(Unknown)
(Vaylin PoV)
It was truly a novel concept to me. I could not remember the last time I could meditate peacefully before I was saved. Or was I saved?
Some times that question comes to mind as I walk the ship, interact with the crew. Of course none of them like me. I terrorized them for months as the Eternal Empress. An almost empty title were I had no true power over anyone.
Well I did have power, but it was fickle, I was never taught properly how to bend people to my will and that was my downfall. They only ever wanted me to be the pawn, the one used by others.
The Outlander once told me that if 'that' man hadn't taken me and twisted my teachings, I could have become the most powerful person in the galaxy.
For now I was stuck behind him.
He also told me that I might have become a Jedi, I scoffed at the words but he explained. My natural connection to the force, my child like wonder when I was younger, if it was nurtured more by my mother, another person who wanted to control me, I might just have turned to the light.
It sometimes makes me glad then that 'he' took me in and showed me the truth of the universe, that it was power and power alone that mattered, that it would let you accomplish whatever you desired. But then, what did I desire?
I thought I had that power, even surpassing 'him', but then the Outlander appeared.
Appeared and showed me the new definition of power. It rolled off him, even when he was in carbonite I could feel it come off his immobile form. Maybe it was for that reason that we didn't kill him when he was so weak. Maybe that was why I could feel his presence sometimes in the 5 years that passed.
Whatever the case, it only got stronger after he awakened, I of course found out later he was doing something I always wanted to do, taking down that bastard who made me and made my power his own.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if he hadn't stopped me, hadn't talked me down near the end. Would I have beaten him? I could not imagine the scenario happening now, even if I did the power I held would be I have been taken by the force, just another force user in the grand scheme of time?
Could I have defeated him at what would have been his pinnacle? No, what am I thinking he has already surpassed where he was back then. It's hard to tell when he keeps it bottled up, but it's there, always growing stronger and stronger.
He just needed the right stimulus to let it flow out.
But then…I'm glad I stopped when I did, I'm glad he was willing to let me flourish. I had become more powerful than I could have ever been after letting the title of Eternal Empress go. It was a chain that bound me and my power to a lower level, only when it was broken could I ascend higher.
The Outlander understood this…understood me and what I could become, I would grow stronger no matter what I had to do to sho…..the force just shifted, I felt it tug at my body, pulling it in a certain direction, I furrowed my brows as my sight of the galaxy shut off, I was in total darkness.
The tugging intensified to an impossible degree as if my body was being ripped in two. But I smothered the pain, used it to make my domination of the force stronger. I grit my teeth slightly as this continued and continued. What is going…
The tugging stopped, the pain disappeared as if it were a lie...and I also felt the sun on my skin?I opened my eyes slowly. I was no longer on the ship….no I was, but I also wasn't. I steadily got to my feet as I scanned my surroundings slowly; I now stood in a forest, on a planet I had never been on before. Some type of birds chirped in the surroundings and insects buzzed in the air.
If I wasn't stronger in the force I wouldn't know I wasn't actually here. Even the heat of the area, the humidity started to affect my body. But how could it affect my body if I wasn't actually here? This wasn't a vision, or a projection in the force, it was like I was physically here, but not.
Something niggled at the back of my mind as I sent feelers into the force, a new connection had been formed within me, I had never had many connections through the force, my mother and father severed theirs early on, the closest person I had a connection to since my brothers would be the Outlander.
Something we had developed over our long game of cat and mouse, the rivalry and power plays had created it, but it had only gotten stronger as he tried to help me become what I was denied.
But no, this connection was different. I shifted my feet in the dirt below me, watching as it moved from my presence. There was something else about this planet…ahhh… I'm surprised I didn't notice sooner.
I was at a nexus in the force, one like many planets that littered the galaxy. But this one, this one was steeped in the light side. Sure it could be corrupted, maybe even changed to the dark side given enough influence, but this planet felt untouched, pristine.
The life was vibrant, the peace abundant. *Rustle* The shifting of clothes behind me alerted me to a presence behind. Why hadn't I felt them earlier? I had exceptional sensing capabilities; it was not possible for me to have missed someone, not this close. I turned to gauge the new presence.
A lone person sat in a clearing meters behind me. It was clear that they too were meditating or had been. They wore light colored robes that draped their body, baggy in nature it hung off them in a natural manner, something clearly worn often. Though the color was lighter than the usual Jedi brown, it was clear that, that is what they were…a Jedi.
The Force surged around them, comforted them, they seemed to have gone through the pain I just felt. It comforted them in their need for tranquillity… weak. I could hear it sing in their ear, their strong connection to it was…surprisingly powerful, reaching even my own level of power. Still not as strong as the Outlander, but it was the most powerful presence I had felt since coming to this time. My eyes narrowed as I looked at them, were they a threat to be dealt with? A test to gauge my new found power?
Their back was turned to me so I couldn't see their face, but their hood was down as they basked in the force around them. Shiny blond hair cascaded down their back as small animal and critters congregated around their person.
Their bond to the force drew them near, the warm feeling she produced would strengthen their fight as they tried to survive the unruly wilderness that followed the rest of the galaxy unrepentant laws. Survival of the fittest.
Was this Jedi the reason I was here?
Ever so slowly I reached out in the force to ascertain my assumption, the new connection I now held. I looked at the Jedi and I could feel it…it was faint, just made, but impossible to break and with every second it was getting stronger. What was this?
"Huh?" The Jedi's bell like voice, now identified as female, sounded out at my probing, they could feel it. Their hands disconnected from each other as their breath sped back up to a normal pace. She could feel my eyes on her as she placed her hands to the ground and lifted herself up.
Slowly turning in my direction the force seemed to scream in my ear. 'It was not yet time' All I could catch a glimpse of, as the surroundings faded to black and I was once again in my quarters on the ship, were the Jedi's piercing grey eyes as they widened in surprise.
Her eyes and mine locked for a second, grey meeting my own blue and red, before being broken as she disappeared into mist in front of me.
I looked around at the metal walls that now surrounded me and knew that what had just happened wasn't a force vision, small specks of the dirt from the forest lay beneath my feet lingering in the room that was spotless. As I looked down at them I was no longer in my always perfect meditative position further confirming what just happened.
But my mind was whirling with questions. What had just happened? Who was the Jedi? What was this new connection I felt growing inside me?
I felt inclined to delve more into the connection that I now felt constantly, but the force seemed to wain me off the idea, even if I tried I would not find the results I was looking for. No, it was telling me, it was not yet time for me to confront this Jedi near my own power, but it would happen soon.
I felt a smile tug at my lips slightly sadistic in nature; I couldn't wait to see what this new test would bring. Would I find a new path to the strength I craved? Only time would tell.
There was only one I could think of that might have the answers I sought in that moment. Walking to the door, I opened it quietly and made my way towards the Outlander.