Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [54]
“I don’t like the sound of that, Master.” I opened my hands toward him. “I just knew Tionne would die if I did nothing. Lifting her from the water seemed the most direct method for saving her. I did not think, I just acted.”
“I know, and that’s very good. The Force is more heart than brain. I did not mean what I said to sound like criticism.” His voice softened a bit. “It is just that doing anything with haste can lead to impatience, and that invites the dark side. You would be better off to let the power bleed back away into the galaxy through the Force. If you are going to employ it the way you did, avoid haste so you avoid problems.”
“Yes, Master.”
Luke approached and slapped me on the shoulder. “You did well, Gantoris did well and saved Dorsk 81 in the process, and the others also survived this unexpected challenge. This is a good sign for our future.”
“I’m sure you are right, Master,” I found myself saying, but the chill creeping into my feet as we climbed back toward the Temple left me wondering if another disaster lurked to rip us apart.
THIRTEEN
The next morning I woke all muzzy and, as a result, didn’t realize I was starting out on my run later than usual. About halfway through the run, at the point in my circuit furthest from the Great Temple, I realized what time it was. While Luke still allowed flexibility in training times, in the mornings he usually appreciated our getting an early start. I tried to pick up my pace, but I knew I’d arrive back at the Temple well after everyone else had assembled to start working.
I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid. The previous evening had been an impressive victory in the battle to open ourselves up to the Force. While the emergency had opened me broadly to the Force, I’d been feeling it before that. I knew I could make great progress and had been looking forward to the morning’s exercises to see if I could capitalize on what I had learned the night before.
The reason I’d awakened rather dull was because I’d not gotten much sleep at all. Master Skywalker had mentioned that dreams rarely disturbed a Jedi’s sleep. I don’t know why, but I’d never dreamed much. When I did dream I tended toward nightmares that ruined my sleep.
Nightmares had kept my sleep uneven and fragmentary. I kept drifting back to the place where I had felt Mirax’s presence. I tried to freeze the stars in place so I could figure out where I was supposed to be, but one by one they winked out. They left me alone and in the dark. When I tried to look at my hands, I saw through my flesh as rot ate away at the bones, then I fell into nothingness, forever to exist in the knowledge that when Mirax needed me, I had failed her.
Pretty much my definition of a nightmare.
Nearing the Great Temple on my return, I heard something that made me push myself and increase my speed. The hum-hiss of a lightsaber and the spit-crack of it slicing through something is unforgettable once heard. I couldn’t imagine Luke and Kam would have begun to teach anyone how to fight with lightsabers without me there. I realized in an instant that such a thought was unworthy and arrogant, but since I had the only other lightsaber on Yavin, including me made sense to me.
I entered the clearing just as Luke drove Gantoris back into a purple-boled Massassi tree. Where did Gantoris get a lightsaber? With the black-haired apprentice’s braid whiplashing through the air, he fell, scattering purple bits of tree bark. His knees resting on a thick root, and his elbows keeping his back off the ground, he stared up at Luke as the Jedi Master approached. Gantoris’ white-violet blade still pointed up toward Luke, but from where he was there was no way the apprentice could strike at the Master.
Then Gantoris did something that extended the blade, doubling its length. He slashed at Luke, but the Jedi Master moved faster than I