The Path of Dreams

~Chapter 12~

Mara Jade Skywalker’s Office, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Jysella entered the office of her Master, and smiled at the older woman who sat behind the simple desk. Pushing her long wavy red-gold hair behind her ear, Mara returned Jysella’s smile and said, “Please, Jys, sit down.”

Jys nodded and took the seat before the metal desk. Mara leaned over her folded arms as she happily stated, “I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you, Jysella. You have been a pleasure to teach this past year.”

Jys averted her eyes as she softly replied, “Thank you, Master. But you’ve been a great teacher.” She then looked up at Mara and went on, “It’s been a real privilege to study with you.”

Mara smiled and nodded her acknowledgement of the compliment. Then she announced, “I believe that you are more than ready for your trials, Jysella. I have talked to the rest of the Council about your skill and your talents and we are all in agreement.”

Jysella swallowed as she realized that she couldn’t hedge the fact that Mara wanted her to move on. She and Mara had a wonderful relationship; they always had ever since she was little. Her mother and Mara were close friends, and had been since before Mara became a Jedi or was even married to Luke. Recently, though, Jysella could tell there was a tension between her Master and her that had never been there before. Part of the strain came from the issue of Jysella’s readiness for the trials but, Jys knew the greatest part came from her relationship with Ben.

“Thanks, Master. I will not disappoint you,” she quietly responded. There was nothing more she could do. If she wanted this path for herself, she had to move on. She knew she was ready for the next step. She wanted to be a Jedi, she wanted to go on missions and help people. She missed that part of her apprenticeship, because Mara was more involved with the Council than actively going on missions as often as Kirana Ti had.

However, she wondered what would become of Ben if she was sent away and what would become of her. She knew they had become too attached to each other. They hadn’t said so but she knew they both wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. They just wished their families wanted them too.

Mara smiled, stood and came around the desk to lean against the front. After folding her arms over her chest she went on to announce. “I know that this may seem sudden especially with what’s going on with Valin, but I’ve went ahead and made the arrangements. We will leave for Ossus next week after your birthday. Then when we come back, I’m sure the Council will have a mission for you.”

Jys forced a smile and quietly said with trepidation, “I’ll be ready.”

~~~

Skywalker Apartment, Temple District, Coruscant

“You know, I really don’t care that you don’t want me to do this,” Ben yelled at his father. “You don’t want me to do anything! If it was up to you, I’d probably spend my entire life locked away on Ossus.”

“Ben,” Luke was desperately trying to remain calm. “You are only sixteen years old. You are too young to be an officer in the military!”

Ben glared at Luke and shook his head, “Don’t give me that. Besides, I’ll be seventeen in less than five months. Admiral Darklighter was only sixteen when he joined Rogue Squadron and so was Jaina. They were, not only officers, but were also pilots.”

Luke was beyond frustrated. He was not only angry at Ben, but at Jacen for going behind Luke and Mara’s back and putting Ben in for a promotion. Ben was being made a lieutenant and their really wasn’t much either he or Mara could do. In the GA, sixteen-year-old humans could join the military without their parents’ permission, which was exactly what Ben did when they tried to force him to leave it. There was really nothing he and Mara could do. Despite the legality of Ben’s commission, it took all his training as a Jedi Master not to bellow at his son, “Ben, I forbid you from doing this!”

Ben turned and stared at Luke with his hands balled into fists, and with a defiance in his hard blue eyes that actually startled Luke. “You forbid me? You forbid me! Father, I may be your son, but I signed up to be part of GAG and now the 51st. Jacen sees my work as important and so do I. I didn’t come here to ask for your permission. I came here to tell you that this was going to happen.”

Luke watched as Ben moved toward the door with a heart that was as heavy as durocrete. He knew that there was nothing that he could do. Ben saw this as important and no amount of talking on Luke’s part was going to convince him otherwise. Finally, his son evenly said before leaving, “I just wanted to tell you and Mom. I thought that you’d want to be there at the promotion ceremony. That’s all.” Then he looked over his shoulder at Luke and the disappointment in Ben’s eyes and in his tone nearly caused the father in Luke to change his mind, “I just want you to be proud of me.”

Before Luke could say anything, Ben swiftly moved out the door, leaving Luke with his words dieing on his lips, “But I am, Son.”

~~~

GAG Headquarters, Coruscant

Jacen smiled as he saluted Lon Shevu and he reciprocated. Then he turned and faced those gathered and announced, “I present to you your new commander, Lt. Colonel Lon Shevu.”

The three hundred or so members the Galactic Alliance Guard, who were on planet and not involved in missions, broke from their strict stances to applaud their new leader. Lon then cleared his throat and simply said, “Emm—thank you, General, for this chance to follow in your footsteps as leader of this great organization. I know with your continued guidance as leader of the 51st Infantry, we will remain the last people those out there who want to do harm to our city or to our government want to see on their doorsteps.”

