Chapter 1: Managing the Shadows

The white circle designs of the pot looked broken and disfigured as the black shards lay scattered on the floor. The pieces began to shake. Then they started to lift- slowly. Traya’s mind followed the jagged edges, sensing where the white circles were supposed to meet when the pot was whole.

Traya tried to fill her mind with a sense of healing, a process her master had tried to describe to her numerous times before. In her mind the edges of the pot glowed with blue shine. In her mind’s eye she saw four hands molding and sculpting the black clay. She watched three hands hold the pot in place while one more held a brush painting on the white interlocking circles that surrounded the neck of the pot. She felt the joy of her Master as the pot was handed to him a gift. In each piece she felt love, in each piece the image of another bond; the friend, the mother, the father, the uncle, the lover. But in each gap she felt pain. The pain of loss. The fear of the death of those loved. The urge to end oneself. And in the pain she heard a whisper: you are mine. Mine. All mine!

The floating pieces of the pot now scattered to the floor. Her long blond hair, which had been floating around her, fell down around her shoulders as Traya got up and punched a wall.

Cade opened the door. He had felt the frustration from outside. “It’s no use master! I’m not strong enough.” Traya shouted.

Cade moved beside Traya, laying one strong and calm hand settling on her shoulders and the other reaching up towards the pot. “It has nothing to do with your strength,” Cade cautioned. The pieces of the pot began to shake. “You must allow yourself to give in to the wish of the force.” Slowly the pieces of the pot arose, coming together and joining. The white rings all linked together now making a chain around the neck of the pot. “Calm. And once there-” Cade launched his hand out of a fist to fingers outspread.

The pieces of the pot flew across the room. One piece struck the wall hard enough to bury itself about an inch deep into the solid Ceramisteel metal walls that made up the training room. “Controlled power.”

Traya huffed like a child. Cade couldn’t help, but smile, he knew the childish frustration too well. He may be a fair bit older than her, but it was only recently in his life that he had calmed his own tempestuous nature.

“The pot is imbued with both light and dark side energy. The will of the light side force within the pot wishes to heal. However, the dark side force-”

“-feeds on your desire to bend the will of the force to fix the pot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know.” Traya began pacing.

The pot was a Jedi training tool Cade had created to help youngling Jedi control their dark side urges and desires. The pot had both a desire to heal and shatter into pieces by sensing the type of force exerted upon it by a force side user. Only once one had truly surrendered themselves not to simply do, but to capitulate to the will of the force could an individual return the pot to its original form.

Although Cade considered this to be one of his achievements that he was most proud of, when he had brought the test to the Jedi Council, it had been considered too unorthodox to be allowed as a tool of training within the general Jedi population. It did indeed contain dark side power within it.

Traya stopped pacing and stared daggers at her Master.

“Master, I don’t have time for these frivolous lessons. We know Darth Nihl, Lady Maladi, and Saarai are still at large. They were nowhere to be found when our forces finally captured Korriban six years ago, and they still evade us even now.”

Cade was worried about Traya’s obsession with the remnants of Krayt’s dark side leadership. It didn’t help that she still refused traditional Jedi garb. She wore a black robe that fell just over her knees with a tight wrapping around the waist. Her legs had boots that came up over her knees. She barely revealed any skin, except between her sleeveless arms, and the long leather gloves that revealed striking biceps. Traya cared little how others saw her. All that concerned her was that they knew her strength.

“Trust the Jedi, Traya. This is why the Triumvirate have a fleet stationed on Korriban. We will keep a close eye on the Sith homeworld making sure the Sith do not reemerge there.”

“Trust the Jedi?!” Traya laughed. “That’s rich coming from you Cade. And how many of these pots,” she gestured around the room to the pieces of the training pot, scattered, “are there at the Jedi Temple again?”

Cade tried to hide it, but Traya could sense the pain as soon as she finished her statement.

“Cade, I’m sorry- I didn’t mean…” She trailed off.

“I know Traya, but this is what I am trying to tell you about your anger. It will not only hurt you, but the ones you love as well.”

“I know. I know. I am trying. I am, I swear.”

“I know you are, Traya.”

He walked to the door of the training room, hit the door control panel, and entered the main section of the ship. Traya ran after him, “but seriously, Cade. What if the Sith have escaped from Korriban? Or better yet, what if they never return to Korriban? You have told me about your fears of what is going on, on Ziost. The Sith know we watch over Korriban. Couldn’t they just sabotage the Jedi from the shadows elsewhere in the galaxy, as they have always done?”

Cade paused. He had harbored these doubts as well himself, but he also knew how much of Traya’s words weren’t completely selfless. She wanted to find and hunt down the Sith. And after what they had done to her, he couldn’t blame her. But if anything, this made him even more sure how vital it was that Traya learnt to form a strong connection and bond with the light side of the force, not just focus on her hatred of the Sith.

He thought about his words carefully, but before he could come up with a response. “I’ve heard you talk with Morrigan about the Sith on Ziost.”

Cade stopped walking, and turned to raise an eyebrow. “Have you been listening to my private coms with my mother?”

“Your mother? Cade, she has a spy network unlike anything the galaxy has ever known. She’s become a lot more than just your mother, and I know you frequently discuss the state of the Sith.”

Cade folded his arms. “Traya, you’re not exactly helping your case here.”

She fidgeted as she came up with a response, “well they’re not personal coms most of the time. And if they are, I tune them out.”

