Beyond Tionne's Yavin System Tour (EU, Tionne, Pre-The Golden Globe) PG-13 (Status update 3/19/2012)

What happened here? No responses? Did everyone get too hopped up about Easter? Sorry I didn't get back sooner. First was a slight case of writer's block. Then Final Fantasy XIII drew my attention again. Man that game's addicting. Finally there was the release of the final WOTC RPG Sourcebook - The Unknown Regions. I wanted to go through that in case there was anything I needed to change in either this story or my other one. Thankfully, that proved not to be the case.


So Lyric agreed to attend the Jedi Praxeum, but will Tionne wait until they reach Yavin IV to begin her lessons?


A short time later, Tionne and Lyric were making their way back through the tunnels. While Tionne got dressed in her work clothes again, Lyric spent the time saying goodbye to her parents. They then passed by the grotto where the changing ceremony had occurred. Tionne encountered several of the same children from before, and when they asked what was going on, she explained that the Elder had given her permission to train Lyric how to fight the predators better. She elaborated that though Lyric wouldn?t be able to fight against the predators, she would be able to pass on what she learned to the other children. The children weren?t happy with Lyric leaving, even if it were to help them in the long run. However, Lyric promised that she would return in time for her changing ceremony. Tionne offered her own words of encouragement to the children: ?Work together, as you always have. You?re stronger together than apart.? She also gave them a hug for further encouragement.

Despite these encouragements, Tionne could sense the children were sad to see Lyric leave. Likewise, she could sense Lyric was feeling worried about her parents and the other children and feeling sadness over having to leave them. Tionne could emphasize with Lyric. During her training, she often sensed some of the other students missing their families and friends.

While they made their way through the tunnels, Tionne was thinking ahead towards Lyric?s training, and a part of her was feeling overwhelmed. In addition to the time constraint, they weren?t going to train Lyric to become a Jedi Knight. From a certain point of view, they were going to train her to become a Jedi Master. That would be almost impossible to do for several reasons. First, she was certain no Jedi have ever become a Jedi Master at such a young age. Even Luke was older than Lyric was when he became a Jedi Master. Second, one became a Jedi Master through years of study and practical application of their teaching. Fortunately, she managed to stop that chain of thought from panicking her. She mentally took a step back and realized that in a way, Lyric would be pursuing the same path she had taken ? learning the ways of the Force and then teaching that to others. While training Lyric to become a Jedi Master seemed daunting, training her to become a Jedi instructor eased her mind.

She mentally began to come up with Lyric?s curriculum, though she was certain Luke would have the final say. Obviously, Lyric needed to learn the basic Force skills ? Control, Sense, and Alter; the ability to sense the Force within oneself, to sense the Force externally, and to use the Force to manipulate the universe around her, respectively. Considering her ability to communicate with animals, Lyric might be able to learn powers associated with Sense more easily than the other two. Of course, she needed to hone the ability she demonstrated.

Meditation and calming exercises were definitely a priority for Lyric. Battlemind and danger sense would be next, as would learning to probe the minds of others to trigger the ?push-back? reflex that all Force-sensitives had as a defensive reflex. The next area would probably be healing abilities; specifically healing trances and being able to control pain and accelerate healing for herself and for others. Since the purellas are spiders, they probably poisoned their prey before consuming them. In light of that,

Ai-yah. DRL held me in a Force grip for a good portion of the past month. First was a slight case of writer's block in that I had trouble with the next post for my other story. Then I managed to get MCP certified in Microsoft Outlook and Access. I come home that night, and wham, my computer says the registry file was lost or corrupted. I get it fixed, and it happened again. I get it fixed again, and it happened again. I managed to transfer all my files to a flash drive as a precaution, as it proved to be a good idea because it happened again. I'm having the drive completely wiped and having Windows 7 put on. I reached the point with my computer where I wasn't going to put up with any more nonsense.

I wanted to add more to this, but there's been a long enough delay, and I found a convenient place to stop.


About an hour later, Tionne got up and made her way to the entrance. She saw the remains left behind by the predator, but the predator was gone. When she reached out with the Force, she sensed no animals nearby. Good, the coast is clear. She looked back and saw Lyric looking at her expectantly. ?It?s safe now. The animals have left.?

As Lyric neared the entrance, Tionne guided Lyric so that she wouldn?t see the remains. Being aware of the kind of life Lyric had lived, she knew Lyric was used to seeing violence and death, but she felt no need to expose Lyric to the scene. Several minutes after they had left the tunnel, Lyric asked, ?Shouldn?t we be keeping an eye out for danger??

?I am. I?ve been using the Force to sense for any danger or any nearby animals.?

?That was how you knew it was safe to leave the tunnel??

?Yes. In fact, I sensed the predator leave some time ago.?

?You mean we could have left earlier? Why didn?t we??