Lon’s words earned him a round of whopping and more applause, which when Jacen moved forward again quickly died down. Ben was nervous as he stood at ridged attention to the side of the small platform where the promotions were taking place. The next one to be promoted was a lieutenant to captain. He would become the second in command.

After the newly promoted Captain Doloma gave his short speech which echoed Lon’s robust sentiment, and then moved to stand beside Lon on the other side of the unit banner and holographic symbol of the GA, Jacen moved forward again. “Our last member to be recognized for his great contributions to the success of this unit is Sergeant Ben Skywalker.”

Ben stepped forward and remained standing at attention. He felt uncomfortable in the new grey dress uniform that became part of the GAG’s wardrobe since becoming integrated into the 51st. Then again, his discomfort could be from his nerves. Jacen stepped before him to remove his old rank insignia from his lapel and smiled. Ben felt his cousin’s pride and support through the Force, which helped to put Ben at ease some. Once the old rank was removed, Jacen reached over to pick the new insignia off the tray the unit’s military protocol droid held.

“Mr. Skywalker, I hereby promote you to rank of lieutenant in the Military Services of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances,” Jacen applied the new rank bars. He stepped back to salute Ben, and likewise he returned the salute just as smartly. “Congratulations, Lieutenant Skywalker.” Despite the formality, Ben heard the pride behind the words.

After the general moved to the side, another round of applause broke out for the youngest officer of the unit. In fact, Ben was the youngest officer within the entire 51st Infantry. Once the clapping stopped, Ben swallowed and looked around the room. He suddenly wished his parents would have been there, but he knew that was wistful thinking as he remembered the argument he had with his father three days ago.

However as the applause died down, Ben’s eyes did fall onto the one person he could count on. She stood off to the side with Lon Shevu’s wife and two eldest children. He felt Jysella’s pride and love through their bond, and could see the joy in her eyes. He smiled at her, before turning to gaze out over his fellow GAG members. He cleared his throat and tried hard not to blush as he considered what he was going to say.

When Jacen smiled and gave him a microscopic nod of encouragement, Ben called on the Force to bolster him and began to speak, desperately hoping his voice didn’t crack in his nervousness. “First, I’d like to thank General Solo and Colonel Shevu for this chance.” Lon winked at him and Ben smiled, as he turned back to face his comrades to continue, his nerves suddenly washed away. “I would also like to say that I am honored to serve our galaxy with such a great group of beings. And as Colonel Shevu and Captain Doloma have already said, we will continue to make sure Coruscant and the GA remain free of terrorism and that the traitors who would harm our people answer for their deeds.”

Ben took a deep breath as the audience broke into applause again. When his eyes fell on Jysella, he was surprised to see her wipe away a tear.

~

She waited for Ben near the back of the large assembly room where the promotions had taken place. She wished Ben’s parents would have attended and, although she knew that Ben wanted them there to, he did his best to hide his disappointment. He refused to tell her about the fight that he had with his father, but she knew it had not been good.

She watched as Ben accepted the congratulations from his fellow GAG members, which included everything from handshakes to good natured jesting about “Junior” growing up to slaps on the back, but all of it was done out of a genuine belief that Ben Skywalker was an important contributor to the unit, and out of general acceptance of him. Finally, he made his way back to her and took her hand as he smiled, saying, “Hi.”

“Hi,” she simply, but softly, returned and grinned. “Congratulations, Lieutenant.” She leaned up and placed a very chaste kiss on his cheek.

She watched as a soft blush touched his cheeks which became only redder when an older sergeant slapped him on the shoulder and said, “Well, well, well, Lieutenant Skywalker, charming the ladies already? Hello, there, I’m Ron Starland. Who might you be?” the ruggedly handsome former Coruscant Security Officer held out his hand to Jys and grinned.

Jysella blushed and took the hand of the man, who had been on Beta Team with Ben for the past year. She smiled and he reluctantly let go of her hand, “I’m Jysella Horn.”

“So, you’re a Jedi too?” She realized her last name gave her away. Her family and, particularly, her brother had been the latest to be run through the media meat grinder.

She pushed the sudden grief she felt every time she thought about what happened to Valin out of her mind, as she smiled and simply nodded. “Yes, I am.”

Grinning lopsidedly, Ron glanced sideways at Ben. “Well, then I suppose you can take care of yourself when it comes to Skywalker’s charm.”

Ben snickered, “That includes yours too, Starland.”

“Yeah, well.” After winking at Jys, he turned to Ben and patted him on the shoulder again. “You know what they say: Can’t win them all.” With that he moved away, but not before flashing Jys another debonair smile.

