Chapter 25: The Padawan's Weakness
Rey looked at her adorable Padawan and nodded, forcing her voice to sound calm and not irritated with everything, “Yah, let's do that.”
The girl cheered, and the two went over to a fancy long-distance transmitter on a set of drawers. They plunged in the right coordinates and waited for their single to get picked up. Ten minutes later, the static warped into the holographic image of an older Mirialan couple. Fama let out a happy squeal as the parents cued.
The mother cried, “Oh my little lime, you look so beautiful.”
The father smiled happily and added, “We've missed you so much.”
Fama wasn't so sappy and immediately blurted, “It's been so cool. We smuggled secret information and fought pirates. Now we're on Curasuant.”
The parents looked worried, though Rey smiled and waved, barely managing to get in a word while Fama tried to rant, “ It wasn't too dangerous. We're both fine. I'll let you three get caught up.” She then ducked to the office area and put a damp cloth on her forehead.
Rey knew she could not afford to rest yet and had to prepare mentally for the upcoming days. The peace talks were looming. She and Primidian were bound by an agreement. The Peace Seekers were struggling in the dark. Finn was causing problems everywhere. The galaxy was still full of strife and crawling with pirates, gangsters, and other villains. While the people in power she had met so far had been a real letdown.
She wanted to do something about it all. Arrest the corrupt plot island. Hunt down the pirates. Save the people who were sick, starving, and abandoned. But she had to be surrounded by comfort and luxury in this lavish room. She didn't like it, but she had to be here, in this moment of history, to ensure the Galaxy was set on the right path. It felt like she was doing nothing and being vain, though Rey told herself she was making a difference. Once the talks were over, she would return to her true mission, restoring the Jedi and helping those in need.
Her worrying was interrupted by a familiar beeping sound, which caused her eyes to fly open. She took the towel off, blurting, “BB-8.” Looking over, she saw her favorite droid rolling in her direction. It let out a happy series of beeps in various tones. Rey smiled, her mood spontaneously becoming better, “You troublemaker, where have you been.”
The droid rolled back while beeping before rolling forward to bump her legs.
Rey rolled her eyes and retorted to it, “I've been busy with a mission. Not loafing around like some droids.”
BB-8 released a disgruntled series of beeps that turned sad at the end.
The Jedi sighed at this and consoled it, “Alright, manning the Millennium Falcon is an important job.” Her eyes lit up as she asked, “Does that mean Chewies here.”
BB-8 nodded and made a wooing sound.
Rey was happy to hear this reply, “Good, it'll be sure to visit him.” She then furrowed her brow, “Wait, who let you in here.”
A familiar voice chimed, “I did.” Finn appeared in the room's doorway, munching on an apple, and added with his mouth full, “Your room is a lot nicer than mine.” He swallowed his bite but took another before continuing, “And why is Fama calling her parents. I thought you said you were going to stop that ages ago. It's about time she got over her familial attachments; if not, she'll turn out bad.” The Jedi Knight noticed the vein throbbing on the side of his friend's head and blurted, “Wow, what's wrong with you. You look mad.”
Rey was indeed angry; in fact, she was furious. Finn had the audacity to cause trouble at the Peace talks, practically ruin the Jedis' image, adopt a bunch of teenagers as Padawans, and then come here and say Fama would turn out bad just because she loved her family. Something inside her snapped. She slammed the door to the study closed with the Force and shouted, “Finn, you absolute idiot. How dare you come here and tell me how to train my Padawan.”
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He recoiled but grew defensive, blurting, “Hey, I'm just trying to help.”
Hearing this, the Jedi Master lost it. She lurched to her feet, shouting, her voice shrill with anger, “Help? You're screwing everything up. You're so obsessed with getting revenge against the Imperials you're ruining our chances for peace. You're drowning yourself in politics and trying to take a bunch of teenagers as your Padawans. How is any of that helping?”
Finn looked shocked, as though he had been slapped across the face. Quickly, this was replaced by frustration as he lurched up, shouting back, “I want justice. The imperials have to pay for what they did. If we don't punish them, then they will try and rise again until they destroy us.” He tried to calm down and snorted before adding in a disappointed tone, “I thought you knew that. All you've done since you got here is kiss up.”
