A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars
Knights of the Old Republic:
The Mandalorian Wars, Episode I
Before the reign of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Revan, the Galactic Republic faced a threat that foreshadowed their downfall: The Mandalorians. These soldiers lived only for battle, and their sights were set on the Republic. At the front of the Mandalorian assault is Mandalore the Ultimate, the strongest warrior of all the Mandalorians and the leader of the Mandalorian army.
The Republic, opting instead to sit in their Senate Chambers, has left the Outer Rim to fend for themselves. While some Knights of the Order move to defend the helpless citizens of the Outer Rim, the Jedi Council rejects these notions. Forced to watch as the Outer Rim is razed, many of the Jedi are bewildered by the Council's debating.
While the Council continues their contemplation, two Jedi Knights have been dispatched to the world of Kiresh to help refugees of the Mandalorian's crusade as they are caught in the middle of a gang war between the Hutt controlled Vornskrs and the Draigons. Rumor has it that the leader of the Vornskrs was a Jedi Knight. The Order, having heard this gossip, decided to take care of the investigation personally…
Chapter 1: Discovery
The Republic Hammerhead-class cruiser known as the Perseverance had survived many skirmishes before; pirate raids, fast escapes, and Mandalorian traps had given the ship its name by its commanding officer, Captain Jerrod Stari. Capt. Stari had been with the Republic Navy before the Mandalorians conquered much of the Outer Rim. His fair share of war had urged him to name the ship Perseverance after the end of the war with Exar Kun. Jerrod Stari was well known within the Republic Navy, and his old age hid many years of scars and many more of wisdom.
In the barracks, the two Jedi Knights waited patiently for the pilot to make the landing announcement over the comm. It had been several hours since the Perseverance left port in Coruscant. The refugees of Kiresh was enough to deal with, but now gang wars only added to the pain the refugees already felt. While the Republic could offer no aid since they were dealing with the Mandalorian crisis, it fell to the Jedi Order to rescue the helpless offworlders. Their pleas had moved the Council to help them, but the bold claim by the gangs of Kiresh spurred them even more to investigate the matter. Could a Jedi really be the leader of this gang? No one knew what to make of it amongst the Jedi. To ease the Council's troubled thoughts, two of their best and brightest Jedi were selected for the mission: Alek Squinquargesimus, affectionately labeled "Squint", and his best friend, Kael Innoruuk. Though they were only Padawans, the two had proven time and again that they were worthy of Knighthood. This mission would be their last before being promoted.
Alek leaned against the wall while Kael tried to get some sleep in one of the beds. His brown bangs covered his eyes which were desperately trying to stay closed. If he could convince Alek that he was asleep, then Kael would have no distractions. Sleeping was never easy for a Jedi though. They were always sensing and feeling with the Force. It was as much apart of their senses as seeing. Feeling with the Force was hard to turn off after flowing with it for so long. In space it was easy though. The only things to feel were the ship itself; the steady hum of the engines had helped Kael sleep before, until Alek woke him up.
"You can stop pretending, I know you're awake." Alek needed someone to talk to.
"You know me all too well." Kael said with a slight smile. Alek had been rambling for what seemed like the entire trip about how the Mandalorians needed to be stopped and it was their duty as Jedi to end their tyranny.
"Why don't you want to fight the Mandalorians?"
Kael roused from his bed and straightened his hair with his unclothed hand. He brought a hair tie from his belt pouch and used the Force to tie his medium-length hair into a small ponytail. Two small strands of his hair draped over his forehead as the final knot on his hair tie clenched. Kael dropped his feet into the cold floor while he looked at Alek.
"It's not that I don't want to help those people. Believe me Squint; I'd be there on the front lines with you if I could. The Outer Rim is my home."
Kael's mind focused on his past life. The Outer Rim was the only universe he had known on his father's moisture farm. Back then, things were simpler. Kael didn't hope to ever leave it. He had dreamed, but he never hoped. He had certainly come a long way since that day.
Molavar, 3982 BBY
Molavar was a desert planet through and through. One could mistake it for Tatooine when they saw it, but the spaceports were smaller, and the moisture farmers were much poorer. Malcraan was the only big city where vaporators and weapons were put on sale. Some couldn't afford either. To the lucky few, like Kael's parents, they managed to scrounge enough to pay for vaporators to start them off. They had been able to make a decent living with them. Kael was never focused on work however. His father was plenty mad when his chores were never done. When he was out playing in the fields, there were so many times that he swore he moved a pebble with his mind. He had to look back multiple times to really be sure if it had moved. It happened often, and in time, Kael had learned how to control it partially.
On this particular day, Kael had completely shirked his chores to go out into the field again. The field that he played in was not too far from his home. Approximately one hundred and fifty paces covered the distance between him and the hut. At about half the distance, a hill stretched downward from the raised ground his house was. As Kael sat on the ground, he looked at all the pebbles and rock lying on the barren surface. He grabbed one with his hand gently and looked at the rock on his open palm. He stared at it intensely, trying to somehow imagine it moving. Kael hadn't perfected moving it. He didn't even know how he had done it the past several times. He continued to stare until he gave up. He closed his hand in frustration with the rock still inside. His sigh was lost in the harsh wind that blew under the scorching sun. After looking at the sun, Kael remembered why it was so hot when he wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked forward and to each side. The right was closed off by a rocky cliff, while the left was as open and free as the front. All Kael saw was nothingness, which is what he felt would be his end. Living on the moisture farm with his parents is all he knew. One day, he would inherit the farm from his father, marry a fellow farmer's daughter, and continue the cycle until his dying day. That was all that waited for Kael in the nothingness he saw. But what if he took himself out of the equation? He didn't know how, he didn't know when, or even if it was possible, but Kael could somehow see that he wasn't meant to live on Molavar forever. With renewed vigor, Kael opened his palm in front of his eyes again. This time, he closed his eyes. He didn't imagine the rock moving. He didn't force it to move. Kael felt the rock. It wasn't the same thing as feeling the rough stone against the nerves in his skin. He could feel an energy in the rock that connected him to it, and to the ground he plucked it from, and all the way to Molavar's core. The heat of the center of the world was inside him, in the palm of his hand. All at once, Kael saw the darkness of space, with the bright twinkles of gas that are stars. In the rock, Kael felt the connection of energy. Then, he simply affected the energy, moving it slightly.
