Tahiri and Anakin didn’t want to leave Sannah. But there was no disobeying the stern note in Luke’s voice. They both turned and left the hangar.
“Do you think Master Luke will let her stay?” Tahiri whispered as they headed to the turbolift that would take them to the upper levels of the Great Temple.
“I hope so, Tahiri,” Anakin replied. “But I just don’t know.”
Anakin and Tahiri hunched over several sheets of paper on the stone floor of Anakin’s room. They’d returned from the academy medical droid only a short while before. She’d cleaned their cuts and bandaged Tahiri’s ribs. Tahiri had been right: the reel that had tried to crush her had cracked one of them. The medical droid had also taken a sample of their blood to make sure the purella’s venom had left their systems. It had. And, except for the cuts and a few bruises, she said the two Jedi candidates were fine.
It was late afternoon, and after a shower and a change of clothing Tahiri had gone to Anakin’s room. Now both candidates sat hard at work, trying to decipher the symbols left by the Massassi.
“Anakin, are you done writing down the message from the lower tunnel of Sistra?” Tahiri asked impatiently.
“Almost,” Anakin said, his eyes closed as he recalled the carvings and scribbled them down. Tahiri studied the symbols from the Palace of the Woolamander. She desperately hoped that they’d be able to decipher them from the translation Aragon had recalled of the carvings on Yavin 8. To do so would mean breaking down the carvings from the lower tunnel of Sistra and matching each symbol to the words Aragon had remembered. Tahiri fervently hoped that the elder Melodie’s memory hadn’t been faulty. If it had, they wouldn’t be able to translate the carvings in the palace. And they would not be able to help the children trapped within the golden globe.
Tahiri looked at another sheet of paper. On it were the words Aragon had spoken. Words that Anakin had written down moments ago, as if Aragon ‘s voice still echoed in his head.
“Peace to all. We are the Massassi. We beg the ones who read this message to travel to the fourth moon. Break the curse that the evil Jedi Knight Exar Kun made to enslave the Massassi and imprison our children. We cannot break the curse ourselves, but will leave a message in our palace to help those who can.”
Tahiri had just finished reading when there was a soft knock on Anakin’s door.
“Just a minute,” Anakin called as he scrambled to hide the sheets of paper he and Tahiri were working on. “Come,” he called.
The door opened and Luke Skywalker stood looking at the two candidates.
“The medical droid told me that your wounds have been treated,” Master Luke said as he moved to sit on a stone chair. “Anakin, it is lucky that you weren’t badly hurt, or your mother would have had my head,” Luke said sternly. “I’m very glad that you both are safe and back at the academy.”
Anakin heard the note of concern in his uncle’s voice. Leia Organa Solo was Uncle Luke’s sister, and his mother had entrusted her youngest son to Luke Skywalker’s care. There was no way Uncle Luke would accept any unnecessary actions on his or Tahiri’s part that would have put them in danger. If he learned that either had been foolhardy on Yavin 8, Luke Skywalker would not only be displeased, but they might be sent home. Anakin desperately hoped that Sannah hadn’t mentioned the carvings.
“I’ve heard from Sannah that you fought bravely to protect the Melodies from predators,” Luke Skywalker continued. “That you used the Force to protect your friend, her people, and yourselves.”
Luke Skywalker studied Anakin’s young face. He hoped his nephew understood the gravity of the situation he’d survived. “I’m pleased that Lyric survived the changing and is now an elder,” Master Luke continued. “However, we must discuss Sannah.”
Anakin’s heart sank. Sannah was being sent home.
“We’re sorry, Uncle Luke,” he began. “It’s just that we couldn’t deny her the chance to help her people-“
“Don’t apologize,” Luke Skywalker interrupted. “It’s true that the Melodies on Yavin 8 are unable to protect themselves well from the predators that roam their moon. That’s one of the reasons that Tionne brought Lyric to the academy. Even though Lyric was close to the time of changing, Tionne recognized that she was strong in the Force. We both hoped to teach Lyric enough so that she could return to her moon and help the Melodies. And I think we were successful. Lyric will begin to seek those of her people who are sensitive to the Force, and to help them understand the Force. She herself understands it deeply, even though her time here was short. Sannah’s time with us will be longer.”