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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3987390" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 549: When I Grow UpA tall, well dressed Alraxian stood idly by a tree in the courtyard of the Palace, looking off towards the faint shimmering of the shield and not seeming to pay much attention to anything else around him. He was an easy figure to spot. Ignoring the fact that there was no one else out in the courtyard, he wore a black suit of sorts, with a high collared jacket. While the black alone was enough to make him stand out against the green grass and the whites of the Palace, the suit itself was lined in a silver material that caught the light from Alraxia’s setting sun and made it seem like his outline was glowing slightly. Of course, even without that, he was one of the most recognizable Alraxians in the Empire. That metallic blue stripe through white hair really wasn’t like anyone else.    “Aren’t you supposed to be upstairs?” Jyren spoke over his shoulder quietly, but he was easy to hear in the general quiet of the courtyard.    Tobias, dressed in a similar outfit but without the silver lining, took a few casual steps towards his father though still kept a couple of meters back, “Aren’t you?”    Jyren’s shoulders rose and fell in a small shrug, and he turned his head slightly to give Toby a sideways glance, “I’ve already done my time at a gathering like that. This one’s in your honour, apparently...” he paused a moment, and a grin tugged at the corner of Jyren’s mouth, “Besides, your mother is more likely to notice if both of us aren’t in there. And if we escape without her...well...might have to kick you out of your room to take that bed for a few decades.”    A short chuckle escaped Tobias, but it ended when he realized that Jyren wasn’t actually being sarcastic. He paused a moment, then gave up on that line of thought to ask, “What are you doing out here?”    “Aren’t you old enough that you shouldn’t be running to find me every second of the day?” Jyren asked idly while he turned back to look off towards the jungle outside the Palace.    That bothered Tobias. He bit his lip and looked down at his feet, which were currently covered by a pair of grey boots. Eventually, he said towards the ground, “I just...you seemed...I was...”    “You were worried?” Jyren’s voice immediately lost the slightly biting tone that it had contained a moment before. His head tilted upwards, and then just shrugged again, “I’m just not a fan of crowds.”    “But mother...”    “Is able to completely separate herself from the moment and just go on autopilot,” Tobias was cut off by Jyren finishing the sentence with an answer to the question that hadn’t been completely asked. After a moment of a somewhat awkward silence, Jyren turned around completely to face the younger Alraxian, shifting so that he could lean one shoulder against the tree next to him, “You know, little guy, you really should be up there. Apparently this whole thing is supposed to be about you coming of age. Not that I really understand it, but it seems important.”    Tobias nodded, looking back down to his feet. While Jyren might not have grasped the whole thing, Tobias did. It had been explained to him in great detail by Jyren’s father, who had been the one to suggest it in the first place. It was a rather ancient ritual of sorts, a celebration of the oldest child of the Empress reaching an age that had them eligible to join the Knights. Not many ever did, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the child was not supposed to be a child anymore...well, not mentally. Physically, of course they were, but they were supposed to have reached a point in their life where they had a direction.    Maybe that was what bothered Tobias about it...he didn’t have one. He just...wanted to be like Jyren.    “You know what I wanted to be when I was a kid?” Jyren interrupted the thoughts with the perfect question.    Looking up, Tobias shook his head, “What?”    A broad smile formed on Jyren’s face, “I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. I wanted to be the hero that saved the galaxy with a single proton torpedo. I wanted everyone in the galaxy to know who I was because I was the one who had saved it all,” he laughed softly to himself, “Course, I was probably twelve or so at the time and didn’t really understand how anything worked but that was what I was going to be.”    Tobias stared at his father. This was the man that had, on many occasions, told Tobias that the reason he couldn’t train to be a Jedi Knight was because Luke Skywalker had no idea what he was doing and was a narrowminded idiot. Well, no, that was the polite version. Usually Jyren used the kind of language that would have the Redstars glaring at him for using around children. In fact, never in his life had Tobias heard Jyren say one kind word about Skywalker.    “Stop staring at me like that, little guy,” Jyren’s smile was still just as wide as before, and he pointed back towards the entrance to the Palace, “You got a surprising story out of me so now you have to turn that tail around and get back up there before someone notices you escaped.”    Still somewhat shocked, Tobias managed to ask one more question before he headed back to the huge crowd of people he didn’t know, “You coming, too?”    “I’ll be up in a few minutes,” Jyren motioned again towards the entrance, “Now quit worrying about me and think about yourself for once in your life, little guy. Go have some fun.”* * * *    It was raining.    This was not unusual on Yavin IV, but it was depressing for some reason. Tobias stared out of the small cave beneath ancient ruins into the jungle around him. It was hard to see anything through the thick, torrential downpour. The rain was so hard that the world was mostly a haze of blurred colours and the dirt under his feet, which was a good distance away from the entrance to the cave and well sheltered, was turning beginning to soften into mud.    “Still can’t take that advice,” Tobias mumbled to himself.    Maybe that was it. The rain reminded him of Alraxia...and Alraxia reminded him of Jyren. Tobias was supposed to become a Jedi. He wasn’t supposed to dwell on death so much. It was dangerous. And yet...and yet he did. Every time he turned around, it seemed like another memory would pop up and reopen the wound that had never even been given a chance to heal.    But now was not the time to dwell on the past.    It had been two hours since Master Ral had left and since Tobias had made contact with an Alraxian Knight. He’d sat there alone, staring blankly in front of him trying to regain his strength. Stretching out with the Force like he that had trained Tobias considerably, and he was still feeling exhausted. He couldn’t even find the strength to reach out with the Force to find Master Ral nearby. In fact, all he could do was keep his ears good and open for anything out of the ordinary. Tobias was still very worried about being discovered by the Yuuzhan Vong, despite how far he and Master Ral had escaped from the Great Temple.    Sure, help was coming, but how long would it be? What if the Vong found him before then? Had they already found Master Ral? He wouldn’t have been gone for this long...would he? No. No, he had said it wouldn’t be long.    Gods, what if they had found him?! What would the Vong do to Master Ral? Would they just kill him...or...or...    If they’d found Master Ral, it would only be a matter of time before they found Tobias, too. It wasn’t as if he had the best hiding spot, either. The shelter was beneath very obvious ruins in a very obvious cave opening and he was in plain view even with the darkness. And even if he had the strength to reach out with the Force and check his surroundings, Tobias wouldn’t even be able to feel the Vong...    Where was Master Ral?!    Tobias stood up and looked outside through the torrential rain. Which was had Master Ral gone? Right? Yes...but where after that? Did it matter? If the Vong had found him...    If the Yuuzhan Vong had found Master Ral, then he was probably dead. But if he was dead, Tobias would have felt it. Or, he should have felt it. No, no he would have. Which meant Master Ral was still alive. And two hours gone...the Vong must have found him.    Tobias had to do something. He could just sit here! It wasn’t right. And besides, it was dangerous! If the Vong were nearby they’d find him sitting in one place...but if he was moving around, it would be harder, especially in this weather. And maybe he could find Master Ral. Then...then they could get off Yavin IV because the Knight he’d contacted would arrive at just the right moment like they always did.    Taking his lightsaber off his belt, but not activating the weapon, Tobias ran out into the rain and went to find his Master.</blockquote>

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