Rey clenched a fist, also trying to calm herself, but anger radiated through her. It was a kind of natural anger nut rich with the presence of the Dark Side, though she could still feel its faint presence trying to subtly manipulate her feelings. She growled back in a voice full of controlled rage, “Finn, we're here to make peace. We need to let some things go. Those who need to be punished will, but we need to have our priorities…”
She was going to continue, but Finn interrupted her growing frustration once more, “Right, priorities. So what if we sign treaties and agree to all be friends. If we deal with snakes, we're setting ourselves up to be betrayed. Marcus has told me…”
The Jedi master was frustrated beyond reason at this point, feeling looked down upon and disrespected. She interrupted her friend, snapping, “So you're going to take a politician's word over me. Your Master.” Her voice grew pained as she added, “Your friend.”
Finn looked conflicted at this, but after a moment of anger retired to his eyes, and he responded coldly, “Rey, I won't stand down from doing what I believe to be right. That's what it means to be a Jedi. Even if I make enemies or step on politicians' toes. I won't let anyone stop me, not even you.”
Rey felt her heartache at this. The bitter sting of betrayal could only be afflicted by a dear friend. She wanted to cry and sob but knew she counted back down. Rather, a flurry of emotions filled her mind as she shouted, “You think you know everything, don't you? Well, you're wrong. You don't even know the start of it. If you continue acting like this, you’ll…” She hesitated, remembering Primidian had told her to keep the Peace Seekers Alliance a secret from Finn, and now she understood why. He had changed more than she had realized in the last couple of years. She stopped herself from continuing and looked away, unable to meet her friend's gaze.
Finn grew upset and blurted, his emotions still rising: “What will I cause? What don't I know.”
Rey looked back at him and responded, “If I could trust you, I would tell you…” She then paused and, almost in a whisper, added, “But I can't.”
The Jedi Knight froze as if not processing everything he had just heard. He barely managed to get out, “You don't trust me.”
Rey felt torn as pain radiated from her heart. She responded as best she could, “Not when it comes to this.” She took a breath and said, “I'm doing everything I can for the sake of the future. Finn, I need you on my side.”
The young man looked stunned, though he responded in a voice that portrayed his anger and pain, “Rey, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm going to do what's right no matter what.” He angrily added, “When you're ready to do the same, you know we're to find me.”
Rey watched her former Padawan turn and leave, radiating sadness and anger. He was a mass of cold and darkness in the Force, and Rey knew she wasn't much better. He hesitated at the door momentarily but didn't say a word and didn't turn back.
Once he left the room, Rey collapsed onto her chair as hot tears rolled from her eyes. Finn was one of her best friends. How things had become like this, she didn't know. It suddenly dawned on her that this was why the Jedi had been resolved to stay out of politics. It was easier to stay united by the Jedi Code and its vows, but in the arena of politics, even a slight difference in views could make even good friends into enemies.
At this point, Fama appeared at the door looking nervous and asked meekly, “Is everything alright.”
The Jedi Master whiled her check and miffed her runny nose before putting on a fake smile, “Everything's fine. You should head to bed.”
The young, green-skinned Mirialan ignored this recommendation and walked in, growing solemn, “Finn’s not going to behave, is he.”
Rey let out a breath, still trying to calm herself for her Padawan's sake, before shaking her head, “Probably not.” The girl arrived at her Master's side, at which Rey had a silly idea and asked, “What do you think about that?”
Fama's brow singled before she responded, “He should have better manners. He's too proud. You guys can't fix everything bad in the Galaxy. And it'd be wrong to try and force the Jedi Code on everyone; it's really hard.”
Rey raised an eyebrow, surprised by the maturity of this response. However, she then asked accusingly, “Were you eavesdropping?”
Fama's checks went dark green as she blushed and responded, “You guys were shouting. I could already hear most of it.”
The Jedi Master shook her head, feeling ashamed, and grumbled, “Great.” She then picked the girl up and put her on her knee, wanting the child near her. The pain in Rey's heart was still just as sharp, but Fama's presence helped keep her mind off it. She asked the girl, wanting to turn this embarrassing display into a lesson, “What are your thoughts and what we should do as Jedi?”
The girl considered this for a while and said, “I think we should do what helps the most people.”