Introduction
Since time immemorial, the Jedi gathered Force-sensitive children and raised them in the Jedi Temple to become knights who use the Force to defend peace and justice throughout the galaxy. Yet the Star Wars Legends also tell us that - whether due to poor attitude or lack of aptitude - not all Jedi younglings proved suitable for this high calling. Therefore, the Jedi Order instituted the AgriCorps, wherein young Jedi of lesser strength or suitability were trained to heal plants and otherwise aid the farmers of the galaxy.
Though in principle most Jedi knights respected the AgriCorps' intent and though some AgriCorps Jedi took pride in their role of service, assignment to this much less esteemed role was often seen by Jedi younglings as rejection and failure.
But there was more to the AgriCorps than failures and rejects. What you are about to read is the story of three AgriCorps Jedi and the paths of Light and Dark they take after surviving Order 66. It's the story of how two of them earned the the honour of being remembered long after many Jedi Knights and Masters had been forgotten, and why an offshoot of the Jedi AgriCorps still existed to carry on a spark of the Jedi legacy at the time of the First Order.
None of this would have happened without the quiet path of a Jedi youngling named Eo Cloudlee. Assigned to the AgriCorps just before Order 66, it's clear that she doesn't have what it takes to be a Jedi Knight, but in learning the ways of a little-known sect of Lightsiders known as the Siluans, she finds what she needs to give her fellow Jedi fighting chance against the Empire.
Characters
The main characters are all OCs, but Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine are key figures throughout, as is Ahsoka Tano in Part II.
Canon and Timeline
This story takes place mainly during 19 -13 BBY, the early years of the Galactic Empire. It fits alongside the canonical timeline of the events in SW movies and TV shows. While references are made to characters and/or situations from the prequels, SW Clone Wars and SW Rebels, I've written this story with the intent that it be accessible to readers who have only seen the original SW trilogy (Episodes IV – VI).
Rating
This story is rated T for occasional instances of: language, violence and potentially disturbing scenes.
About the Author
I'm a vegetable farmer/gardener with a background in agricultural science and genetics, hence my interest in writing about Force-adepts whose skill lies primarily in using the Force to connect with (and manipulate) plants, animals and fungi, etc.
Acknowledgements
In my portrayal of the AgriCorps, I drew heavily on the work of dave . davies .5851 in "An AgriCorps Mystery." Many thanks to dave . davies . 5851 for permission to incorporate and build on ideas from that work. (This website didn't like the use of a name with dots in it; please erase the spaces if you look him up.)
Many thanks to those who have offered helpful suggestions, corrections and comments on earlier drafts. In chronological order: Paula R, Rachel K, Charmaine W, Andrea B, Shannon C, Julia H, Carolyn R, and ChocolateTeapot of FanFiction. Further feedback and constructive criticism is most welcome!
This story is dedicated to my sister.
PART I
The Way of a Siluan
Chapter 1: Assignment to the AgriCorps
At the great Jedi Temple on Coruscant, it was morning, the morning in whose night the Jedi Order was destroyed. But it was still morning, and in the great vaulted spaces of the temple there was quiet. There Jedi younglings sat serene in their meditation, but in the administrative wing of the complex a young Jedi of about twelve hurried down a narrow corridor alone.
She was a human with black eyes and short black hair, small for her age, and skinny rather than slender. She kept her eyes down as she walked, looking worried. Someone had tapped her on the shoulder in the middle of morning meditation and asked her to go to Master Contar's office. Eo knew Master Contar to be a member of the Jedi Council of Reassignment, which decided whether Jedi younglings would go on to be Jedi knights, or whether they would be sent to the less skilled tasks of the Jedi Agricultural Corps. Eo wasn't quite old enough to be sent one way or another just yet, but she would be at the end of the year. What Master Contar would have to say, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear.
At the end of the hall, she stopped in front of a tall blue door. She paused for a moment with one hand over the knot in her stomach, but then she heard voices on the other side of the door. She took a deep breath, quickly smoothed out her hair with her fingers, and then knocked.
"Come in!" a stern voice called from inside.
Eo opened the door and saw Master Contar, a tall and rather pinched woman, sitting at a desk with a round little brown man standing beside her.
"Master Contar, you sent for me?" Eo asked, sounding a bit uncertain.
The Jedi master sniffed and motioned for Eo to enter.
"Eo, this is Ava Yen, an associate of the AgriCorps," Master Contar said, indicating the man beside her. "Ava Yen, this is Eo Cloudlee, the pupil I spoke of."
Eo and Ava Yen made a slight bow to each other. Master Contar cleared her throat.
"Eo, you are coming to the age at which a decision must be made about your future as a Jedi." She paused and looked at Eo, who simply nodded. "As you know, the Council of Reassignment considers carefully regarding the will of the Force as to whether each candidate is fit to become a Jedi knight, or whether they are more suited to the Service Corps." Master Contar paused again. Eo gave another nod. The knot in her stomach was getting tighter. "I am sure you can see for yourself that you lag behind your cohort in many ways," the older Jedi said.
"Master Contar," Eo said, "I'm trying..."
"I did not say that you lacked effort. You are simply not strong enough in the Force to warrant full training as a Jedi knight. In addition, your blood test shows a much lower level of midi-chloridians than was found when you were first brought here."
Eo hung her head; she found no words to reply to this.
"We were planning to wait until the end of the year, but since Ava Yen is here now, we will simply matters by sending you with him to the AgriCorps station on Deema. Deema is a rather important research site, and so after your basic training you will be reassessed for assignment to one of the less important AgriCorps projects." Master Contar's tone suggested that she did not consider Eo suitable for anything but the lowest levels of the AgriCorps, in which young Jedi spent all day walking up and down endless rows of crops, pulling weeds and trying to effuse energy through the Force to help the crops grow better.
Ava Yen, who had been observing quietly until this time, turned sharply to Master Contar. "If she is willing, I will bring her with me," he said firmly. "I came only as a pilgrim; I will not bring Eo with me against her will."
Eo looked up Ava Yen with surprise; his consideration for her was a kindness she had not expected. Yet the Council of Reassignment had spoken. If Eo refused to serve with the AgriCorps, the only other option would be for her to completely leave the Jedi Order, the only life she'd ever known. "I'll go," she said, but bowed her head to hide her tears.
Master Contar looked coldly at Eo. Some degree of shame and disappointment was to be expected, but to Master Contar, tears were proof that Eo was especially unfit.
"Eo, you are a big girl now," Master Contar said, condescendingly. "There is no shame in those of lesser skill using such powers as they have to aid the farmers of the galaxy. I am sure you will find agriculture to be within the scope of your capabilities."
Ava Yen looked narrowly at Master Contar, and then seeing that Eo had nothing to say, broke in. "I suggest, then, if Eo agrees, that we leave immediately," he said, "unless of course Master Contar has other intentions."
Master Contar looked pleased. "May the Force be with you," she said with a note of mere formality, and sniffed again. Ava Yen and Eo both made a slight bow to her and turned out the door.
Eo had to trot to keep up with Ava Yen as he walked quickly away from Master Contar's office. A Jedi has no possessions and no attachments, so there were no belongings to collect and no goodbyes to be said. Instead they made their way directly down the great pillared hall toward the main entrance of the Temple. As they came to the throng of pilgrims at the great door, Eo turned and looked back into the great quiet of the Temple for the last time.