?There are two reasons. First, most animals have keener senses than you or I do. For instance, a predator tracking a herd of migrating animals would need to have strong senses of smell and hearing. That way it can continue to track its prey even if it loses sight of it. If we had left too soon, it might have heard us or picked up our scent. Then it would have come back to investigate.

?The second reason was it gave me a chance to test you. I wanted to see how patient you were. You and the other children have learned to stay at the pool and the egg chamber because you knew predators would come to you. So you?ve learned to be patient and to wait for trouble to come, rather than go looking for trouble. However, in this case, I was looking for something different. I know you?re eager to begin your training. I wanted to see if your eagerness would make you impatient.? She gave Lyric a smile. ?That didn?t happen. You exercised control, patience, and restraint. You passed.?

She could sense Lyric?s surprise at her answer and her pleasure at passing her test. One thing she has learned over the years is that sometimes the most important lessons and tests are the ones that aren?t announced or expected. Now that she had the opportunity, she pulled out her comlink. ?Artoo, Threepio, do you copy??

?Yes, Mistress Tionne. Thanks goodness you?re all right.?

?Why would I not be??

?Even though you informed us you would be out of contact, a good amount of time had passed.?

Tionne rolled her eyes. I?m beginning to see why Han and Leia get frustrated with him from time to time. ?I would think you?ve attended enough meetings with Leia to know that some things take time to complete and that sometimes things take longer than expected.?

She heard whistling over the link and had an idea what Artoo was saying. ?You keep quiet, you malfunctioning little twerp. Excuse me, Mistress, but as for what you just said, I see your point. If I might ask, how was your meeting with the Melodies??

?You?ll be finding out yourself soon enough. Start getting the ship prepped. I?ll be there soon enough. Tionne out.?

?Who was that??

?Two friends wh

I got a job at KFC and had forgotten this story by accident. Well, as you said in the AGoL story, it was both really. And DRL has hit me with another blow. I am once again unemployed cos my manager said I was too slow at packing and taking orders. Instead of retraining me as a real manager would do, they fired me after three and a half weeks working there.

Will catch up now.

Aye, carramba! An entire month had passed by my eyes. Computer issues still plagued me until the middle of the month. Then the other usual real-life hindrances, including a storm that knocked out power for over a day. Anyway, I'm back.


GrandMasterKatarn - I hope you've managed to catch up.


I decided to make this post short for two reasons. First, I wanted to get something in after a month-long delay and before someone decided to lock this thread as being no longer worked on. Second, I decided to cut it short in light of the significant plot development in this part.


After they entered the cockpit, Tionne motioned for Lyric to sit in the copilot station. ?I want you to have a good view as we leave,? she said to Lyric. Once Lyric sat down, Tionne proceeded to fit the safety straps on her. ?Now these straps will make certain you stay in your seat while we leave or enter the atmosphere. The passage can be quite bumpy, and if you fall off the chair, you could hit a console and hurt yourself.?

Seeing Lyric nod in understanding, Tionne secured herself in the pilot station and continued the preflight checklist that Threepio had started. A few minutes later, she announced, ?Preflight check complete; all systems secured and ready.? She turned to look behind her. ?Artoo, Threepio, you?re ready??

Sitting in a seat, Threepio said, ?Yes, mistress.?

Artoo gave an affirmative twitter.

Looking at Lyric to give her a brief nod, she activated the repulsors and the thrusters. She then steered her ship up through the atmosphere. A few minutes later, she saw the star-studded blackness of space through the cockpit viewport. ?We have successfully left the atmosphere. Next stop, Yavin Four.? She could sense Lyric was feeling nervous and was beginning to miss her people. She waited a few minutes before she slowed the ship and changed its trajectory.

?Mistress Tionne, is there an emergency??

?No, Threepio. I just want to show Lyric something.? When the Lore Seeker was in position, she cut all engines. ?Look, Lyric.?

Tionne could sense Lyric?s feelings change to wonder as she looked out the cockpit viewport. ?Is? Is that my world??

She smiled as she saw the wonder on Lyric?s face. ?Yes it is. It may be just one moon in this galaxy, but it is your home. As long as you keep that fact in your mind and the feelings you have for your home in your heart, it will be with you wherever you go.? She gave Lyric a few minutes to take in the sight before restarting the engines and resuming the course to Yavin Four.

The course that Artoo had plotted earlier was such that it would take only two hours to complete. Half an hour into the flight, Tionne decided to give Lyric another lesson. She turned her seat to face Lyric and said, ?Lyric.? When she saw Lyric turn to look at her, she said, ?Remember when I said that those who can use the Force can control, sense, and alter it.?

?Yes.?

?The skills and abilities you can perform with the Force fall into those three areas. Control allows you to recognize the Force within yourself. With it, you can move faster, jump higher or farther, even heal any injuries you sustain. Since you rescued me from the reel, I?ve been using the Force to block the pain and heal my ribs.

