Master Jedi - Jina's Cave
posted 1 August 2007, Wednesday
"Alright Jina. Give me the controls," Luke said as he and his apprentice began their descent into the cloudy, foggy atmosphere of Dagobah. Leaving Clak'dor VI and their prisoner behind, it was time to spend a few days training Jina and preparing for her trial in the same cave that Luke once faced. "Hold on. It's going to get bumpy." Luke quickly shifted back and forth on the control panel trying to provide the smoothest ride in the turbulent upper atmosphere.
"I can't see anything!" Jina worried - her meager pilot instincts taking over. "There's nothing on the scanner either!"
"It's okay. I've been here before. The trick is to ride the turbulence until we get to the bottom... Also use the Force." Luke smiled at himself. After ten minutes of shaking and a ride that nearly gave Jina a permanent fear of landing they entered the calmer, lower atmosphere. It was still foggy and impossible to see, but Luke knew where he was. The familiar feeling of a place he would never forget warmed his heart, and thoughts of his old Master flashed in his mind. "How are we going to land?" Asked Jina referring to the obvious lack of visibility.
"You're going to wait till it clears up a bit then bring her down where I tell you." Luke got up and started heading to the back.
"You want me to land the ship? In this?" Jina asked completely stunned.
"The fog will clear up in a few hours. Until then keep the ship steady while I prepare our landing area. I don't think there's a spot on this planet that could fit a freighter like this."
Opening up the ship's door Luke took a deep breath of Dagobah's dense air. The fog was thick, but a few of the tree tops were visible which told Luke they were close enough to the ground. He focused for a moment, becoming one with the trees, land and water - feeling the Force flow between himself and the land - then confidently flipped down from the ship landing seventy feet below where his X-wing once rested.
The patch of ground that Luke once knew was now mostly overrun by plants and debris, and it would take a serious effort to clear a space for his large freighter. I guess I'll start over here then, Luke said to himself as he unhooked his lightsaber and began hacking away at the vines and trees. After an hour of clearing away the small stuff he turned to the large trees and uneven ground using the Force to take care of both. In total, it took Luke two-and-a-half hours to clear out a decent landing area, and the back breaking work was reflected in the sweat that poured down from his face.
After landing the ship, Jina stepped out onto the moist ground taking a breath of the thick air and immediately felt uncomfortable. "Did we really have to come here?" Asked Jina, annoyed.
"You'll get used to it," replied Luke knowing all too well the way he felt when he first arrived.
"There are too many bugs and things! I'm sleeping in the ship!" Jina folded her arms defiantly.
Luke laughed as he sat down on a nearby log, "We're going to sleep in my master's old home. It's cramped, but I think we can manage it."
"As long as we don't have to stay out here," Jina said as she stood just outside the ship refusing to enter her new environment.
Luke laughed again. "Actually his home is made out of an old tree. I think you'll like it," Luke teased. "Anyway, you're here to train so stop worrying about the bugs and start focusing. Your first lesson is to become one with the environment - The trees, the rocks, the water, the ground. Focus and feel the Force as it flows around you. Pay attention to how it moves - Its relationship between different things."
Reluctantly Jina climbed out of her shell and began exploring the surroundings while Luke unloaded their things from the ship. The overabundance of life in the Dagobah swamps radiated Force energy so powerful Jina felt like she could feel it like a mist across her skin. From a tree to a rock, from the rock to a bug fluttering by the Force flowed everywhere, and as the day progressed Jina began to better understand its relationship to the things around her. For someone who used to wonder at a power she had but could not understand Jina's first lesson on Dagobah was an engrossing experience.
After spending the day wandering about and studying the Force Jina now found herself on one side of Yoda's old hut wrapped up in a cacoon of blankets, staring at Luke who was trying to fall asleep. She still had the lesson of the day on her mind and a million questions that needed to be answered so she tried to start a conversation. "So you left R5 in the ship?"
"What? Yeah. I don't need him mucking up his circuits."
"Oh... Um. Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Luke opened his eyes to the dim lantern light and looked over at Jina.
"Well today I noticed how... the Force is everywhere. But how much of that Force can we use? What is the limit of a Jedi's ability?"
