The Jedi

Gently opening her eyes, Mari found herself in the passenger seat of their speeder. This realization startled her, prompting her to jolt before looking over at the Wanderer with wide eyes. "What? When did we-"

The last thing Mari could remember was lying in bed, staring at the Wanderer before falling asleep. The Wanderer looked over at her briefly before looking back at the road. "You didn't want to wake up so I carried you to the speeder. I told you we were gettin' up early."

"You carried me by yourself?" Seeing as the Wanderer only had a single arm, that seemed like quite the feat.

"You held onto me pretty tightly, I thought you were pretendin' to be asleep." What Mari didn't know was that as she was half-asleep, the Wanderer carried her on her back and Mari held on with her arms around her neck. However, despite being partially conscious, Mari had no memory of the event. Though she did feel as if she dreamt of her. Perhaps her memories were scrambled.

"You hungry?" the Wanderer asked, looking at the holoprojector on the dashboard of the landspeeder. There was a blip showing the location of the two girls and it appeared that they were approaching yet another city. "There is a city coming up here... but there's something off about it. There should be a place to eat there, but I'm also curious."

"What's weird about it?" Mari asked, looking over at the holoprojector. Her eyes were still blurry, so she waited for the Wanderer to read it for her. "There is a place called The Great Jedi Templed of Kazingaka..." the Wanderer scrunched her face as she read the name, which sounded like something from a children's story-telling Jedi myths.

"Woah, a Jedi temple! Do you think I could learn more about the Force there from one of the Jedi Masters!?" Mari was clearly excited, though the Wanderer was skeptical. "Maybe... But there aren't any Jedi all the way over here. The only Jedi I've ever seen here was my master when he found me. There being an entire temple sounds absurd."

Though the Wanderer was a Jedi no more, the thought of this temple being a fake infuriated her. Less so the fact that they were making a mockery of Jedi, but more so the fact that they were likely manipulating people in some way. Wanting to get to the bottom of it, the Wanderer and Mari made their way into the town, finding themselves in a forest town, surrounded by trees with buildings made of wood and foliage.

As they drove their speeder through the forest and past the wooden architecture, there were people dressed in robes wandering around, though none of them seemed to be armed. "Are these all Jedi?" Mari asked, glaring out of the window.

"Can a Bantha fly?" said the Wanderer with sarcasm. These people were doing nothing more than playing dress up, however, the Wanderer also knew that these people likely truly believed that they were being trained as Jedi. "There's a cantina over here. Let's check it out."

The Wanderer gently parked the landspeeder in front of a wooden building with a sign having the symbol of an alcoholic cup, which was ironic considering the fact that Jedi do not drink alcohol for the most part, yet she could see them entering and exiting the place in droves.

As the two girls walked inside the cantina they were greeted with music played by a live band and the cheers and laughter of people dressed as mock Jedi, along with people dressed in more casual attire.

The town itself was far removed from the rest of the planet, so many did not recognize the Wanderer. However, they knew what kyber crystals were, locking eyes with the crimson gems dangling from the Wanderer's ears. As she and Mari sat down at a booth across from each other, the Wanderer rested with her fist on her chin, glaring at one of the servers until she caught her gaze. The server, wearing a yellow and white dress and apron, hesitated before approaching her.

"Good afternoon. Uhm... What can I get you?" the server's eyes were locked on the Wanderer's kyber crystals as she spoke, prompting the Wanderer to lean over and make eye contact with her. "My eye is up here, lady. I'll take a Bantha chai."

The Wanderer's one-eyed gaze sent a jolt down the young lady's spine as she nodded frantically before looking at Mari. "I'll have the same thing, please." Mari told her politely, contrasting the Wanderer's tone. Swiftly, the woman nodded and disappeared over toward the bar, having their drinks made before placing them on the table.

"Uhm... anything else?" the server asked with a shaky voice before the Wanderer added onto her tab. "She wants blue milk pancakes. I want a protein mash." After the Wanderer ordered, the waitress nodded and started to turn around, however, she found herself being pulled backward despite trying to walk forward.

Turning her head, she saw the Wanderer holding her hand out toward her, pulling her using the Force. "I have one question for ya'." the Wanderer spoke with a plain, yet chilling tone. "What is this place exactly? This city I mean. Don't lie to me neither."

"W- we are the city of Kazingaka, home of the Great Jedi Temple of Kazingaka." the waitress was clearly nervous, afraid that the Wanderer had some sort of malicious intent. "And who runs said temple, where do I find him?" the Wanderer asked.

"M-master Jin lives in the temple itself. Keep heading west and you'll find it. It's a large, wooden building with slanted roofing and metal trimmings..." Satisfied with the young woman's explanation, the Wanderer released her. "Thank you, kindly. Blue milk pancakes and protein hash, in case you forgot."

The woman nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the two girls alone at the table. "Well, that was scary, even for me." Mari told her, looking at the Wanderer with raised brows. Despite it being scared, she also found that side of her to be alluring in some way. The Wanderer shrugged, taking a sip from her drink before sitting sideways in her booth while resting her arm on the table.

"Sometimes fear gets you what you want. She was looking at my earrings, so she must have known that they were kyber crystals. She probably thought I was a Sith, so I used that."

