Prologue- 78 BBY
Cyslin Myr's spaceship touched down on the Umbaran surface. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the world. A vixus crawled away from the landing strip, tentacles quivering. What an unpleasant place. Did she really have to be here? Well, if Yoda sensed a potential Padawan, she had no choice.
Leena Moore stood on the threshold of her house. A Jedi ship? It hardly seemed possible. The Republic ignored Umbara as much as possible. Mee Deechi was a hardline loyalist, and he ignored his homeworld in favor of galactic politics. So Leena was quite surprised when the Jedi knocked on her door.
The Jedi was a Miralan, with a face marked by tiny black dots. She stood in a tall, dignified posture. A lightsaber hung on the side of her dark robes. Leena found herself bowing, without quite meaning to.
"Hello, I am Cyslin Myr. I am a Jedi Master."
"Master Jedi…This is an honor. Would you like a snack? I've made some avedefruit pie."
The Jedi smiled a tight-lipped smile. "No, thank you. I won't be long. Are you Leena Moore?"
Leena nodded. "May I see your daughter?"
Leena stepped back a little. "What do you want with little Sly? She's only two standard years." But Leena knew the answer.
"You want to take her. You want her to become a Jedi."
Cyslin nodded. "Of course, we will only take her with your permission. But it looks from your files, that after Dean left, you couldn't take care of her. Not to insinuate you are a bad parent, but I think this would be good for your family."
Leena considered this. She loved her daughter, of course. But they were low-caste. Could she really provide for Sly? Avedefruit farming was not lucrative.
And she had seen the way Sly looked at her. Like she already knew what she was thinking.
"Is…Is my daughter strong with the Force?"
Cyslin nodded. "I believe she will become a great Jedi."
Leena's voice broke as she answered. "Then…then you may take her."
Cyslin smiled. "Thank you. You will not regret this, Mrs. Moore."
Leena called Sly down. Cyslin took the girl's arm.
The two said their goodbyes, and Cyslin took the newest Jedi recruit into her ship. As Cyslin set the coordinates for Coruscant, Sly bounced in her seat.
"Happy to be joining the Jedi, young Sly?"
Sly smiled a childish smile. "Momma says I'm gonna change the galaxy!"
"You will, Sly. You will."
Cyslin Myr would never know how right she was.