Impressed with her question Luke became more alert, "Well... I don't know. I guess we're only limited by our natural ability and dedication. Obiwan once told me a story about how Master Yoda kept an A-class freighter from taking off. I'm not talking about a tiny E-class like ours - I mean the ones that haul things like Star Destroyer engine parts. They were chasing a dangerous pirate and Master Yoda used the Force to keep the ship from taking off until Obiwan could board it. That's the greatest feat I've ever heard someone accomplish with the Force, but why are you so interested in becoming powerful all of a sudden?"
"I'm not. I just want to know my limitations."
"If you keep thinking like that you'll never be a Jedi. You have to open your mind and believe that with the Force on your side anything is possible. Not get to sleep. We have a lot of training to do."
After an uncomfortable night's sleep in the open swamp air Jina now found herself in a handstand training in the early morning. The purpose of the exercise was to concentrate and use the Force on multiple tasks independent of one another. To date this was the hardest training she had ever undergone, and with each barked command from Luke her contempt for her new training ground grew.
All around Jina rocks, containers and tree branches floated about doing different things; a rock orbited around her, a branch twirled about. Drops of sweat gushed from her drenched body as she struggled to focus on them all. "Excellent! You have control of seven objects including yourself, but now I want you to stand on one hand," ordered Luke. "As a Jedi you need to adapt to increasing stress while maintaining your focus." Slowly Jina shifted her weight to her right hand never losing control of the objects about her. As she centered herself she could feel the Force flowing around her between the objects she manipulated, and between herself. "Yes!" Luke continued, amazed at Jina's natural Force ability.
As Jina continued on Luke picked up the lightsaber staff Bellek had given him and began looking it over. It was five feet long and organic looking. It looked more like a tree branch than a metal tube. Surprisingly it wasn't as heavy as it looked and was well balanced making it easier to handle. Luke hadn't the slightest idea how to wield such a weapon, but he was determined to learn how. "Do you know how to use that?" Asked Jina as she walked up and sat next to Luke.
"What? Are you done already?"
"I'm tired. I barely slept last night with all of the bugs, and my back hurts from the floor." Jina complained.
"Yeah? Well I had to sneak around a Star Destroyer's maintenance shaft for over a week. Being a Jedi is hard sometimes, and you may have to put up with horrible conditions so get used to it."
Jina frowned and looked away before turning her attention to Luke's new lightsaber staff. "Do you know how to use that? When I fought the old man I couldn't even get close to him."
"In the right hands this is an amazing weapon. Too bad I don't know anything about it. I plan to learn though, and you are too! In fact that's what we'll do next." Luke eyed the staff in awe.
"Isn't that a lightsaber from the Dark Side?" Jina asked confused about Luke's desire to use the lightsaber staff Bellek gave him.
Luke sighed. "Bellek was a sad old man, or jedi I should say, who made some bad decisions that led him down the dark path. He wasn't all evil, but even if he was it wouldn't have any effect on this weapon or any weapon for that matter. The Dark Side has nothing to do with this."
"How did Bellek become evil? I thought he was a Jedi."
Luke turned towards Jina and held the staff close as he spoke, "I've never really taught you anything about the Dark Side, but it's time I did. In fact that's the reason we're here. We came here so that you could confront the Dark Side and prepare yourself for the final test before becoming a Knight.
See to become a Jedi knight an apprentice has to prove three things: skill with a lightsaber, control of the Force and the will to overcome the Dark Side. Master Yoda called it the trails of La'Kai Taa - Named after the Jedi Master who concluded that these three things were what defined a Jedi Knight. Of the three tests the trial of the Dark Side is considered to be the most important because it shows that you can overcome the temptation of the Dark Side."
Jina became pale and scared at the thought of confronting the dark unknown. "What happens if you fail?"
Immediately Luke thought of his sister and the trial that awaited her at his hand. "Well if you fail and don't get consumed by the Dark Side you get to try again. It's not like the Dark Side stops testing you when you become a Jedi. It's always there, and a lot of good Jedi have succumbed to it."
"But why do Jedi turn to the Dark Side after so long? Is it because its stronger?"
"No. The Dark Side isn't stronger. Those who choose to walk its path tend to focus on aggression and fear so it may seem stronger, but it's not. The Dark Side is easier and more inviting. It feeds off of our natural tendency to be selfish and angry so it's easy to fall under its influence. Anyway, that's enough for now. Go get your lightsaber so I can try this staff out."
