Update 2/11/2017: Do remember as you read this that even though this is an edit and revision I am not the best at editing. My writing is very much as if I am actually telling you the story and therefore is as if the words are said. We can get away with saying things easier than it is to write them. So even though I think this is far easier to read… please don't expect perfection.

Author's Note: I AM NOT DEAD WOOHA! Ok, so I decided after reading another story on here that it was time that I got up of my lazy rear and started this story again. Just a small word of warning, I have used a character in the story that some of you may not know. She is actually an expanded universe character and I thought was perfect for this part of the story.

Chapter 1: Bonds

"General… what has you so focused?"

Alina didn't actively ignore him per se; she was just more focused on what she was doing.

"A special crystal for a special padawan…" She froze in her work. What did she mean by saying such things? What was this feeling that flowed through her? She had just been reawakened to the force, was this some side effect that she had not experienced before? Was her punishment from the master's so grievous that being returned to the force left her feeling odd? But even so that would not explain the feeling and its potential source. She looked at the completed cylinder of durasteel and ignited it. She seemed lost in the color of the blade.

Bao-dur not fazed by her initial actions watched the blade ignite and marveled at its color. It was a very rare color. A variant of green but intertwined with silver that glowed as brightly as the stars themselves. Bao-dur knew the name of this color but had never seen any Jedi wield it before.

"Viridian… now where would you have found that general?" Bao-Dur placed a hand on her shoulder and she almost jumped out her skin. She hadn't even noticed that she wasn't alone. She deactivated the blade and turned to the Irodonian that had apparently been watching her the entire time. She looked into his dark eyes and sighed.

"I am sorry Bao-dur… was I disturbing you?" She asked with a wary smile. Bao-dur looked her over for a moment and then just shook his head.

"Hardly General, I was just wondering where you found that crystal. If I had known that you had it we would have been able to create a saber much more fitting for you." He stated looking at the cylinder that hung at her hip. Alina for her part detached the saber from her belt clip and ignited it, a simple blue blade came to life in a familiar hiss. She sighed again returning the blade to her hip as she deactivated it.

"You know I don't require something flashy. I guess I just want to blend in." She stated not even believing herself. Bao-dur again just shook his head.

"General, of all the things you are, someone who wishes to blend into the crowd is not one of them. Besides, you didn't answer my question. Where did you get the crystal?" He inquired. From anyone else this might have been an interrogation but from him, she knew he truly wanted to know. She looked up at nothing in particular and remembered something she had buried deep in her thoughts. She smiled as she remembered a time from back when she was just a padawan learner herself.

…

"Alina… are you even paying attention when I talk to you?" A gruff and surly voice snapped the young brunet out of whatever haze had taken her mind at that moment. She turned to see the balding and wrinkled countenance of one of many of her Jedi Masters. This one very often was the hardest on her and she never was quite sure as to why. He seemed to be displeased with everything she ever did for no real reason other than it was her doing it. She sighed and shook her head clear.

"Yes Master Vrook, I understand that the lightsaber is the symbol of a Jedi." She stated rolling her eyes. Master Vrook just scowled at her. She was headstrong, brash and rarely listened. Her abilities with the force were average at best. He had no idea what anyone saw in her nor why he was wasting his time with her. Even at sixteen he could see a troubled future for this particular student.

"Why do I even try, it is like trying to fill a sealed tankard. I am wasting my time." Vrook sighed and turned around just in time to see someone else that annoyed him. Alina turned to look at the door to the room that Vrook had decided to drag her into to see something that made her smile. Standing in the door was a woman older then she but not nearly as old as the man attempting to teach her now. She had fire red hair and steel blue eyes. Alina could feel the tension between this woman and Vrook as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Come now Master Vrook, certainly this teenage padawan has not riled you so badly that you are willing to give up. What power does she hold that makes you even consider doing so?" The woman in the door asked walking in. Vrook sighed once more and looked at the woman. He had no idea why her mother allowed her to run rampant throughout the temple. Even though she was powerful and trained by others with great power, one of her teachers was a fallen Jedi and thus he believed her to be tainted in a way. However he was forced to tolerate her due to her mother's orders.

"Ms. Sunrider, she does not hold any special power. The only thing special about her is the fact that she can so completely miss the point of any lesson I try to teach her." Vrook retorted. Alina looked over at Vrook and raised an eyebrow and was about to respond when she heard a voice in her mind.

