DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters (Shal-Nyx Cael), the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. The original character of K'yllyn Myrrdin is the intellectual property of Caeryn Myer, and is used with permission.
"What's this?"
K'yllyn took the datapad from Obi-Wan, studying the encryption. "More sealed records. Give me a moment, I think it's the same coding as the others."
Obi-Wan Kenobi gave her a hard look. "You're hacking?!"
"Half the records are public archive, the other encrypted with a twenty year old code that I was partially taught to write in. Besides, we've gone this far, we may as well see it through."
He crossed his arms. She had a point, he was very curious to discover the end of this story; the thought of a child with two Jedi parents was fascinating. There was no way that the Council, no matter their objections to the origins, would ignore someone with that much potential in the Force. Assuming from experience, it would be logical to conclude that the child was a Knight, somewhere amongst them.
Presuming, of course, it hadn't died.
K'yllyn muttered under her breath for a moment. "Well, I've got it decoded, but there are parts missing. Fairly significant space of time, not that I should be surprised."
"How much time?"
"Months."
A frown touched his face. "Skip the technical stuff again?"
"Yes. And skip the legal clauses too, I don't think I'll ever have the savvy for that aspect of negotiation."
"Really? I've never had a problem with it... "
K'yllyn wrinkled her nose at him.
In a secluded section of the garden where the flowering vines clambered up the walls to create an isolated area, she was meditating, focusing her energy into the non-corporeal body of the Force. The sun was setting, brilliant purple and red hues casting fiery washes of light in the Calanese sky.
Drifting quietly in the flow, her mind finding comfort in the lack of arguing and worrying, she felt the fears, both subtle and blatant, of everyone around her manifesting a weight on the living Force, a weight, in her heightened senses, which could drag her down if she wasn't careful.
The treaty was all but signed and sealed, Crys Stoforn moving her family to Cala for the time being to help the new laws go into effect smoothly. Well, that and she had taken it upon herself to care for the Jedi. The woman was like a guardian angel, keeping company and making sure that any problem that arose would be dealt with. Rasacha, for his part, had accepted the unenviable task of Chancellorship of the planet, quickly discovering that being the leader was not the easiest of choices. But with the seeming end of the anti-unification terrorism, mostly done to a certain tall Jedi's seeing through their thin plots, the level of urgency over settling the treaty eased to a less manic state.
Exhaling a cleansing breath, meditation now the only time she could actually pull a full draught of air into her lungs, she let the tickling energy of the plants around caress her mind with the simple purity of raw natural power. The air swirled with revitalising strength, surging around her as a tide would on the shore. It was all invigorating, the sweet tendrils seeping into her flesh and blood, flowing like honeyed milk to the child inside her.
Everything was evening out. Upsurgent hormones calmed to tolerable limits and excersied when the opportunity arose. Food intolerances eliminated simply because she had made the point to eliminate the particular food from her locality. Her body kept strong and flexible, the now plainly evident swelling of her abdomen neither a burden nor an annoyance, rather an unexpected source of contentment.
The living Force, whether separated from the unifying Force or blended together, was a challenge. Whatever instincts that she had been taught all her years in the Temple to trust as a warrior were, in truth, very closely related to those unleashed and labelled as maternal instincts that at first had seemed overwhelming. But now, they were an asset, a potentially temporary but special gift.
Raising her head up slightly, turning an ear to hear what she already had felt because of those assets, she maintained her reverie, giving the visitors the burden of making themselves known.
"Shal-Nyx... "
She kept her eyes closed, letting the utterly familiar voice wash past her ears, a small nod of her head acknowledging the call. They would remain until she acted aware of their request.
"Shal-Nyx, may we have an audience with you?"
Turning finally to face the Jedi Masters, she bowed her head and remained on her knees, not wishing to fight the battle of standing up and then bowing fully at her non-existent waist. "Good evening, Master Yoda, Master Clira, I hope your flight was a smooth one."
Yoda eyed the Knight before him; even on her knees she was taller than him, her posture surprisingly straight considering the weight that pulled her naturally forward. "Join us will you?"
She nodded her head. "Of course, my masters... but if we are to walk I would like to stop by the cottage first."
Finding the change in her former apprentice's demeanour surprising, Aeon Clira extended a hand out to the kneeling woman to help her up. "If it will be easier on your condition, Shal-Nyx, we may discuss matters at this cottage."
Having forgotten that Jedi would not be as accustomed to pregnancy as the natives of the planet, she intentionally shifted her balance to the prosthetic knee, using the internal mechanics to stand herself up without assistance, proving a point. "Yes, as long as you don't mind Qui-Gon there, he's supposed to be back soon."
Clira was about to object when she felt the heavy lidded gaze of Yoda reprimanding her. "I suppose not, this involves him, too."
Shal-Nyx bit her lip, keeping her retort to herself. Clira knew perfectly well what Qui-Gon meant to her. Why was she acting this way?
Yoda took deliberate steps down the correct path. "Argue we will not about trivialities. Come, talk we will."