Jina continued to train for three days never getting used to the swampy, bug filled environment. Luke also began practicing with his new lightsaber staff using Jina as much as he could to learn his way around the weapon. As usual Jina did wonderfully when it came to Force, and it was no surprise to see her absorb and understand things so quickly, but today she would face the unknown darkness that made her afraid just a few days earlier.
On the morning of the fifth day Jina slowly woke up at her leisure and noticed Luke wasn't in the hut. When she checked the time she was surprised to see it was five hours past her usual wake up call at six in the morning. Jina didn't think too much about it getting dressed and finding something to eat happy to have gotten the extra rest, but after breakfast she began to worry. She crawled outside and looked around, but Luke was nowhere to be seen. She walked to the training area of the previous day then to the ship, but no Luke. Jina sat on a log next to the ship for almost an hour before finally noticing Luke's presence a short distance away. This is probably another test to see how fast I would notice him, Jina complained.
Around some water and through a slew of trees Jina traveled preparing herself for another lecture. In the distance she could see Luke sitting on a rock fiddling with his staff, and started towards him completely unaware of the place she was approaching. "I'm sorry it took me so long. I woke up late, and I sat by the--"
"It's okay," Luke interrupted Jina's list of excuses. His face and tone were somber, and he didn't look up at her as he drew lines in the ground with his staff trying to hide his concern for his student.
Luke's strange behavior quickly raised Jina's suspicions. She also began to hug herself feeling an unusual chill. "What's wrong? Are we going to train today?"
"Maybe later," Luke continued drawing on the ground.
Before Jina could probe further she finally noticed the aura around her. "It feels strange... I feel a dark presence."
"It's that cave." Luke pointed to his left with his staff.
"What's in there?"
"The Dark Side of the Force... And you have to go inside."
Jina was about to ask another question, but the serious look on Luke's face stopped her. It was clear that she needed to enter the cave and no amount of questions would make it seem better. Without another word she turned and began walking towards a large rock hidden beneath an overgrowth of trees and vines. At the base of one of the trees was the black hole that marked the entrance down, and the more Jina looked at it the more she thought of it as her final resting place. Her fear mingled with the unusual swirl of emotions this place instilling upon her, and with each step she felt more uncomfortable.
She slowly cleared away the brush and vines, but there was nothing to see in the darkness below. The thought of rushing back to get a flashlight sent a wave of relief down her body, but she knew it was out of the question now. Grabbing onto a vine Jina slid down the steep slope about ten feet and found herself at the entrance of a large cave that, to her surprise, wasn't pitch black. As she stepped inside she could see the light creeping in from holes in the rock above, but there was nothing to see except dirt, moss, tree roots and the occasional bug or lizard.
In spite of the mundane appearance the presence of evil, anger and fear were weighing down on Jina so much she had to catch herself twice as she slowly walked into the heart of the cave. As she held herself tightly the air began to change and everything slowed down. Her vision became blurry and for a few moments it was hard to breathe. She stumbled on cautiously then stopped before an unusually bright area at the back. There didn't seem to be much more to the cave beyond the light, but as she looked on she noticed something on the floor. She walked forward avoiding the glare and stopped at four bodies laying on the ground face down in pools of their own blood.
Jina could barely see but she recognized who they were, and as she rolled over her dead mother, sister and father the paralysis of fear spiked through her body. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down in shock now growing angry that Luke would send her down into such a hell. Is this the life of a Jedi, Jina began to question. Is this my fault? Minutes after weeping over her dead family she finally crawled over to the final body and as she rolled it over Luke's face turned up with eyes wide open startling her, but before she could react a man walked out of the shadows behind Luke and presented himself under one of the tiny rays of light as an Imperial officer. "Is this your fault!" Jina screamed. "Did you do this!" The officer only smiled as he looked down with contempt. Jina's hand reached for her lightsaber, but grabbing air she remembered leaving her belt in the hut. Rage started to build up inside her as the arrogant face of the officer looked on. Jina was burning up with anger, with a desire for revenge, but she could not decide on what to do. She closed her eyes and screamed as loud as she could not being able to contain the explosion of emotions inside her, and when she finished and resolved herself to sit on the ground trembling she was alone again.
