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Three weeks in hyperspace had reduced Alee's limp so that it was barely noticeable. The cast would come off in a few days. She moved slowly through the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Searching.
A smile touched her eyes as she spotted the diminutive green Jedi Master sitting cross-legged on a flat stone. She approached and sank to the artificial ground at Yoda's feet. She closed her eyes and listened to the gentle spring bubbling out of a hidden pipe and flowing past them. A sound both peaceful and ... life-giving. A sound she would never tire of.
"Qui-Gon's favorite retreat, the Star Room is. A long time, were you there," Yoda commented.
"Mmm. Yes. Qui-Gon is very ... thorough," Alee replied softly.
"How so?" inquired Yoda.
Alee opened her eyes and watched a leaf dance down the stream. "He made me tell him everything. Every thought. Every action. Every spoken word. In sequence." She sighed with mock resignation. "The man is a stickler for details."
"Uncomfortable, this interview was?"
Alee glanced askance at the Jedi Master. "Actually, we were quite comfortable. We adjusted the chair so it was very snug and ... cozy."
Yoda cleared his throat. "Impertinent, you are. Know you, what I meant."
Alee tensed and scanned his face. She raised her brow at the twinkle in his eye. She blinked and it was gone.
"The interview caused me no mental anguish," Alee said. "But it certainly gave me a new appreciation for what Obi-Wan goes through as Padawan to Qui-Gon. I have rarely seen a Jedi Master so relentless, so demanding, so ..." ... loving and compassionate.
"Yet, love him, you do," Yoda said.
"More each day." Alee paused. "When I was at my weakest - out there - it was his visage, his mental touch that kept me focused, kept me connected to the Force."
Yoda nodded. "Sensed your growing strength, I have. But diminish, your arrogance must. Your peril was great, when defy the Council you did. Warned you, I tried to."
"Yes, you did. And if not for you, my peril would have been my death. I owe you my thanks. Is your culture demanding of life debts?"
His ears flattened slightly. "A life debt you owe, Alee-Nedra cy Nerac."
Surprise flooded her thoughts, rendering her speechless. She had spoken mostly in jest. Was he serious? Alee blinked in confusion.
Yoda broke the strained silence. "To the Force, you owe your life. Serve it, you must."
Alee sighed and whispered softly, "Always, Master Yoda. And gladly."
"Death alone, will end your service. Seen this, I have."
Alee frowned. "Who was this one claiming to be death on Tatooine? This Aurra Sing? Master Koon seemed familiar with her."
"A potential Jedi, she was. Trained at the Temple, she did." Yoda poked Alee gently with his gimer stick. "And difficult, she was."
Alee's eyebrows shot up innocently. Yoda's eyes softened as he continued, "Even at your most difficult, strong was your connection to the Force. Full of light, it was. And good for you, it was. Or suffered her fate, you might have. Overcome the darkness within, she could not."
In a sad whisper he added, "Turn, she did. An agent of evil, she is."
"I could have killed her, in Mos Espa," Alee said.
"Could you now?" Yoda's voice was sceptical.
Alee sighed. "No. Not in cold blood. Not even, as it turned out, to save my own life."
"Regret that, never," declared Yoda. "Following the Force's leading, you were."
Alee nodded thoughtfully. "Why did the Force lead me to that little moisture farm? I sensed ... something Cosmic about it."
Yoda stared at her, waiting.
"But it doesn't make sense," Alee continued. "When we went back for Rein, the woman told me they were leaving. She was so very grateful for the jewel I gave her in thanks. Said it would help them start over on ... one of the Five Brothers. Somewhere in the Corellian system , but I can't remember where. Said a young couple was taking over the farm. Name of Lars." She paused. "Now, why can I remember that?"
Alee felt the intensity of Yoda's gaze and shrugged the niggling vagueness to the back of her mind.
"Which reminds me ..." Alee reached inside her tunic and pulled out a fist-sized pouch. She dropped it beside the Jedi Master. "When you allowed me to take possession of my ship seven years ago, I discovered these on board, hidden everywhere. Took me days to scour every nook and cranny and retrieve them all."
Yoda untied the pouch and poked the jewels inside. He raised curious eyes to meet Alee's hazel gaze. She smiled.
"I never knew, until now, why I felt the Force's urging to keep them. They paid for my sister's freedom. And now ... now, I feel released to give them to you. A miniscule gift to add to the Jedi coffers. Maybe they will save someone else's sister."
Yoda poured the rainbow of precious stones onto the rock beside him. He picked up the largest, a semi-opaque silvery jewel with a center as blue as ... Alee's lightsaber blade. He twirled it between his fingers and questioned her with a look.
"My family jewel - an argent vortex. If you look closely, the blue center appears to be swirling. Traditionally, each child is presented with a specially hand-crafted one at birth. It is very valuable. Should fetch a great price," Alee explained.
Yoda held out his palm and the jewel tumbled to its center. "Yours this is, then."
A melancholy smile brushed her lips. "No. The Jedi are my family. I am a child of the Force."
"First and forever, you say. And the truth, it is. But your future, this is. Sense it, I can. Though, understand it, I do not." Yoda nodded at his palm.
Alee reluctantly reached out and took the jewel. It felt warm in her hand.
"Forgiven your father, you have," Yoda said.
"Well, yes. But how did you know ...?" Alee trailed off.
"Deep, your peace is running. Without blockage, it is."
Alee smiled and brought a puzzled frown to Yoda's face with her cryptic comment. "But I don't think I will ever like deep space." Her voice grew grave. "His lack of approval can no longer hurt me, Master Yoda. But how could a father hire a killer to assassinate his own child?"
"Forgive him for that, you cannot, Alee. Real, the kidnapping was. Hire Aurra, he did not."
Alee stared. She could sense the truth in his words. But she had been so sure...
"Spoke with your mother, I did."
"My mother," Alee squeaked in astonishment.
"First, your father," said Yoda. "Reluctant, he was, to let your mother speak. Until, told him, I did, that in person, I would visit. Avoid that he would, at any cost. Confirmed, your mother did, that his pain was real. Fearful for Rein, he was. And angry, as well, that call you, she did. But secretly thankful, she thought."
"Then ..."
"Told you the truth, Aurra did. To kill you, her only aim was."
The Force shimmered between them.
"I'm a hard Jedi to kill," Alee said, peering at the jewel in her hand.
"Too stubborn, you are. Even defy death, you do. And glad of it, I am." Yoda answered. He narrowed his eyes. "But defy the Council again, you will not."
Alee only smiled and gazed into the swirling vortex.