"Chose your battles Alina… this is not one you would win." She heard stated into her head. She looked over at the woman and bowed her head in acknowledgement. Since the moment that she had met this woman there was some odd connection between them. She later learned it to be a force bond which surprised many how it was formed. The woman didn't seem to mind and often used it to communicate with the young padawan.

"Very well, perhaps she will listen more to you. I swear she ignores me out of spite." Vrook retorted before turning and leaving. Alina for all of her sixteen years old stuck her tongue out at the old Jedi as he left. The woman upon seeing this did all she could do not to laugh. She enjoyed a good joke but she of all people knew Vrook did have a point. This young padawan did seem to do things just to spite him.

"Now Alina… remember the code, there is no emotion…" The woman stated looking at her expectantly.

"There is peace…" Alina responded. She wasn't a fan of the Jedi code especially the part about passion… there were a lot of things she could get passionate over. She looked up at the woman before her and sighed. Every time she looked into those eyes she felt something she could not describe. Perhaps it was all just a side effect of the bond?

"Exactly. You need to be more controlled in your emotions. Remember there is a place for everything and Master Vrook was merely attempting to tell you the importance of the Lightsaber as a symbol of our order. Remember, Jedi are guardians of the galaxy and that symbol must never be used in anger. That was one of the many mistakes that my master made in his fall." The woman stated walking over to the young padawan. The woman looked deep into Alina's eyes and Alina for her part just got lost in hers.

"Master Sunrider I know this, you know I know this. Master Vrook was supposed to teach me the final step of constructing that symbol." Alina stated not taking her eyes off of the slightly older Jedi standing before her. The woman looked at the younger girl and smiled.

"What have I told you about that master stuff? You want a master I can call Vrook back. Call me Vima." She retorted. For all she was Alina couldn't understand this feeling but looking at that smile just made her heart skip a beat. It made no sense. Finally she was able to take her eyes from the other woman's.

"I know what you have said mas… Vima… I just… I just…" Alina couldn't find the words. She knew she stood in the presence of one of the most powerful Jedi in history… could that be what these feeling were? Could it be she was simply in awe of the power the exuded from Vima? Vima just shook her head.

"You what? It's just a name, just like yours is Alina. How would you like it if I called you Padawan Miston?" She asked the smile not leaving her face. Alina for her part giggled.

"That does sound pretty silly coming from you." She responded.

"Exactly. You calling me master sounds just as silly." Vima wandered over and leaned against the work station. She knew it was past time that Alina learned to construct her saber. After all she had built her own saber around the same age as Alina.

"Look, how about I teach you how to build your saber?" Vima stated looking back to the young teenager. Alina's eyes lit up at the statement. Vima blinked for a few second. She knew this girl to be something special, over the past few months of knowing her she had become like a little sister to her. The bond that formed between them though confusing to most didn't bother her at all. However the emotion that Vima felt when she looked into eyes of Alina at that moment was not just happiness or joy at thought of training… it was something deeper, something more powerful that even she couldn't place specifically. Vima shook her head clear of the thought and steadied herself. Alina looked into Vima's eyes and couldn't stop herself from blushing. She had no idea what this feeling was… there were no words to describe the feeling itself. This bond between them was something she was not able to fully understand either. She pushed the feelings aside as just part of that lack of understanding.

"I… I would like that very much Vima…" Alina stated brushing a stray stand of brown hair from her eyes and looking anywhere but at the eyes that captivated her so much. Vima smiled.

"Alright then, let's get started." She stated turning to the work station. After about an hour of concentrated effort Alina hit the switch and the lightsaber flashed to life. She stepped back from the work station and flourished the yellow saber. She looked at the blade and smiled.

"Now remember, as Master Vrook was trying to teach you… the Lightsaber is not a weapon of war. It is a symbol; it is a tool to ensure peace. You are going to be a Jedi Sentinel; your mission will be to search for injustice hiding in the darkest of places and bring it into the light. This blade is that light, never ignite it in anger for that anger will lead to the darkside." Vima lectured looking over Alina who disengaged the blade. Alina turned and bowed.

"I shall only use it to shield those who cannot shield themselves and protect those who cannot protect themselves." She recited rising from her bow with a smile on her face that could light the darkest corner of the old Sith Empire. This smile did not go unnoticed by Vima who couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, I have to get back to my duties. Remember my words Alina and remember your own vow this day." Vima stated turning to leave.

"I shall… I shall never forget my words, this day or you." Alina stated. Vima stopped and turned to the young padawan. The same emotion she had felt before through the bond had returned however this time it was much stronger than before. Alina realized what she had said and blushed deeply.