After a few more friendly jests about their obvious relationship, they eventually made their way out of the headquarters and turned to head in the direction of New Theed. Ben had promised to take Jysella out to dinner after the ceremony to celebrate his promotion, her upcoming trials, and her birthday. They both decided to go to their favorite place—the Market Cross. They held hands as they walked along the skywalks, forgoing the faster slide or other public transportation to allow them as much time as possible together.

The evening was clear and pleasantly warm, but not uncomfortable. Though the planet really didn’t have seasons, it did have variations of the weather that could be said to be seasonal. The beginning of the second month of the year marked Galactic City’s true summer, during which the days would become warm enough to be uncomfortable, but tonight was still perfect.

While they crossed the last transparasteel bridge of their 45 minute journey to the restaurant, she realized Ben was staring at her. She wondered if something was amiss. “What’s the matter?”

Ben smiled and stopped. He pulled her off to the side of the walkway and she faced him. “Ben?”

“I’m so glad that you came this afternoon.” His voice was soft as he gazed deeply into her eyes.

She squeezed his hand and smiled, “Ben, I’m very happy for you. I don’t always agree with the tactics GAG uses to get information, but I know how important this is to you. You’ve done very well.” She reached up with her free hand and brushed her fingers over the breast of his jacket. Her smile turned mischievous as she went on, “Besides, you’re quite handsome all decked out in this fancy new uniform, Lieutenant.”

Ben slyly smiled back at her and gently said, “And, you look beautiful, Jys.”

She hadn’t moved her hand from his chest, and she suddenly was aware of how close he was to her. She whispered, “Thank you.” She had let her hair down and chose to wear a simple long sleeved dress of royal blue hoping that he’d notice.

As he gently stroked her hair, his fiery blue eyes held her captive. She felt the fluttery stirrings that only a look, or the gentlest of touches from him could cause within her. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of drowning in each others eyes, she whispered, “We’d better go before we’re late for our reservation.”

Ben nodded, took her hand again, and they walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.

The same bronze colored protocol droid, which always greeted them, led them to their requested table—the one in the corner by the low wall on the balcony. They sat down as the Coruscant sun was setting, turning the high clouds purple and pink. The buildings in New Theed were reminiscent of those on Naboo, with rounded domes and built lower than most on buildings on Coruscant. Hawk-bats rode the thermals above the lanes of traffic, spotting the color splashes with black “V’s”. She could almost pretend that she and Ben were newlyweds on their honeymoon, looking out over Theed, and the hawk-bats were ducks or twirrls. So lost in her fantasy she didn’t realize Ben was staring at her.

“I hope someday I can take you to Naboo for our honeymoon,” his voice nearly cracked it was so quiet.

“Oh!” she jumped and he smiled. Embarrassed that she left her mind wonder so much, and worse let him see her secret, she blushed and looked down at the red tablecloth. “Ben, I—I…”

He leaned over and whispered, “Jys, it’s okay. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have been listening to your thoughts.”

She smiled at him, saying, “At least you want it too.”

That intense gaze took her breath away again as he hoarsely replied, “Yeah, I do.”

The serving droid shattered the sudden tension by rolling up to their table and asking for their orders. They selected roasted Naboo duck with crandleberry sauce and spiced vegetables. The sun was completely set, and the gaseous lamp on the small table came to life, casting a pale yellow glow over the young lovers.

After their drinks were delivered, Jys noticed that Ben was staring at her again. “You know, you really need to stop doing that.”

Ben grinned as he sat his goblet of blossom wine down and asked, “Doing what?”

She grinned back and whispered, “Staring at me?”

He shrugged and shook his head, “I can’t.”

“And why not?” she inquired as she leaned over the table on her elbows.

“Because you are too pretty for me not to stare at you. I really like it when you leave your hair down.”

Jysella blushed and Ben went on to say, “I have something to give you…” He looked down to reach into his uniform jacket pocket and pulled it out. Then he met her eyes again he said, “I made this for you, maybe it can be my promise that someday I’ll take you to Naboo.”

Jysella gasped when she saw the necklace Ben held. The charm on the end was a marble sized green and blue swirled polished stone which Ben had fixed with a gold collar and chain. She recognized the stone as one that Ben had in a collection of stones he’d gathered for years. This particular stone came from Naboo; he had found it when he had been there with his family. She liked it because it reminded her of their eye colors and of what some worlds look like from space. Looking up, she quietly said, “Ben, it’s beautiful.”

He shyly grinned and responded, “I know it’s your favorite stone in my collection. But really, it isn’t much. I just wanted to give you something special for your birthday and for your coming Knighthood.”

She trembled as she picked up the stone and gently caressed it. She met his eyes, and softly said, “Ben, thank you. I will always treasure it.” She grinned and handed it back to him, excitement laced her voice as she said, “Help put it on me.”