For Jina it was a lifetime, but the whole ordeal lasted less than twenty minutes. As Jina crawled out of the muddy hole dirty, scared and tired Luke stood ready to greet her. Her dirt covered face was pale and locked in a grim expression that hurt Luke to see. He wanted to ask if she was okay, but clearly she was not - no one ever came out of the cave okay Master Yoda had said. The important thing, the only thing that mattered was if the test was passed or failed.
Jina took a few steps finally out of the nightmare she never wanted to remember and stumbled into Luke's arms. She began crying hysterically as Luke held her up. "It's okay now. You're okay," Luke tried to encourage. "It's over." He led Jina over to the rock he was sitting at when Jina first arrived and sat her down offering some water he had at hand. Thirty minutes later Jina was better and finally ready to talk. "It was horrible," Jina whispered with the raspy voice of a sore throat.
"I need you to tell me what happened," Luke asked in the softest voice possible.
Jina didn't want to go over the events of the cave, but she knew it was important. "I saw my family... they were dead. Then I saw you... dead. Finally an Imperial officer stood in front of me and smiled... I wanted to kill him..."
"Did you do anything to him?" Luke asked the critical question.
"I reached for my lightsaber... but I didn't have it. I was so angry... but I just sat there..."
"You did good Jina. You did good."
Luke stood up proud that his student had passed the test and overcome the desire to act out the fear and anger she was feeling. It was a good sign of Jina's strength and maturity, but the final test was yet to come. "I want to move my family to the Republic," Jina blurted out of nowhere. "I don't want them living in that... that place anymore!"
"What?" Luke threw Jina a confused look.
"Oh God. What if they're already dead!"
"Wait. Calm down," Luke motioned to Jina. "I'm not dead so I'm sure your family is okay too."
"We need to leave! I need to go see them now!" Jina got up and began walking towards the camp.
Luke wagged his head at his apprentice and closed his eyes. He focused on Tatooine and Jina's family and felt their presence alive and well. "Jina. Your family is okay. Don't abandon the Force in a time of desperation. That's when we need the Force the most."
Jina stopped and took a deep breath focusing and centering herself within the Force. "I still want them to move. When we get back promise me that'll be the first thing we do."
Luke nodded, "Okay."
To Be Continued...
"I can't see anything!" Jina worried - her meager pilot instincts taking over. "There's nothing on the scanner either!"
"It's okay. I've been here before. The trick is to ride the turbulence until we get to the bottom... Also use the Force." Luke smiled at himself. After ten minutes of shaking and a ride that nearly gave Jina a permanent fear of landing they entered the calmer, lower atmosphere. It was still foggy and impossible to see, but Luke knew where he was. The familiar feeling of a place he would never forget warmed his heart, and thoughts of his old Master flashed in his mind. "How are we going to land?" Asked Jina referring to the obvious lack of visibility.
"You're going to wait till it clears up a bit then bring her down where I tell you." Luke got up and started heading to the back.
"You want me to land the ship? In this?" Jina asked completely stunned.
"The fog will clear up in a few hours. Until then keep the ship steady while I prepare our landing area. I don't think there's a spot on this planet that could fit a freighter like this."
Opening up the ship's door Luke took a deep breath of Dagobah's dense air. The fog was thick, but a few of the tree tops were visible which told Luke they were close enough to the ground. He focused for a moment, becoming one with the trees, land and water - feeling the Force flow between himself and the land - then confidently flipped down from the ship landing seventy feet below where his X-wing once rested.
The patch of ground that Luke once knew was now mostly overrun by plants and debris, and it would take a serious effort to clear a space for his large freighter. I guess I'll start over here then, Luke said to himself as he unhooked his lightsaber and began hacking away at the vines and trees. After an hour of clearing away the small stuff he turned to the large trees and uneven ground using the Force to take care of both. In total, it took Luke two-and-a-half hours to clear out a decent landing area, and the back breaking work was reflected in the sweat that poured down from his face.
After landing the ship, Jina stepped out onto the moist ground taking a breath of the thick air and immediately felt uncomfortable. "Did we really have to come here?" Asked Jina, annoyed.
