Disclaimer: I do not own the Young Jedi Knights series or The Clone Wars; Disney owns The Clone Wars, and numerous EU authors and Lucasbooks own YJK.
The Rogue Squadron X-wing fighters were calling down for permission to land inside the hangar bay of the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. The pilots were given permission to land, and they pulled in and parked their fighters on the pads.
Shortly afterwards, Grand Jedi Master Luke Skywalker emerged from one of them, while Jaina Solo, his Jedi niece, climbed out of the other one. R2-D2 and another astromech droid were lowered out of their sockets in the back.
Jacen Solo and Anakin Solo, Luke's Jedi nephews, ran up to them and asked if they got what they went for. Luke said to Jaina, "Show them, Jaina." Jaina produced a small, metal case, and opened it, revealing an old holocron.
"So you were able to recover it from Palpatine's deepest storehouse in the Imperial Palace, then," said Jacen, more as a statement than a question.
"Yes," said Jaina. "It was one hard search. The Emperor obviously thought this holocron was something the public should never be aware of, though why he preserved it instead of destroying it is a mystery we can't solve."
"Whatever Palpatine's reason for keeping this holocron were," said Luke, "now we have it, and I hope that we can uncover what it says about the Jedi in the Old Jedi Order. The New Jedi Order could use all the knowledge it can get."
Several hours later, Luke, his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, Jacen, Jaina, Anakin Solo, and their friends, Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, Kyp Durron, Kyle Katarn, and Cilghal, were gathered in the academy's Grand Audience Chamber to observe the discoveries that Luke and his family had made with the newly found holocron.
"It's quite astonishing, really," said Anakin. "I never thought the Old Jedi Order could have such famous young students of the Force, or how their lives could all end so violently and/or tragically. These people are younger than twenty years old; many are even younger than fifteen!"
"Indeed, they are, Anakin," agreed Luke. "They are mere children, and yet they were legends in the final years of the Jedi Order before the Great Jedi Purge."
"Legends," breathed Jacen. "I'd love to know what made them so great, Master Skywalker."
"Jaina, you have the honor of explaining these Jedi's lives to the others," said Luke.
"Well, to start with," said Jaina, examining the holocron as images of the young Jedi appeared before them in 3-D, "there's Gungi, a rare Wookiee Jedi, like Lowbacca. Like all Wookiee Jedi, he wielded a lightsaber with a wooden hilt. He was an extraordinary fighter, like any Wookiee is, but he was known for learning the lesson of patience. He fought against Bothan renegades who were trying to remake the galaxy in their own name through the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Gungi killed many Bothans and battle droids to save Kashyyyk and all of Wookiee space, but he always admonished those who worked with him not to kill enemies who had thrown down their weapons and sued for peace. He said that no peacekeeper or soldier should let themselves be intimidated by a challenge."
Lowbacca roared in passionate interest at the short, but proud, Wookiee boy that stood in the image before them.
"He says he never thought the Old Jedi had any Wookiees in their Order," translated M-TD, his protocol droid, "and that Gungi must have made his people proud during his lifetime."
"Apparently, yes, they were, Lowie," said Jaina. Lowbacca cheered. Jacen and Tenel Ka smiled.
"Next, there is Zatt," continued Jaina, "a Nautolan Jedi and technology whiz kid who greatly admired a Nautolan Jedi Master named Kit Fisto. Though a strong warrior, and a lover of technology, Zatt preferred to trust in the Force and in himself, rather than to rely on material things. Once he became a Padawan, Zatt helped Master Fisto fight the Separatists on ocean worlds like Dac and their home world, Glee Anselm. He used his self-trust, the Force, and his expertise with machines to end the threat of the Quarren Isolation League, a faction of the Confederacy. The Separatist-loyal Quarren hated him, even after he assisted Master Fisto in bringing a lasting peace between them and the Mon Calamari."
"It's only a shame the peace has never been permanent, or complete," said Cilghal sadly.
"Don't worry about it right now, Master Cilghal," said Kyle. "Your people and the Quarren have to learn sometime, and I believe they will, ultimately. Remember Ibtisam and Nrin Vakil, after all."
"True," said Cilghal.
Jaina recited the next name. "Petro, a human youngling with a desire to become a great Jedi warrior. He was a very impetuous student, eager to prove himself, making him somewhat impulsive. He had hoped to kill General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies, but he never got the chance. However, he was able to fight some of the galaxy's many bounty hunters. He saved many intended kills of those hunters and often brought the hunters themselves to justice, also being the only Jedi Initiate known to duel and survive the notorious Aurra Sing. Needless to say, Sing hated him.
