fulfil the Order’s wishes as our two newest Jedi Knights,” she said, finishing the ceremony, and breaking into a smile.

Suddenly the formality of the room vanished, and Xander and Lyn moved between the Council Members, shaking hands and hugging the Council who gave them good wishes for the future.

Finally Xander and Lyn were ready to return to their room for the last time, where they would pack their belongings and move up a level to the Knight floor, where they would each get a separate room. While that would be exciting, it would also be sad. It would be Xander’s first time on his own.

He looked back at the Council, gave Vikro a firm nod, and stepped out into the Temple, to begin the rest of his life.

''To Be Continued... In Part Two.''