"What are you going to do once you confront this Master Jin guy?" Mari asked, holding her cup with both hands while looking forward at the Wanderer with a sort of worried look on her face. She felt that killing the man would be inhumane.

"Chat." the Wanderer gave a simple and plain answer. She wouldn't kill him, but she wanted answers.

Before long, the two of them received their meals, which were rather tasty considering they were made in some forest village. With full bellies, the two girls headed west, finding themselves in front of the wooden temple with slanted roofing and metallic trimmings.

The two of them walked inside, finding 'Jedi' training with wooden swords, many of them staring at the Wanderer's kyber crystals. It only took a little bit of asking around and wandering throughout the temple before the Wanderer and Mari found themselves outside of Master Jin's quarters.

The Wanderer knocked twice, prompting the door to swing open seemingly on its own, which brought a look of surprise to Mari's face and a frown to the Wanderer's. She knew that this was some sort of trick, nothing more than smoke and mirrors. "Come in." the voice of an elegant man invited them inside, prompting them both to enter to find a man sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, wearing Jedi robes with a lightsaber on his hip. He was on the younger side, having jet-black hair and clear skin, though he was older than both ladies.

His eyes were closed, so he failed to see the Wanderer's kyber crystals. "Speak." the Jedi ordered them in a tone that did nothing more than piss the Wanderer off. "Are you Master Jin?" the Wanderer asked him, prompting the man to let out a hearty chuckle.

"Well, of course!" the Jedi waved his hands and fingers in front of him as if he were casting a spell. "I do not recognize your presence within the Force, you must be new to the city of Kazingaka. I welcome you." Jin still spoke with his eyes closed, acting as if he were still deep in his meditation.

"Mari, close the door." the Wanderer muttered, though the Jedi was quick to lift his hand and shut it himself using the Force. "Allow me." Jin's confidence, along with his mocking, condescending tone only infuriated the Wanderer further. Mari, seeing her scowl, took a few steps backward.

"Are you a real Jedi?" the Wanderer asked him.

"Why, of course. Born and raised on Coruscant." This Jedi was able to at least name where the real Jedi temple was located, though the Wanderer still wasn't buying it.

"Who was your master?" the Wanderer asked him. This man was around half a decade older than her, so she'd know his master if he spoke their name.

"Master L'kaza. I was just thinking of him now, as a matter of fact." the Jedi gave a fake name, proving to the Wanderer that he was nothing more than a fake.

"Amazing... how were you able to open and close that door like that? I would love to become a student and learn how to do so. Please, show me again." the Wanderer faked her excitement, placing her hand on the hilt of her blade as she spoke.

Jin chuckled once more before raising his hand. "It is called the Force, my friend. I shall demonstrate. All one must do is focus their mind, and then..." As he spoke, the door behind him started to open, though the Wanderer quickly raised her blade and sliced the string that was connected to the door. It was so thin that it was practically invisible, but the Wanderer wouldn't be fooled.

Hearing her lightsaber, the Jedi opened his eyes in shock, looking at the Wanderer with trembling, wide eyes as she stood over him with the eye of a killer and her teeth clenched. "Close the door, Mari." the Wanderer said through her teeth before approaching the Jedi and placing her lightsaber by his neck.

"Explain yourself." she ordered him as Mari closed the door behind her. "Why are you taking advantage of these people, wearing the costume of a Jedi?"

"I- I- I-" The man couldn't speak. Though he had a lightsaber at his side, he did not draw it. This was the first time he'd ever seen a lightsaber that wasn't his in person. As the man shook in his boots, a wet spot began to form over his crotch, compelling the Wanderer to frown and wince at this embarrassing display.

"Please! Don't kill me! I'm sorry, I just- I just wanted to be somebody! I have no skills, no talent, or anything! But when I found this lightsaber, I knew I had the chance to finally become someone important so I started this temple! I'm not harming anyone!" as the man explained himself, the Wanderer placed her hot blade even closer, burning the hairs on the man's neck.

"You imbecile. Do you realize that having a so-called Jedi temple makes you a target for those who mean harm? What if a bunch of Sith showed up, then what?" she asked him.

"We're in the middle of nowhere. No one would dare come to this planet, it rains all the time and even just entering the atmosphere during most of the year means certain death!"

"I've killed Sith on this very planet about a day's worth of travel from here. You're lucky I found you before they did." the Wanderer spoke with venom in her voice, her hot blade nearly grazing the fake Jedi's neck.

"I'm sorry." the Jedi spoke, though this wasn't enough for the Wanderer.

"On your knees." she told him, bringing a confused look to his face. "On your knees!" she yelled, which then prompted him to get down on his knees in front of her. "Now apologize properly." she ordered him, compelling him to place both his hands on the ground and bow at her feet. "I am sorry, I am truly sorry."

Mari had to hold back her own laughter watching the man embarrass himself. The Wanderer then pointed her lightsaber at the door before barking more orders. "Now, I want you to give that same apology to every single one of the people you've been lying to. Got it?"

The man nodded, though again, this wasn't enough.

"Got it!?" the Wanderer shouted.

"Yes, ma'am!" he told her.

"Then let's go." the Wanderer then walked over to the door, holding it open for Mari and Jin. However, as she opened the door, a woman appeared with a fearful look in her eyes. "Master Jin..." she told him, her body and eyes trembling.

"There is a man and a woman who want to see you... they have red lightsabers."