?Sense allows you to sense the Force outside your own body. You?ll be able to sense the presence of other animals and individuals. You?ll be more aware of your surroundings, and you?ll be able notice details others might miss. Being able to sense danger is an ability associated with Sense.? She gave Lyric a smile. ?What you did with the reel is another ability associated with Sense.? She saw Lyric smile at that.

?Alter allows you to move objects, like I did with the pebbles. Many of the more advanced uses of the Force require you to use two or all three of these areas.?

Tionne paused for a moment before she continued. ?Lyric, close your eyes.? When she saw Lyric comply, she closed

Ouch! Once again DRL kept me at bay. A thunderstorm knocked out power and damaged my motherboard, so I had to get a whole new computer. Then other things kept getting in the way. I wanted to post this two days ago on my birthday, but I got sidetracked.

Again no responses? Well I hope some of you lurkers decide to post because I'm almost certain there will be one more post after this one. So enjoy this and comment before the mods lock it!


For the next two hours, Tionne concentrated on flying her ship while Lyric continued sensing the Force, becoming accustomed to it. She would often look at Lyric, and the results were the same ? leaning back in the seat with her eyes closed and her face set in soft concentration. While she wished Lyric would continue her practice, Tionne knew it was time to end her lesson. ?Lyric, we?re approaching Yavin Four.?

She saw Lyric open her eyes and shifted her position so she could see out the viewport. ?Is? Is that it??

?Yes,? she said, smiling at the wonder she was sensing from Lyric.

Several minutes later, the Lore Seeker was in the atmosphere flying at a safe height over the jungle canopy. ?The ground is as green as I?ve heard from the Elders.?

Tionne laughed, and Artoo twittered amusedly. ?That?s not the ground. Those are trees.?

?Trees??

?Plants, just like the trico is. You don?t have them on your moon because there?s very little water on the surface, and the temperature is cold. Here, and on many planets in the galaxy, there?s enough water, and the temperature is warm enough for trees to grow to various heights.?

?I can sense so much life on this moon.?

Nodding, Tionne said, ?Life can exist in many forms and in many climates. There are many plants and animals living on this moon, but long ago, this moon was inhabited just as your people inhabit your moon. Unfortunately, the inhabitants died thousands of years ago.?

?They?re all dead??

?Yes. A disaster happened on this moon long ago, and they didn?t survive.? That was the truth from a certain point of view, she thought. ?We wouldn?t have known about them if they hadn?t built buildings.? She nodded as the Great Temple came into view. ?Just like that one. We changed the interior to make it more livable for us and to suit our needs, but the exterior hasn?t changed for the past four thousand years.?

Before landing, Tionne circled the Praxeum. As she did, she caught sight of a sparring session. There was someone overseeing the session, and when she reached out in the Force to identify the individual, she smiled as she recognized the presence. I don?t know if this was a stroke of luck or the will of the Force, but I?m not complaining. Especially since Lyric will benefit from her being here.

Once she landed and shut down the engines, she led Lyric to the cargo hold and activated the ramp. Once they made their way down the ramp, Tionne said to Lyric, ?Welcome to Yavin Four, and welcome to the Jedi Praxeum.?

Before she could say anything else, she heard a familiar call. ?Tionne!?

Tionne looked up to see a familiar figure running towards her. ?Kirana Ti!? she said as she walked to meet her. She was greeted with a strong hug, which unfortunately didn?t help her ribs.

?Tionne, what?s wrong??

?Let?s just say I got entangled by a snake with a gundark?s strength, and my ribs paid the price,? she said while wincing with pain.

?Come on. Let?s get you to the medbay.?

?Not yet.? Tionne made her way back to Lyric and the others.

?It?s okay. There?s no reason to be shy,? she said encouragingly to Lyric as she led her forward.

?Oh, Mistress Kirana Ti! It?s good to see you again,? she heard Threepio say.

?Threepio? I?m surprised to see you here. I thought you would be with Leia on Coruscant.?

Before Threepio could respond, Tionne asked, ?Kirana, when did you arrive here??

?Several hours ago. Master Skywalker an

Finally able to reply. Sorry it took so long. I loved the entire posts I've missed. Having never read the JJK, I always wondered where the Melodies came from and what their world was like. Most of the EU lately has been butchering characterizations and worlds. I'm rather surprised they haven't butchered the Yavin system yet.

GrandMasterKatarn - you don't need to worry about the current trend of novels butchering the Yavin system. The Vongs have already done that.

So sorry for the delay again. DRL struck again, or rather continued. But the DRL took the form of me serving as caretaker for my father. Right now, he's in the hospital and will begin physical therapy soon. I have a short reprieve, so I'm taking it.

