As if controlled, Sidra was pulled back to the floor. Her legs folded underneath her backside and she was sat just as she had been before. 

Blinking rapidly, the Jedi stared at the Sayyadina of the Fremen. She had spent her whole life learning how to use the Force and had become comfortable with her body in battle. It was part of a Jedi's training to be able to feel every cell to ensure it was one with the Force. Sidra considered her connection with her body to be adequate by the Jedi Order's standards.

But from nothing but Lady Jessica's words, Sidra's body betrayed her.

'The Fremen are in need of liberation. You have knowledge and power. Paul has influence and strength. You cannot leave what you are destined to do because of the lies you have been fed.'

'What lies?!' Sidra cried in exasperation. She didn't want to get to her feet again in fear of being yanked back down by Jessica. But Sidra was questioning her reliance in the Force, as it was yet to tell her that she was in any danger.

Jessica hadn't moved, yet she had commanded Sidra's body as if it was her own. In all her years of research and reading, Sidra had never come across such a power that wasn't the Force. But although she was scared of what she didn't know, Sidra kept her gaze on the woman's unmoving eyes and tight lips.

'You're an intelligent girl, Sidra Chihari. If you were to see the covers over your eyes, you would question all that you know-'

'That's enough!'

Sidra was relieved that she was spared from staring at Jessica's scripture-covered face. Instead, she was made aware of the new presence that had entered the room. 

A wash of comfort came over the Jedi as she looked to her left. Her eyes travelled up from the stillsuit-covered legs to see an angry Paul Atreides. 

With his brow arched and his jaw clenched, Paul took his stance beside Sidra. He hadn't wasted any time in entering the room when hearing the conversation. 

Recently, Paul had been defiant towards his mother unlike he'd ever been before. His dreams had come from her association with the Bene Gesserit, and he was sick of putting them before himself. He was more than just the son of a Bene Gesserit and the duke, Paul was his own person who could form his own beliefs.

Sidra noticed Lady Jessica's dislike towards her son's disruption. While Paul glared at his mother, she held her ground with a narrowed stare.

'Paul, I did not ask for you-'

'You have no right to be spouting prophecies, Mum,' Paul sneered her title.

'I have every right. I am the Sayyadina.'

Sidra was able to send strength to her legs. With Paul at her side, if not further forward, Sidra felt safe enough to stand. She was slow in her movements, as if anything else would alert Lady Jessica of her actions. But the Sayyadina was absorbed by the abrupt entrance of her son.

'You're taking advantage of the Fremen. Haven't we done enough to them?' Paul had watched Sidra stand up through the corner of his eye. He wanted to take Sidra out of the room as soon as it was possible. But the tight lips and unblinking blue eyes of his mother made it hard for him to back down.

'We will liberate them in return. You can not ignore your destiny, Paul, and neither can your destined advisor.'

Paul didn't want to listen to anymore. No matter how much the frustration bubbled in his stomach, he couldn't let his mother continue in her tirade.

As he turned on his heel, Sidra took it as the signal to leave. She turned all while looking at Paul and wasn't expecting for his hand to make its way to the small of her back. His fingers ghosted against the fabric of her stillsuit, but it was enough for Sidra to quicken her pace.

'Your path is set, Chihari. Only you can unlock it by drinking The Water of Life.'

'Enough!'

Sidra had no time to jump. The boom in Paul's voice was monstorous compared to his usually smooth tone. If she was on the other side of the room, or with her ear to his lips, Paul's exclamation vibrated within her bones.

Just like Jessica's had, Paul's demand forced his mother to cease her speech. Sidra heard silence as Paul's ghosting hand led her out the room. They turned down the rock corridor without a call from the Sayyadina, and before Sidra knew it, she was in her own sleeping quarters.

In the confines of the familiar space, Sidra realised that she had been holding her breath. She let her teeth unclench and the headache that was brewing in her temple diminished.

Paul was looking at her already. When she looked from the entrance, she met the low brow over his hazel eyes. Lines creased the space between his dark eyebrows and his jaw was set as hers had been. Sidra wondered if he was also growing a headache.

'I apologise for my mother's behaviour. She... hasn't been the same since the ceremony,' he said in concern, looking down at Sidra. 'I hope she didn't offend your faith.'

'No, no, nothing like that. But, Paul... she knew things. She knew things about the Order that almost no one does,' Sidra babbled, hoping to find an answer in repeating what she had heard. When she found nothing, the young girl looked to Paul for something, anything, about how his mother knew so much.

But he was silent. His curls clouded around his crumpled forehead and clenched jaw. Sidra was briefly taken with Paul's appearance, but urged herself not to fall into another daze. She was a Jedi, and she needed to be mindful of potential attachments.

Instead, Sidra remembered the ache that lingered in her bones.

'Before, your mother used some sort of... power. I've never lost control of myself before, but she said two words, and I was obliging to her orders,' she said. 'And just then, you... did the same to her; like you had control with just your voice.'

Paul didn't pull a face of confusion or horror. He appeared to know what Sidra was talking about, confirming that she hadn't just imagined the phenomenon. But Paul didn't recite his explanation like he did with everything else about his past.

In front of the Jedi, Paul almost looked ashamed.

'It's the Voice, the Bene Gesserit's claim to power.'

Sidra's eyebrows raised at this. A power that made people defenceless was dangerous. Even the Jedi's use of the Force was limited. Mind-tricks were only effective on the weak-minded, and Force-restraining technology was used when necessary. But this Voice, that both Lady Jessica and Paul used, had the potential to be a problem.