Taking the lead, her hand subconsciously now resting between her swollen belly and her breasts, she opened the door, noting with some relief that Qui-Gon was still out for the day. Holding the door aloft for the two Masters, she walked around to the front of the main room, seeing Aeon Clira take the chair on the side of the fireplace while Yoda stood serenely. Sitting down so she wouldn't effectively trap herself in the pillows, Shal-Nyx offered a humble smile. "So what pleasure do I have in your taking time to come here?"
"Concerned we are. Wish to make sure your best welfare is being taken care of we do."
"Shal-Nyx, you left Coruscant without saying a word to anyone and then just last month you finally find time to warn us? To not only advise us of the political stability on this planet but to also inform us that you were having a child by a fellow Knight?"
Recalling days of trouble making and the lectures that came with it, she sighed. "Master Clira, it was not my intention to deceive the Council. It was... is not an easy time for me and I feared that my situation would not be understood."
"As a Padawan I taught you to not evade the truth."
"You also taught me ten ways to dodge the answer to any given question. Why is it, Master, that you would permit me as an apprentice to have Qui-Gon as my lover but now you frown at him fathering my child?"
Clira's expression fell, not expecting to be caught so effectively in the light of retrospect. "I worry about you, Shala. You have so much before you, you can't turn away from it now."
Yoda, who up until this moment had chosen to step back and watch the conversation take its course, raised a three fingered hand, silencing the both of them. "Unimportant are the details now, child there will be. Important it is to insure its safety."
Allowing herself to sink back in the pillows a little, a hand slipping across her belly, she breathed, "Yes, there will be and yes, it is."
"Have you been cared for by medical personnel?"
"Yes. Caja's representative's husband is a doctor; she repaid me a favour by lending his services."
Yoda nodded slowly. "Unusual it is for the Temple to have such an opportunity. Like it we would to draw a Midi-Chlorian count now."
Forgetting for the moment that her lower back was aching a little more than usual, Shal-Nyx opened her eyes as if she hadn't heard the small green creature correctly. "That's not as easy as it sounds, Master. As loyal as I am to the Order I must admit reticience at the notion; please do forgive my tone, but it is my body."
A silence descended the room, only to be broken a few moments later as Qui-Gon, having sensed the signatures of the Jedi Masters over a metre away, walked in prepared, greeting the two visitors and casting a worried look at Shal-Nyx. "Masters, it is a pleasure to see you."
"Qui-Gon," Clira's tone was polite, but edged with the sound of an over-protective parent.
Yoda, staying by the fireplace, felt the room's energy change palpably. The young Jedi's arrival had settled some of the nervous energy in Shal-Nyx with his presence. The old master watched with quiet intrigue as Qui-Gon walked over and knelt in front of his burdened mate, placing a kiss on her forehead before seating himself alongside her on the edge of the pillow nest, offering "We're glad you're here to check on us, masters, but I'm not sure why you bothered... once Shal-Nyx is comfortable with travel again we fully intend to return to the Temple."
"Your impending return home is not why we're here."
"Really, Master Clira? Were you planning on plucking the infant from our hold yourself? We're not natives and she's your former student, I would think that would mean something to you. Perhaps a little credit on our part?"
"Perhaps if you two would not act so carelessly I would be more liberal with due credit."
Beating Yoda to the punch, Shal-Nyx raised her voice, "Enough! I will not listen to a pointless argument that has far too many negative emotions behind it. Qui-Gon, step down, I can take care of myself. Master Clira, I regard you highly as a Jedi Master but must point that you are way out of your league in this situation." She shifted, readjusting her legs, the baby weight grinding on her pelvic girdle, "And because it has been a full day and I, in particular, do need my rest, I humbly suggest we retire for the evening and reconviene this... debate on the morrow. If that is alright with you, Master Yoda."
His pointed ears arced back a little. After all that she was giving deference to him? "Agree I do. Leave you we will and see you in the day."
Exchanging closing greetings, the two Council members exiting the cottage, Shal-Nyx sighed and laid her head completely back in the pillows. "I just dressed down my former master."
"Yes... and she deserved it, Shala."
"She does have some right to be upse-- ooh, kick."
"Hm?"
Grasping his hand and shifting it onto the upper curve of her belly, she slid his fingers across her skin, finding the closest point to the last movement, rewarded a few moments later by another tiny kick.
His face flooded with warmth and amazement, drawing close to her body, he twined his free hand with hers and kissed her gently. "Is this what it's like? This living human being inside you?"
"It's a taste of it, luv." Her smile was contented as she nestled into the crook of his shoulder, trying to find a comfortable way to position herself so neither her back nor her legs would be strained. It was almost a moot point to find a way to sit or lay that wouldn't make standing up again a logistics nightmare, so figuring correctly so that she could milk the situation, Qui-Gon was there to help.