The rock levitated in his hand.
Kael opened his eyes slowly and saw the rock still levitating in his hand. He smiled with glee when his saw it circle around his palm. It was in Kael's control that the rock moved around his hand. The energy field he saw surrounding him, the rock, the core, and the planet was still there. Kael felt it stronger than he ever had before.
"KAEL!! Come back here now!!" Kael's mother called from afar. Kael figured he had ignored his chores long enough for now. This was a good stopping place. He looked back at his hand, but was shocked to discover that the rock was gone. He looked around, but couldn't distinguish the others on the ground for the one he held. He thought it strange, but couldn't think on it much longer when his mother called for him again. Kael got up and ran fast up the hill to the hut. As he made it over the top, a pebble fell to the ground at the same spot where Kael was sitting.
When he came back home, Kael thought he felt what was a tremor in his stomach. It wasn't hunger. He also saw a pair of dewbacks near the front door. He guessed now that the tremor was because of visitors. He saw his parents sitting at the kitchen table, and another hooded figure sat in Kael's seat. His brown robes made him stick out against the cream colored walls like a Tusken Raider with a group of Twi'leks. Kael felt that tremor in his stomach again.
"Come here Kael." His father commanded softly.
Kael obeyed and walked slowly to the group of adults and took a seat on a dresser against the wall. Kael studied the hooded individual made him- rather herself- known quite calmly. When Kael sat down, she even took off her hood to show her aged face. She looked to be about 60, with blond hair already graying and blue eyes that looked to be atrophying. She may have had a hard time seeing, but her line of vision followed Kael when he entered the doorway. The tremor in Kael's stomach was still there, and it only unsettled him more and more when this woman stared at him.
"Kael, this lady is Jedi Master-"
"Kreia." The woman bowed her head to Kael as a sign of respect. "I feel it best to introduce myself."
Kael's father cleared his throat and began again. "Yes, well Kael, she's come a long way just to see you. Kreia…well Kreia wants to…" For some reason he couldn't get the words out.
Kael's mother finished for her husband, though it was not any easier. "Kreia wants to take you to Dantooine… for training. She wants to make you a Jedi Kael."
Kael didn't know how to believe what he was hearing. Him? A Jedi? He didn't know that willing himself to manipulate the energy of the rock could bring him to this moment. Molavar was so far from the Core Worlds. Even a little past the Outer Rim. Why would a Jedi come here to find a Force-sensitive child?
Kreia sensed Kael's confusion. "I was on a diplomatic mission on Deralia. And then… I felt you. Your presence in the Force was like a beacon. Even from Deralia I could feel it. And in space… you were like a tractor beam, pulling my ship into the spaceport. My eyes may have lost most of their sight… but the Force makes up for what I have lost."
Kael was still unconvinced. "So the Force led you here? You place your trust in something you can't see?" He was smart for his age. Very bright, which would secure his future with the Order.
"The Force makes no mistakes. This meeting was not by chance." Kreia sat up and folded her arms into the large sleeves of her robe. "I have extended my offer, and now I leave the choice with you. You may accept it and come with me… or you can refuse, and remain here with your parents." She bowed to Kael once more, and then to his parents. Kreia walked to the door and hit the switch to slide it open. As the desert heat washed over her face, she gave one final message.
"This offer will not be extended to you again."
She draped the hood of her robe over her head again and waited outside. Kael was now left alone with his parents. He could feel their fear and anxiousness. It would surprise him if they didn't see his. Kael had always asked for the chance to do something more. He never thought it would actually come. Today of all days too.
"This is your choice Kael." His father reassured him while his hand grasped that of his wife's. "No matter what happens, your mother and I will always be here." He sighed softly and continued. "This is your chance to make something greater of yourself than I ever could." Kael's father wanted more for him than this life. This life was lived by his father, and his father before him. He wanted to break away, but an unplanned pregnancy forced him to stay. If he could not, then his son should have that chance.
Kael was forced to grow up faster than he throught. Jedi always had a way of doing that. At just 7 years old, he was about to make a life altering choice. But isn't this what he wanted all along? He didn't know anymore. Kael had made his choice when he heard Kreia. He just couldn't handle how hard the choice was.
Kreia sat on her saddled dewback, observing the fast emptiness of the desert. When Kael saw only nothing, Kreia saw the Force. She sensed everything within the hut. She felt the struggle Kael had when he packed his bag. She sensed the tears that fell from the family's faces as they bid each other goodbye. She sensed the determination in Kael's heart to come back one day to show his parents what he had become. Kreia knew that familial contact was forbidden by the Order, as attachment was a dangerous thing to them. Kael exited the doorway and stared at Kreia. She in turn looked back at him and saw a great destiny ahead of the young boy. She could not see if it would be for the good or evil, but Kael was destined for great things. The boy climbed the other mounted dewback, realizing that Kreia knew all along he would come with her. He wouldn't ask now, because she could simply say it was just in case, or that she never knew. But since she believed the Force never makes mistakes, she would not have brought two dewbacks if he had said no. She may have not come at all if she knew he had said no.
Dwelling on what may have been was not important. Kael was here and now, on his way to Dantooine to become a Jedi. Where Kreia fit into all of this, Kael had no idea.