"You'll get used to it," replied Luke knowing all too well the way he felt when he first arrived.
"There are too many bugs and things! I'm sleeping in the ship!" Jina folded her arms defiantly.
Luke laughed as he sat down on a nearby log, "We're going to sleep in my master's old home. It's cramped, but I think we can manage it."
"As long as we don't have to stay out here," Jina said as she stood just outside the ship refusing to enter her new environment.
Luke laughed again. "Actually his home is made out of an old tree. I think you'll like it," Luke teased. "Anyway, you're here to train so stop worrying about the bugs and start focusing. Your first lesson is to become one with the environment - The trees, the rocks, the water, the ground. Focus and feel the Force as it flows around you. Pay attention to how it moves - Its relationship between different things."
Reluctantly Jina climbed out of her shell and began exploring the surroundings while Luke unloaded their things from the ship. The overabundance of life in the Dagobah swamps radiated Force energy so powerful Jina felt like she could feel it like a mist across her skin. From a tree to a rock, from the rock to a bug fluttering by the Force flowed everywhere, and as the day progressed Jina began to better understand its relationship to the things around her. For someone who used to wonder at a power she had but could not understand Jina's first lesson on Dagobah was an engrossing experience.
After spending the day wandering about and studying the Force Jina now found herself on one side of Yoda's old hut wrapped up in a cacoon of blankets, staring at Luke who was trying to fall asleep. She still had the lesson of the day on her mind and a million questions that needed to be answered so she tried to start a conversation. "So you left R5 in the ship?"
"What? Yeah. I don't need him mucking up his circuits."
"Oh... Um. Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Luke opened his eyes to the dim lantern light and looked over at Jina.
"Well today I noticed how... the Force is everywhere. But how much of that Force can we use? What is the limit of a Jedi's ability?"
Impressed with her question Luke became more alert, "Well... I don't know. I guess we're only limited by our natural ability and dedication. Obiwan once told me a story about how Master Yoda kept an A-class freighter from taking off. I'm not talking about a tiny E-class like ours - I mean the ones that haul things like Star Destroyer engine parts. They were chasing a dangerous pirate and Master Yoda used the Force to keep the ship from taking off until Obiwan could board it. That's the greatest feat I've ever heard someone accomplish with the Force, but why are you so interested in becoming powerful all of a sudden?"
"I'm not. I just want to know my limitations."
"If you keep thinking like that you'll never be a Jedi. You have to open your mind and believe that with the Force on your side anything is possible. Not get to sleep. We have a lot of training to do."
After an uncomfortable night's sleep in the open swamp air Jina now found herself in a handstand training in the early morning. The purpose of the exercise was to concentrate and use the Force on multiple tasks independent of one another. To date this was the hardest training she had ever undergone, and with each barked command from Luke her contempt for her new training ground grew.
All around Jina rocks, containers and tree branches floated about doing different things; a rock orbited around her, a branch twirled about. Drops of sweat gushed from her drenched body as she struggled to focus on them all. "Excellent! You have control of seven objects including yourself, but now I want you to stand on one hand," ordered Luke. "As a Jedi you need to adapt to increasing stress while maintaining your focus." Slowly Jina shifted her weight to her right hand never losing control of the objects about her. As she centered herself she could feel the Force flowing around her between the objects she manipulated, and between herself. "Yes!" Luke continued, amazed at Jina's natural Force ability.
As Jina continued on Luke picked up the lightsaber staff Bellek had given him and began looking it over. It was five feet long and organic looking. It looked more like a tree branch than a metal tube. Surprisingly it wasn't as heavy as it looked and was well balanced making it easier to handle. Luke hadn't the slightest idea how to wield such a weapon, but he was determined to learn how. "Do you know how to use that?" Asked Jina as she walked up and sat next to Luke.
"What? Are you done already?"
"I'm tired. I barely slept last night with all of the bugs, and my back hurts from the floor." Jina complained.
"Yeah? Well I had to sneak around a Star Destroyer's maintenance shaft for over a week. Being a Jedi is hard sometimes, and you may have to put up with horrible conditions so get used to it."
Jina frowned and looked away before turning her attention to Luke's new lightsaber staff. "Do you know how to use that? When I fought the old man I couldn't even get close to him."