"Byph, an Ithorian Jedi, was a quite nervous Jedi youngling in his earlier days of training to become a Jedi. When he had to pass the rite of passage where he found his lightsaber crystal and built his lightsaber, though, he faced his fears and became much braver. After becoming a Padawan, he defended many planets, including his own, Ithor, from the ravages of the Clone Wars, at least in part. His actions are a little less clear than those of the other young ones here, but apparently, he applied the Ithorian Law of Life to his life perfectly, and always arranged to replace anything or anyone he killed twofold. Some people complained that he was doing too much cloning of their loved ones, especially after taking those loved ones away from them.
"Ganodi, a Rodian youngling, and possibly the youngest of these Jedi children. She was originally overwhelmed by the great challenges that lay before her, but she learned to find hope in the Force. It was her opinion that the Force is either a god, or was created and sustained by an almighty God. She wanted to bring hope to more people throughout the galaxy, and she roamed through the Mid Rim and Outer Rim whenever her Masters would allow her, freeing hundreds of slaves. She was outspoken, too, and denounced the pollution of Eriadu and the gratuitous militancy of the Tarkin, Motti, and Tagge families publicly. Slave masters hated her, and and presumably, after the rise of the Empire, the Imperial Military hated her even more.
"But no one, apart from the Sith and the more fanatical Imperials, hated Katooni, a youngling of the extinct Tholothian near-human species. A Tholothian Master named Stass Allie described her as beautiful and ageless as any Tholothian. Most people believed that she was the strongest of all these little children for her lessons in self-confidence without becoming overconfident. In all her long years as a Jedi Padawan, she never gave up her power in the Force, and sought to heal lives and relationships with love rather than with violence, and she managed to break up many small conflicts during the wars. She used her lightsaber only in the direst of circumstances, though she still held it in high value.
"They all died during the Dark Times. Gungi came to the aid of the Wookiees for the last time when the Empire and Vader came to enslave Kashyyyk and its inhabitants. He fought fiercely with Darth Vader, and came close to defeating him, but a stormtrooper named Commander Appo shot him in the back. Zatt attempted to defend Mon Calamari by himself when the Empire came for the Calamari and the Quarren, but he was overwhelmed by the Imperial war machine. He let go of the ghost when aquatic assault stormtroopers surrounded him on all sides in a corner of the ocean floor. Petro was murdered after a fierce duel with the scoundrel bounty hunter Boba Fett, though apparently, Petro landed a scar on Fett that the bounty hunter will never forget, or forgive, either.
"Byph's death was perhaps the worst. He surrendered peacefully to the Empire when they threatened to tear up the planet Mirial. But the Empire bombarded the planet, anyway, and Byph, who wouldn't be converted by Palpatine or Vader, was executed by the former. Ganodi went into hiding on Tatooine for awhile like Obi-Wan had done, but she made the mistake of living too close to some of the slave masters whom she had displaced in the past. They went out of their way to report her to the Imperial authorities, and days later, she too, died, though it seems she had had a vision of the future, possibly this future, because she didn't lose hope for herself or the galaxy, even though she died alone. Finally, Katooni lived for quite a few years on Cophrigim 5 with a Jedi Master known only as the Dark Woman, but after Vader tracked down and killed her, Katooni was next."
There were a few quiet moments between the on-looking Jedi Knights.
"It appears, though," concluded Jaina, "that all of them died bravely, and they never gave up their commitment to the Force. Like Anakin Solo's namesake, they died as Jedi."
"They did," said Luke, "They did. Even through a mere holocron, I can feel how strong they were in the Force. They went to join their brothers and sisters in the Force gladly.
"And 'tis my feeling that Katooni was the strongest of them all. I am not personally familiar with the Tholothians, but since joining the New Republic, I have heard that they indeed were ageless, and that their women were among the most beautiful in the known galaxy. I suspect that Katooni may have been able to live forever, had it not been for the extermination of the Tholothian people and her own murder by my father. But even though she lived a short life like the rest of these children, she saved more lives and solved more conflicts than any other Jedi child in the holocrons or the history books, and by giving up her life, like the other kids, she showed that she valued the lives of others above her own."
"I hope we can learn about more Jedi like this sooner or later," said Mara. "Such courageous children should be given the same honor as our Ben and the Solo children."
"They will be missed, also," said Anakin. "When I become one with the Force, I hope to meet them."
"So do I," said Tenel Ka, "Let's all take some comfort in that the Old Jedi had their own legends."
"Right now, though," said Kyp, "I think we should worry more about the present situation. I won't find complete peace until all external threats to our Order are defeated and the dark side is eclipsed for good. Oh, and when the Imperial Remnant ceases to exist, too."
"And that comforts me, Master Durron," said Luke.