Well, this has been a good run, but this is the final post for this story, and it's just as well. I enjoyed writing this, but considering how things have been this summer, I don't know if I could have been able to make posts at regular intervals.

Anyway, here's the conclusion.


Half an hour later, Tionne was remaining still on a bed while the med droid taped her ribs. Lyric was sitting in the bed to her right, having been checked by the med droid first. Since they had no standard template for a healthy Melodie child, Lyric?s examination went a little longer than normal. It would take the medical computers another hour before its analysis was complete, but for the moment the only cause of concern that the computer detected was a deficiency in various vitamins and minerals. Under the circumstances, Tionne wasn?t surprised by the finding, but then again the levels the computer detected could be considered normal for her species. The med droid informed them that he would like Lyric to make several visits to the med bay over the next two weeks in order to verify the findings and establish a Melodie medical database.

Shortly after she, Lyric, Luke, and Kirana Ti arrived at the medical bay, Aqinos, Kam, Kyle, and Streen joined them. When she introduced Kam to Lyric, Lyric didn?t understand what Tionne meant when she said Kam was her husband. But when she said he was her mate, Aqinos, Kirana Ti, Kyle, and Streen chuckled while Luke had an amused expression on his face. As for Kam, he blushed slightly from embarrassment. Tionne smiled in her mind at his reaction ? she was the only one who could do that to him.

While the med droid examined Lyric, she gave a brief summary of her findings at the gas giant and the other moons before telling them of her encounter with Lyric?s people. ?I know Leia would like to offer help to the Melodies, but under the circumstances, training Lyric in the ways of the Force, and then having her train others seems to be the safest option.?

She could see that Kirana Ti and Streen agreed with her decision. Kyle, Kam, and Luke, on the other hand, were more reserved. Under the circumstances, Tionne could understand why they were concerned. Lyric?s origins and situation were similar to Gantoris?, Desann?s, and Dolph?s, or Kueller?s as he later called himself. The latter three had grown up experiencing great anger in their lives. Gantoris and Desann also experienced great hopelessness because of the circumstances of their lives. Desann and Dolph both turned to the dark side and died, never considering the possibility of returning to the light. As for Gantoris, though he briefly fell under the sway of the ancient specter of the Sith Lord Exar Kun, he sought redemption, but never got the opportunity, as Exar Kun killed him for his defiance and as a means of tauning Luke, Tionne, and her fellow students.

After the med droid finished and Tionne put her top back on, Luke asked, ?Could you all leave for a few minutes? I need to talk to Lyric in private.?

When they stepped out into the corridor, the others gathered around Tionne. ?The poor child,? Kirana Ti said. ?To grow up under those circumstances??

?I know. Gantoris might have been the only one among us who could truly emphasize with Lyric and the Melodies,? Streen observed.

?I agree that giving the children blasters to use against the wildlife would be a reckless and more importantly very dangerous thing to do,? Kam said. ?However, to bring her here to learn the ways of the Force, it seems too risky.?

Tionne looked at her husband with shock in her eyes.

?I think

A small update - I included in another source of recruits for Luke's academy on page 1. They were first mentioned in WotC's Power of the Jedi Sourcebook about a decade ago, but I had forgotten about them. Fortunately, their inclusion didn't necessitate a complete rewrite of this fanfic.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. DRL is evil. Loved the conclusion.

Thanks, GrandMasterKatarn. I just went through the story again and did some grammatical polishing. I will also say this - in light of what I've heard about upcoming episodes of The Clone Wars cartoon series, I might be returning to this story again around the Fourth of July to add or change something. I'd add it around April, but I want to wait three months for the spoiler policy to expire and give all of you a chance to see the episode in question.

I managed to see the season finale of the Clone Wars, and I saw enough to add a reference to that episode into the story. In observance of the spoiler policies on the boards, I won't be posting this until around the Fourth of July.

Posted a few polishes, and the new reference is ready to be posted. But that won't be for another month, in observance to the spoiler policies.

Well, enough time has passed, and I've posted the edit I made in response to the season 3 finale - a reference to Chewie working with Ahsoka and his brief glance at Anakin. It looks like there might be another similar encounter in the next season, based on the preview I saw. But we'll have to wait and see.

With the debut of season 4, I can say that I'll be modifying the post where Ackbar appeared a little. Don't expect it until Christmas, though.

Like I said, I've modified a previous post by including a summary of the Mon Calamari arc from season 4 of the Clone Wars. With the Book of Sith coming out in a month's time, there may be a chance of further edits to this story. That depends on what I find in the book.


Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, everyone!

Well, with the finale of Season 4 behind us, and having reviewed Book of Sith, I'm pleased to say there's no cause for me to revise anything. I'm also happy to say the same thing concerning certain revelations in the finale of the FOTJ, Apocalypse. Here's hoping I get to see some new readers.