"You… what you taught me… what you said…" She managed with a small giggle. Vima stopped and looked at this girl. She was redder then a sunrise on Tatooine. Vima turned and walked back to Alina and placed a hand on her shoulder. Both Jedi could feel the energy flow between them. Alina looked up into Vima's eyes and just seemed to disappear into them.

"I have something for you. Something I want you to give someone special, just as I give it to you. This crystal is very rare among our order. It is not the right color for me, I am too militant or so my mother says." The older Jedi chuckles a bit at that before continuing.

"I see a lot of myself in you and something else as well. This bond we share… I am not sure what it is and I am not sure either one of us will ever be able to explore it further then we have today. But as you know, the color of a lightsaber says much of the Jedi that carries it, not just their station but also their personality." Vima continued as she pulls her saber from her belt and ignites it."

"My blade is silver, it stands for raw power controlled and harnessed, focused. This crystal… this crystal belongs to someone who wishes to protect above all else." Vima extinguished her saber looking back at Alina."

"I know the promise you just made but I do not believe it is the right color for you either. But I just get this feeling that someday you will meet someone who it will be perfect for. When you find that person, train them as I have you. Let them know that the Jedi are not just some stuffy order of old men who feel nothing. Show them that the force is not chains that bind but a shield that protects and when you have shown them this… give them this crystal." Vima takes Alina's hand and places the crystal in it. She takes a deep breath looking into the young teenager's eyes once more.

"Know that I give you this because I care deeply for you. I am not even sure why but I know that I do as I know you feel the same for me. Take this crystal… my gift to you. You will know when the time is right… when you find someone who you can care about just as deeply as I care about you." Vima finished her hand now intertwined with Alina's. In Alina's other hand, crystal of silver and green now seemed to shine. Alina recognized the color as the rare viridian crystal. She looked down at the crystal and then back up to Vima. Vima smiled and took her hand out of Alina's as she turned and walked away… tears in her eyes she repeated in her mind.

"There is no emotion…"

Alina looked at the crystal and then watched Vima leave the room. She dropped to her knees as tears filled her eyes. She wanted to so much to say… something… anything but she didn't know what it was that was causing her to cry. She just looked at the crystal as tear stung her eyes…

"I will hold on to this crystal forever… because… because there is no one I shall ever feel the same way about, care so much about… It will forever remind me of you and our bond." Alina stating wiping the tears from her eyes and stowing the crystal away.

…

Bao-dur looked on as tears filled Alina's eyes. He simply took a step back and did not push for response for a time. Whatever she had just remembered had hurt her enough to bring her sadness. He had never seen the general cry before, he did not know what could have done this but immediately he felt sorry for making her remember something just as he wished to never remember the lives he destroyed at Malachor.

"General… I am sorry. I did not mean to…" He stated to her. Alina heard his words and finally felt the stinging of the tears in her eyes. She took a breath as the memory returned to her. She hadn't remember why this crystal was so important but she knew this was the right use of it. At that moment she stopped and looked toward the central hold of the ship where Mira has set up her room and it dawned on her. Vima had foreseen this… this bond that formed between her and Mira was the same that she had formed with Vima all those years before.

Alina ignited the saber and looked at its Viridian blade and got lost in its glow. She barely knew this woman… it wasn't possible that it was the same bond… it couldn't be. It was at that moment that the tears returned to her eyes as she looked at the blade.

"I… loved her." Was all she said as she deactivated the blade. She looked at Bao-dur who had concern written all over his face. She walked over to him and held out the saber to him. He took it from her as a wave of confusion added to the concern on his face. Alina realized she had to say something.

"I am… fine my friend. I want you to hold on to this. Do not give it back to me until… until I am ready to accept what it means… ready to accept that what it means is even possible." She stated as he took the cylinder from her.

"I shall do as you ask… as always general." He stated his countenance returning to normal. Alina took a breath and looked at him. He was one of the few people that could truly understand her.

"Bao-dur… have I ever told you of the most important person to me?" She asked him. Bao-dur for his part attempted to remember and couldn't.

"I do not believe so general." He said simply. She leaned back against the work station and looked at him.

"Her name was Vima…"

Postscript: Well, there you go. I was going to use Kavar here but I thought Vima actually was a better bond to use especially for the story as a whole. Well, let's see if anyone will actually read this. Let me know what you think if you do. I promise if you like it it won't take me three years to write the next chapter, I swear lol.