It was part of the duty of Obi-wan's Padawan to preempt problems. With the clone wars raging, Sidra was taught to research while noting what could hinder the Republic's chances of winning. If the Bene Gesserit were against the Republic, then their power could be a threat.

But while in front of Paul, who seemed upset at its mention, Sidra stored the thought to the back of her mind for now.

'I'm sorry, Sid. She shouldn't have used it on you. That's not right-'

'Sidra?'

The interruption came from the entrance way. Unaware of how close they appeared to be standing, Paul and Sidra looked up to see Chani. It seemed that the Fremen had called for the Jedi before she had seen Paul as she had stopped in her stride with a look of surprise.

'Uh, sorry...' Chani's blue eyes shifted between the two, looking mildly uncomfortable. 'Stilgar has just intercepted some off-worlders outside the sietch. Thought you would want to know.'

'What?!'

Sidra marched away from Paul in a new found drive. She ignored the warmth that pried at her retreating figure and stopped in front of Chani.

'Who is it? What did they look like?'

'Uh one of them is orange with this striped thing on their head-'

Sidra didn't need to hear anymore. She rushed past Chani and let the walls take her through the sietch. With trembling hands, Sidra fiddled with the nose tube that hung around her neck. She mindlessly put it in its place while walking through the open cavern, where Fremen looked at her with curious eyes.

They had heard about the off-worlders outside, but Stilgar would never let anyone of danger into the cavern. The mothers with their babies weren't worried, and the men didn't rush out to help. Naib Stilgar was their leader and they trusted him, but to see the supposed Eaql al-Gaib heading out after the sun had set, they grew intrigued.

'-we saw the Shai-Hulud and knew it was you, brother. It is good to see you well.'

Sidra caught the end of a conversation in Chakobsa. She had exited the sietch and walked around to an opening in the rock. There, she sensed the signatures that she knew all too well, and heard a man's voice talking with familiarity and friendliness.

Stepping out from behind a corner, Sidra was greeted with a sight that she had waited two weeks for.

Ahsoka, Master Obi-wan, Master Anakin, and a handful of the 501st were stood with Luvis and Stilgar. As they waited for the Fremen to state their innocence to the tribe's Naib, the Jedi stood with their arms crossed in slight impatience. They had been searching all day and were dying for some confirmation that they had found the right tribe.

A masked clone was the first to notice Sidra. She had forgotten to make herself known in the excitement of seeing her team again. She was sure she looked ridiculous with her wide smile and wide eyes, but the clone recognised her none the less.

'Commander Chihari! Boy, are we glad to see you!'

Luvis and Stilgar stopped in their greeting. Ahsoka was the first to grin and remove her filtering mask. Trying to run through the shifting sand, Ahsoka eventually threw her arms around Sidra's shoulders and shook her from her grinning trance.

Sidra rested her head against Ahsoka's lekku. She had missed the familiarity of her closest friend and couldn't stop grinning on her shoulder. The Fremen were more than accommodating, but to embrace another Padawan who understood her was like arriving back home.

'You scared me half to death, you fraghead!' Ahsoka pulled away, but held no truth in her insult as she grinned. 'I almost thought you were going to let yourself be swallowed whole.'

'Not while you're watching. My Force ghost would never handle the embarrassment.'

Ahsoka let out a laugh, before she stepped aside. Sidra didn't lose her smile as she looked to her approaching Masters. They pulled their masks from their faces to reveal their sunburnt, exhausted smiles. Shoulder to shoulder, Obi-wan and Anakin beamed down at Sidra with looks of relief.

'You've caused quite the disruption, you know,' Master Skywalker mentioned. 'Obi-wan threatened to abandon the entire mission if the Harkonnen didn't drop us in the desert.'

Sidra's grin faltered in worry. She would never be able to live with herself if she was the reason their mission was unsuccessful. If the Jedi Council heard that, they would be beside themselves.

'Oh, come now, Anakin. It was all apart of my negotiating skills. Without Sidra, I had to resort to some of your scare tactics to get support.'

After he tapped his hand against Anakin's shoulder, Master Obi-wan turned back to his student with a growing grin. With this, Sidra embraced her Master while pushing onto her toes. Her head nestled into the space on his shoulder while Obi-wan patted Sidra's back in a comforting gesture.

Deep down, the two knew that neither of them were ever in any danger. They knew the other was intelligent and experienced, but to see each other again after a long two weeks, was the seal on the scroll. 

'I tried to find you, Master. Every day I searched.'

'We could have been within metres of each other and not known. This blasted desert is never-ending; not to mention hot.'

Sidra laughed at Obi-wan's playful huff. It felt good to hear her Master's diva additions to his wisdom. While experiencing the Fremen's culture was exciting for Sidra, the familiarity of Obi-wan and the Skywalker duo still warmed her spirits.

'I see you're wearing an air filter. The Spice could have also been altering your Force senses. And is that a hint of blue, I see?'

Sidra blinked as if to shift the tinting of her near-black irises. But Obi-wan clapped her on the shoulder to show his disinterest in the issue. He was glad to see her healthy and connecting with the Fremen while in his absence.

'Come, Master Jedi,' Stilgar spoke up from beside Luvis. The Fremen remained nearby with the clones, who all greeted and showed their relief in seeing Commander Chihari

'You can rest for the night, but I know that you are here for negotiations. I will postpone your disappointment for now.'