“…Will you marry me?”
Serra’s eyes widened at hearing those words. Her heart pounded, her brow perspired. It was everything she had ever dreamed of, yet she could not find the words to reply. At last, with joyful tears streaming down her cheeks, she managed to speak her answer.
“Yes…”
The voices began to quiet as Malik took Serra’s hand, kissing it sweetly.
“Serra Keto, I take you to be my wife. From this day on, I pledge myself to you, to the good we can do together, and to the will of the Force. Whether our days be numerous or few, I am yours to the end.”
Smiling through her tears, Serra cupped Malik’s face in her hands.
“Malik Ran, I take you to be my husband. I love you with all my heart because you are the kindest, bravest man I have ever known. I will be your ever devoted partner, a loving wife, and if the Force is willing, the mother of your children.”
Falling into each other’s arms, the couple sealed their union with a long, tender kiss. No amount of disapproval could ever affect them now; they knew this to be right. As they parted, they now saw that they were once again alone in the cave, not a sound to be heard. Arm-in-arm, they walked out of the cave together.
*****
As they exited, Yoda stood on the nearby tree stump, their lightsabers still resting on the ground in front of him. He wore an enormous grin on his face, and his ears pointed skyward, indicating his joy at seeing them.
“Malik Ran, Serra Keto, step forward.”
The pair moved towards him slowly, their anticipation building. Both knew what was about to happen. Reaching Master Yoda, they each went down on one knee before him. He placed a hand on each of their heads, his eyes closing as he sunk into meditation. After several minutes, he spoke.
“Strong is the Force with you. A difficult path you have chosen, yet proven you have your capabilities to walk it without straying. And so, by the will of the Force, dub thee I do, Jedi Masters… and husband and wife.”
Both looked up in surprise at his last words.
“You saw that?” Malik asked.
“Of course. Impossible to miss, it was,” Yoda replied with a chuckle. “Master Keto, Master Ran, rise.” As they stood, he continued, “Pleased I am to no end at seeing your growth. Known for years I have that this day would come. The day that we no longer exist as master and student, but as equals.”
Serra choked back a tear as she smiled and replied, “In your mind we may be equals, but to us, you will always be our teacher, Master Yoda.”
“Now, celebrate we must! Come, saved the last of my lifeboat’s rations for a special occasion I have.”
“Master Yoda, we couldn’t eat your best remaining food. It would be… impolite,” Malik protested.
Laughing, Yoda merely replied, “Wriggle out of this one you will not, Master Malik. Come, we eat.”
Seeing they could not change his mind, the pair followed Yoda back to his makeshift home. They laughed and joked as he prepared the food, clearly in a great mood following their promotions. Of course, Serra had a powerful urge to pounce on her husband right then and there, but she managed to refrain. Soon, Yoda brought them each a plate of food.
“Sit. Eat. Much to be happy for we have.”
Taking his first bites, Malik replied, “Master, you never cease to amaze me. Even after everything that’s happened in the last few weeks, you still manage to keep your optimism.”
“Keeps me going it does.”
“That’s true, I suppose,” Serra said. “It’d be so easy to just give up…”
“Worry not, Master Serra. Good you can still do in your life. Besides, last forever nothing does, not even the Empire. One day, years from now, a new hope will rise to oppose it.”
Malik eyed Yoda for several seconds. “You’re plotting something, aren’t you?”
“Heheh, hide things from you I cannot. Indeed, a plan is in the works. But for you two, best not to know the details it is.”
“That makes sense, in the event we were captured and tortured for information. I mean we would never betray your secrets, but…”
“I’m sure Vader can be quite persuasive,” Serra said, finishing Malik’s thought.
“Yes. But still, stronger you are than you give yourselves credit for. After all, conquered your fears and doubts you have. The cave… the images it tested me with… horrible things I saw.”
“I can imagine. I had to face Anakin unarmed,” Serra replied. “He attacked me with Force Lightning, tormenting me. He enjoyed it.”
“Hmm… yet overcome this you did, yes?”
“I did. I… I told him the things he blamed me for were actually his fault. He was saying that I was too weak and allowed all the Jedi in the Temple to die. But then I felt something for Anakin that I never thought I’d feel: pity. He had it all, but threw it away on an empty promise. I feel sorry for him.”
“Well done, Serra. Compassion and mercy, powerful weapons against evil they are. Take away evil’s power they do, as you discovered.” Turning to Malik, he continued, “Faced your fears as well, did you?”
“I did. I encountered Palpatine in the Council chambers, attempting to murder a group of younglings. Tried to fight him off, but he beat me back and pinned me to the floor. I had no other choice but… but to…”
“Go on, Malik.”
Taking a deep breath, he said, “I had to use Force Lightning to stop him. I could have killed him, but… didn’t. After he tried to taunt me, he… turned into Serra.”
“We had been fighting each other the whole time,” Serra chimed in.
“I can’t believe… I used Force Lightning on my wife…” Malik continued, lowering his head in shame. “I was so tempted to kill him, and if I had-”
“But you didn’t,” Serra said with conviction. “You made the right choice, Malik. The fact that you ended up attacking me was not your fault.”
“I know, I guess… I’m terrified of what I’m capable of with my full power.”
“This fear, very common it is as a Jedi grows. Hold lives in our hands, we often do. Make good decisions we must. Malik, fear this power you should not. Trust yourself, for you have the ability to wield this power for the Light Side of the Force.”
“You really think that? I mean it sure doesn’t feel like a Light Side power, even if lightning itself is only a force of nature.”
“True, of the Light Side it is not. But when using this power, drawing on hate and anger are you?”
“No, of course not! I only used it because it was the only way to protect those children!”
“Precisely. Managed you have to use a power thought to be of the Dark Side without drawing on your inner darkness. A difficult path it is to walk, yet I now bear witness to you doing exactly that.”
Perhaps… our friends have the ability to walk the most difficult path of all.
“Ah, Master Qui-Gon. Of which path do you speak?”
The path of the Gray Jedi.
“Gray Jedi? I thought that was a derogatory term, an insult,” Serra replied.
To some, yes. Many in the Jedi Order used the term while failing to grasp its true meaning. In recent years, it refers to a Jedi that frequently disagrees with the Council, myself for instance. But in truth, a Gray Jedi is devoted to the will of the Force and keeping the balance of the universe in check. They neither serve the Light nor the Dark, for they realize that neither can ever be destroyed.
“So are you saying you actually were a Gray Jedi in life?” Malik asked.
I was not. Though I did study some of their teachings, I found some of their methods to be… unnecessary. In the past, Gray Jedi often took the position of the ends justifying the means. Those parts of their doctrine I rejected straight away, as I suspect you will also when you learn of them. Still, many of their principles are strong and quite applicable to our lives, particularly in these dark times. I think you would do good to at least learn of these things.
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