Cade turned up the accusation in his voice. “I don’t hear a denial in there.”

“It’s less eavesdropping, and more,” Traya searched for the right words, “intelligence gathering. Yeah, intelligence gathering.”

Cade let out a raucous laugh. Fortunately, or not, he saw a lot of himself in Traya, particularly at this stage of her life. He too had become quite skilled at making poor excuses for his even poorer decisions. He continued heading to the cockpit, knowing better than to argue with her when she was acting like this.

Traya barreled onward after him, “you know as well as I do that they are hiding and biding their time. The Sith flourish in the shadows.” Although her voice was level, Cade could feel the anger rising inside her. “You know as well as I do that it is where they are most dangerous.”

Cade stopped walking, Traya almost bumping into him. Cade turned around, getting on one knee to get closer to the girl’s height. He had a way with her to let her know when he was getting serious. She could feel this was one of those times. He put his hands gently, but sternly on her shoulders, locking eyes.

“Traya, the truth is this. The Sith are making moves as they always do. But even now, I can feel your motivations. Your interest in the Sith is not to save the Galaxy. You want revenge. Believe me, if there is anyone that can understand that feeling it is me.” At this moment, he looked down, almost to break eye contact. However, she saw something in his eyes, something that deeply upset her. It almost seemed sad, like a deep, deep sorrow. He shook his head and looked in her eyes, and when he did it was gone.

“But I can also tell you from experience, revenge is a poison.”

I know where you are right now. You are of that age where you have very little concern for yourself.” He smiled in that way that made her feel like all her problems could melt away. “But,” his face grew stern, “even if you don’t have the desire to do it for yourself, anger is a path that will not just lead to harm to you, but pain for those around you. I know you don’t wish to cause pain. We’ve seen it only moments ago.” Here he released her. She almost tripped backwards from the power of the interaction.

He stood up, “you must master yourself, before you are ready to fight the Sith.” He turned around, ducking his head to enter the cockpit and take his seat at the helm.

She darted in after him, “if we don’t bring the fight to them and crush them one by one then the galaxy will never know peace!”

Cade turned away from the control panel and looked at Traya with a smile, “Traya the peace you seek is not for the Galaxy.” He began typing in coordinates for their next hyperspace jump.

Traya began to exit the room when Cade asked, “Are you still hearing him?” Traya froze.

Sometimes when he asked this question she would lie, but today she told the truth. “All the time. Sometimes it’s difficult to sleep.”

Again, she started to leave, “I know what it can be like to have his voice in your head.”

Traya turned around and exploded. “Don’t even try, Cade! You don’t hear his whispers. Constant whispers. They are always commanding me to obey, to act, in his will, in his hate. Even now, I have the furious desire to slay you where you stand.”

“Are you sure how much of that is just Krayt?”

Traya huffed and turned away. “Don’t mock me.” She hid her presence in the Force from him. It scared him when she did this. So much power at such a young age.

“I’m sorry, Traya. I didn’t mean to mock, but you must understand you cannot fight his voice with hate. I had a bond with Krayt too. I was ready to kill myself to silence that voice. But what I realized in the end was,” the door opened and Deliah Blue walked in.

“What’s with all the shouting going on in here?” Blue shouted with a smile. “You two better not be arguing again.” She winked at Traya, “and if you are, you better be winning!”

“What I was saying was-” Cade pulled Blue over to sit on his lap as he gave her a wet kiss on the lips.

“Ewwwwww.” Traya shouted and covered her eyes. “Gross!”

Cade and Deliah stopped kissing and locked eyes, then Cade looked at Traya. “What this one helped me realize,” he continued, gesturing to Blue, “was that the strength that the light side offered me; well, Krayt could never compare to that power.”

Blue hopped off Cade’s lap and gave him a peck on the cheek. “That’s darn right. Listen here, Jedi, I ran diagnostics, the Mynock’s hyperdrive is all set to go.”

“Best mechanic in the whole galaxy!”

“You better believe it.” Blue yelled back, taking her seat next to Cade.

Cade turned back to the ship controls. “Anything else Traya?”

Traya paused, trying to take in what Cade was offering, but her mind was still awash with other thoughts. “I hate this waiting, Cade.”

Cade looked over his shoulder from the controls. “I know, Traya. I know.”

Then Traya turned to Deliah, “thanks Blue!”

Blue looked over her shoulder, “what did I do?”

“I don’t know, you just always know how to make me feel,” Traya paused, looking for the right word, “better.”

“Of course Tray’!”

“I’m gonna head to my quarters now.”

“Ok, just be ready to head out when we get to Wayland. One hyperspace jump away now.”

“Ok!” Traya said cheerfully and began skipping to her room. She got to the doorway of her room, before suddenly feeling weak.

Yes, keep waiting Traya, there was a haunting voice cooing in her head. I’ll be back soon enough.

Traya began muttering to herself. “No Krayt! I will rid the world of all your followers; Nihl, Maladi, Saarai. They will all die at my hand. And when they are all dead- Let’s see you try to control me then!”

“You okay, Traya?” Blue yelled from the cockpit. “It sounded like you fell.”

“No, I just tripped is all.”

“Well, just be more careful.”

“Of course, Blue.”

Traya muttered under her breath. We’ll finish this later, Krayt.

A shiver ran down her spine as a laugh echoed through her mind, Of course young apprentice. We will most definitely continue this later.

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Managing the Shadows

Chapter 1: Managing the Shadows