"In the right hands this is an amazing weapon. Too bad I don't know anything about it. I plan to learn though, and you are too! In fact that's what we'll do next." Luke eyed the staff in awe.
"Isn't that a lightsaber from the Dark Side?" Jina asked confused about Luke's desire to use the lightsaber staff Bellek gave him.
Luke sighed. "Bellek was a sad old man, or jedi I should say, who made some bad decisions that led him down the dark path. He wasn't all evil, but even if he was it wouldn't have any effect on this weapon or any weapon for that matter. The Dark Side has nothing to do with this."
"How did Bellek become evil? I thought he was a Jedi."
Luke turned towards Jina and held the staff close as he spoke, "I've never really taught you anything about the Dark Side, but it's time I did. In fact that's the reason we're here. We came here so that you could confront the Dark Side and prepare yourself for the final test before becoming a Knight.
See to become a Jedi knight an apprentice has to prove three things: skill with a lightsaber, control of the Force and the will to overcome the Dark Side. Master Yoda called it the trails of La'Kai Taa - Named after the Jedi Master who concluded that these three things were what defined a Jedi Knight. Of the three tests the trial of the Dark Side is considered to be the most important because it shows that you can overcome the temptation of the Dark Side."
Jina became pale and scared at the thought of confronting the dark unknown. "What happens if you fail?"
Immediately Luke thought of his sister and the trial that awaited her at his hand. "Well if you fail and don't get consumed by the Dark Side you get to try again. It's not like the Dark Side stops testing you when you become a Jedi. It's always there, and a lot of good Jedi have succumbed to it."
"But why do Jedi turn to the Dark Side after so long? Is it because its stronger?"
"No. The Dark Side isn't stronger. Those who choose to walk its path tend to focus on aggression and fear so it may seem stronger, but it's not. The Dark Side is easier and more inviting. It feeds off of our natural tendency to be selfish and angry so it's easy to fall under its influence. Anyway, that's enough for now. Go get your lightsaber so I can try this staff out."
Jina continued to train for three days never getting used to the swampy, bug filled environment. Luke also began practicing with his new lightsaber staff using Jina as much as he could to learn his way around the weapon. As usual Jina did wonderfully when it came to Force, and it was no surprise to see her absorb and understand things so quickly, but today she would face the unknown darkness that made her afraid just a few days earlier.
On the morning of the fifth day Jina slowly woke up at her leisure and noticed Luke wasn't in the hut. When she checked the time she was surprised to see it was five hours past her usual wake up call at six in the morning. Jina didn't think too much about it getting dressed and finding something to eat happy to have gotten the extra rest, but after breakfast she began to worry. She crawled outside and looked around, but Luke was nowhere to be seen. She walked to the training area of the previous day then to the ship, but no Luke. Jina sat on a log next to the ship for almost an hour before finally noticing Luke's presence a short distance away. This is probably another test to see how fast I would notice him, Jina complained.
Around some water and through a slew of trees Jina traveled preparing herself for another lecture. In the distance she could see Luke sitting on a rock fiddling with his staff, and started towards him completely unaware of the place she was approaching. "I'm sorry it took me so long. I woke up late, and I sat by the--"
"It's okay," Luke interrupted Jina's list of excuses. His face and tone were somber, and he didn't look up at her as he drew lines in the ground with his staff trying to hide his concern for his student.
Luke's strange behavior quickly raised Jina's suspicions. She also began to hug herself feeling an unusual chill. "What's wrong? Are we going to train today?"
"Maybe later," Luke continued drawing on the ground.
Before Jina could probe further she finally noticed the aura around her. "It feels strange... I feel a dark presence."
"It's that cave." Luke pointed to his left with his staff.
"What's in there?"
"The Dark Side of the Force... And you have to go inside."
Jina was about to ask another question, but the serious look on Luke's face stopped her. It was clear that she needed to enter the cave and no amount of questions would make it seem better. Without another word she turned and began walking towards a large rock hidden beneath an overgrowth of trees and vines. At the base of one of the trees was the black hole that marked the entrance down, and the more Jina looked at it the more she thought of it as her final resting place. Her fear mingled with the unusual swirl of emotions this place instilling upon her, and with each step she felt more uncomfortable.