"Our child." He mouthed quietly. What was it that held him in such awe? It wasn't that he didn't know how it had come to be, and nor had he just found out about it, but still, it was almost unreal, nearly out of the range of his full comprehension. Shal-Nyx Cael was dear to him, part of his life for over ten years. In his twenties he might have scoffed at the notion of laying in front of a fireplace, feeling their baby move inside her as the sun set on the alien planet, but now, it felt so right.
"I don't suppose I could convince you to get me something to drink?"
He chuckled. "Ma'sah'devi? Or something else?"
"That craving is gone now," she sighed. "Water would be just fine."
"Good, that stuff smelled awful."
Releasing his hand and watching with envy as he easily stood up and stepped into the small kitchen off the main room, she smiled, letting her mind drift comfortably in the Force, not really focusing on anything. Yoda's actions earlier pleased her, setting deeply buried reservations at ease, but Aeon Clira, her words bothered her. Clira was never the greatest at tact, her skills in diplomacy best reserved when no other parties were available, but she had never known the elder blonde woman to be so blatant in her dismay. Even as a teenager she had never received that cold a reception from her former master, having been taught that lessons, even the hard ones, had to be taken as they were.
Which meant the teacher was not living by her own lessons earlier. Yes, she knew likely nothing of relationships, much less a family, her "talents best put to peacekeeping," but she had no right to come down on them like that. She had accidentally opened herself to the dressing down she received and received it she did; for that, Shal-Nyx deserved nothing of reprimand for speaking so boldly to a superior.
But it was with a sense of sadness Shal-Nyx realised that the master could not appreciate the former Padawan's joy. Childbearing was by no means ever part of her plans, per se, but as she had been taught she knew better than to question the Force's often mysterious actions. There was a reason she had slipped up on her cycle schedule all those months ago, there was a reason the safer mission dropped in her lap at just the right time and there was a reason she was sitting here at this moment carrying a living breathing child within the confines of her Jedi body.
Whatever that reason was, even if she had had a notion of what it was, it was not her place to question it; the sad fact that the turn of events had driven a wedge between Master and Padawan, however, would bother her.
With a trilling meow, the cat lept onto the pillows behind her, sauntering up to the thick french twist in her hair and nuzzling it. With an appreciative laugh she picked up the small feline and set it on her chest, eliciting an immediate purr.
By the time Qui-Gon returned, handing a glass of water over, the cat had curled up, laying primarily on her swollen belly, its head resting on her breast. A smile masked his chuckling. "I'm not sure if I should be jealous... "
Taking the glass with a hand, she watched with amusement as he sat down in the cushions, trying to not disturb the sleeping creature.
Not that it worked. Lifting her furry head, she meowed at him in annoyance.
Shal-Nyx stroked his cheek with the palm of her free hand. "If its any comfort, if she moved even a centimetre I'd not be able to have her up here."
"Not really, but I'll live. Are you uncomfortable?"
The dull ache in her lower back was begging for attention. Picking up the cat and setting it on the floor for the moment, she eased herself on her left side, setting her head in his lap. "Fairly miserable, actually, but I've been worse. You'll forgive me as I long momentarily for my former trim Jedi physique. And could I possibly connive a back rub out of you?"
Stroking her hair gently, his smile was sympathetic. "Of course, Shala. What are we going to do with the Council, though?" His hand settled onto her spine, the fingers striking the precise spot where most of the pain was centered, moving slowly and deliberately across strained muscles.
Distantly, she murmured, "I don't know, but I will not let them come in here and railroad us. Yoda is not my concern."
"Clira?"
"Yes."
He frowned slightly, concerned for both the unpleasant amount of tension in her muscles and the sudden distance between her and her old master. "What does she expect from us? Does she seriously expect you to act just like her, even though she's obedient and, well, chaste?"
"I don't know, Qui-Gon, I just want to get through these remaining months and get them off this planet as soon as possible. If I had wanted this strictly a Jedi matter I would have stayed at the bloody Temple."
The frown remained. "I'll speak to them if you like."
"No, Yoda will deal with it in a way acceptable for all of us."
"Shala... "
"I don't want to deal with this anymore tonight, alright?"
He nodded his head, getting the point. "If you'll move your head I'll get up and fetch the blankets."
"I would like that."
Walking back to the back room and picking up a neatly folded blanket, Qui-Gon paused. A wave of foreboding dread washed over him: something was not right. Probing the Force for an answer and finding none, he bit his lip, now worried. He couldn't be sure what exactly was going to happen; it could be anywhere from a flood on another part of the continent to a whisper of his own future, and given that the living Force had chosen to imbue a stronger connection only to Shal-Nyx, he couldn't confirm any suspicions unless the Force wanted him to. Lingering a moment longer in the dark room, hoping for some further insight, he looked down as the grey and white cat rubbed against his legs. "Ah, little friend, have you anything to say?"
The cat blinked at him with reflective green eyes, opening her mouth in a silent meow.
"You too, hm?"
She nuzzled against his calf, purring.
He let out a breath, giving up on his efforts. Kneeling down to scratch the cat's head, he paused a moment longer, then stood up and headed back for the main room.