He took the chain and moved to stand behind her as she sat. He put the chain around her neck and she touched the stone. More precious to her then any gem, its weight felt so perfect as it rested on her breastbone. He clasped the chain and then gathered her hair to pull it out over the thin necklace, causing her to shudder as he ran his fingers through the long black strands. After turning to look up at him, he startled her by bending down and gently kissing her lips. The kiss was quick and shy, but Jys could feel the love behind it, producing a second shudder to run though her.

~

Their meals were served and after their desserts, they left the restaurant, heading back toward the Temple District and the Skywalker apartment where he would leave Jys. When they reached the entrance of the building, Jys turned to face Ben. “I had a wonderful time tonight.”

Ben pulled her off the walk into a small garden alcove and urgently said, “I wish tonight didn’t have to end.” He pulled her closer by letting go of her hands and encircling her waist.

“I wish it didn’t either,” she whispered as she brought her hands up to wrap them around his neck.

He leaned down as she leaned into him and their lips touched in a tender kiss, but soon their passion took over, leaving them both breathless. Ben felt her desire and realized that he had never wanted anything as much as he wanted the night to go on, or as much as he wanted her. He captured her lips again and after breaking the fiery kiss, he slid his lips over her flushed check to her ear. Her breathing was becoming rapid as she pressed herself closer to his lean body. “Jys,” he hoarsely whispered, and the shudder that ran through her only served to excite him more. “Jysella, I want—emm—I wish we could be together—”

He didn’t even know how to ask her for what he wanted. Although he felt her desire spike, it was tempered by sudden alarm, and she pulled away enough to meet his gaze again. He knew she understood. “Oh, Ben,” her voice was husky, her eyes luminous in the bright city lights, “you know we can’t do that.”

“I’m not a child, Jysella. What I feel for you is real.” He turned away from her and he knew his face was turning red. He was a fool to even suggest that they take the next step. She may love me, he thought, but she still thinks I’m a kid.

She reached out and grasped his upper arm, “And what I feel for you is real. Ben, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m not ready for that.” He turned to face her again, and she laid her hands on either side of his face as they locked gazes. “I love you, Ben Skywalker. And I want—I want you too.” She glanced away and he relished the deep blush that touched her cheeks, making her even more beautiful. She then met his gaze again and whispered, “But we have a lifetime ahead of us. Let’s not rush this. When it does happen, I want it to be perfect, Ben.”

Ben pulled her to him again and whispered, “I know it will be perfect too, and I don’t ever want you to regret it.” He smiled and she leaned into him for another kiss. He broke the kiss and breathlessly murmured against her lips, “I love you, Jysella Horn, and someday we’ll be together.”

She smiled and softly whispered, “I know we will, Ben.” She clutched the stone that hung to the swell of her breasts and smiled, “You promised to take me to Naboo for our honeymoon. I’m holding you to it. ” Then she quickly kissed him once more, before leaving him alone to contemplate the significance of what they really promised each other, as she ran into the building where she lived with his parents.

Smiling, he whispered to the soft breeze, “Someday you’ll be mine, Jysella.” Then shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his uniform trousers, he headed back to the apartment he shared with his Master.

~~~

Solo Apartment, Coruscant

She kissed him, and the thrill that ran through him was nearly unbearable as she ran her fingers over his bare chest. He watched as she stepped back, her beautiful black hair fell over her shoulders, and the smile on her stunning face turned mischievous. She was wearing the blue dress, and he watched enthralled as it fell to pool around her feet on the sand of the Naboo beach. Silhouetted by the setting sun, she appeared to be glowing. He suddenly wished that he could see her in the light. The black hair fell over her shoulders, and the shadows kept her modest, to him she looked like an angel—his angel. He reached out to touch her but she seemed to be moving away from him.

He noticed the alarm in her bright green eyes and expression as she reached out to him with both hands. She screamed, “Ben! No, don’t. Don’t leave me! You promised to love me forever!”

“Jysella!” He cried and tried to run toward her.

Suddenly, he heard the dreaded call—the high-pitched shriek of the krayt dragon. He twisted and watched in terror as it seemed so close. He turned around to look for Jysella, but she was gone, and the beautiful bright scene of the lake was replaced with the wastelands of Tatooine again.

He heard Jysella scream again and frantically tried to find her, “Jysella! Jys, where are you!”

The dragon called out once more, and Ben took off running as it came into view. Jysella cried at the same time the monster screamed, “Ben, save me from it!”

“Save me…” her voice seemed so far away this time, but all he could do was run, or the beast would catch him…

“No, Jysella!” he shrieked, gasping as he sat up. His chest heaved, and sweat dripped off his face as he looked around his darkened bedroom. Realizing where he was, he let the last shudder pass through him. The door slid open, and Jacen came to sit next to him on the edge of the bed. His cousin waved the lights on at a low setting as he calmly asked, “The dream again.”

Gulping a breath, Ben nodded, and related to his Master and friend about the dream.