She slowly cleared away the brush and vines, but there was nothing to see in the darkness below. The thought of rushing back to get a flashlight sent a wave of relief down her body, but she knew it was out of the question now. Grabbing onto a vine Jina slid down the steep slope about ten feet and found herself at the entrance of a large cave that, to her surprise, wasn't pitch black. As she stepped inside she could see the light creeping in from holes in the rock above, but there was nothing to see except dirt, moss, tree roots and the occasional bug or lizard.
In spite of the mundane appearance the presence of evil, anger and fear were weighing down on Jina so much she had to catch herself twice as she slowly walked into the heart of the cave. As she held herself tightly the air began to change and everything slowed down. Her vision became blurry and for a few moments it was hard to breathe. She stumbled on cautiously then stopped before an unusually bright area at the back. There didn't seem to be much more to the cave beyond the light, but as she looked on she noticed something on the floor. She walked forward avoiding the glare and stopped at four bodies laying on the ground face down in pools of their own blood.
Jina could barely see but she recognized who they were, and as she rolled over her dead mother, sister and father the paralysis of fear spiked through her body. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down in shock now growing angry that Luke would send her down into such a hell. Is this the life of a Jedi, Jina began to question. Is this my fault? Minutes after weeping over her dead family she finally crawled over to the final body and as she rolled it over Luke's face turned up with eyes wide open startling her, but before she could react a man walked out of the shadows behind Luke and presented himself under one of the tiny rays of light as an Imperial officer. "Is this your fault!" Jina screamed. "Did you do this!" The officer only smiled as he looked down with contempt. Jina's hand reached for her lightsaber, but grabbing air she remembered leaving her belt in the hut. Rage started to build up inside her as the arrogant face of the officer looked on. Jina was burning up with anger, with a desire for revenge, but she could not decide on what to do. She closed her eyes and screamed as loud as she could not being able to contain the explosion of emotions inside her, and when she finished and resolved herself to sit on the ground trembling she was alone again.
For Jina it was a lifetime, but the whole ordeal lasted less than twenty minutes. As Jina crawled out of the muddy hole dirty, scared and tired Luke stood ready to greet her. Her dirt covered face was pale and locked in a grim expression that hurt Luke to see. He wanted to ask if she was okay, but clearly she was not - no one ever came out of the cave okay Master Yoda had said. The important thing, the only thing that mattered was if the test was passed or failed.
Jina took a few steps finally out of the nightmare she never wanted to remember and stumbled into Luke's arms. She began crying hysterically as Luke held her up. "It's okay now. You're okay," Luke tried to encourage. "It's over." He led Jina over to the rock he was sitting at when Jina first arrived and sat her down offering some water he had at hand. Thirty minutes later Jina was better and finally ready to talk. "It was horrible," Jina whispered with the raspy voice of a sore throat.
"I need you to tell me what happened," Luke asked in the softest voice possible.
Jina didn't want to go over the events of the cave, but she knew it was important. "I saw my family... they were dead. Then I saw you... dead. Finally an Imperial officer stood in front of me and smiled... I wanted to kill him..."
"Did you do anything to him?" Luke asked the critical question.
"I reached for my lightsaber... but I didn't have it. I was so angry... but I just sat there..."
"You did good Jina. You did good."
Luke stood up proud that his student had passed the test and overcome the desire to act out the fear and anger she was feeling. It was a good sign of Jina's strength and maturity, but the final test was yet to come. "I want to move my family to the Republic," Jina blurted out of nowhere. "I don't want them living in that... that place anymore!"
"What?" Luke threw Jina a confused look.
"Oh God. What if they're already dead!"
"Wait. Calm down," Luke motioned to Jina. "I'm not dead so I'm sure your family is okay too."
"We need to leave! I need to go see them now!" Jina got up and began walking towards the camp.
Luke wagged his head at his apprentice and closed his eyes. He focused on Tatooine and Jina's family and felt their presence alive and well. "Jina. Your family is okay. Don't abandon the Force in a time of desperation. That's when we need the Force the most."
Jina stopped and took a deep breath focusing and centering herself within the Force. "I still want them to move. When we get back promise me that'll be the first thing we do."
Luke nodded, "Okay."
To Be Continued...
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