Nova Farlander walked into the briefing room in the Jedi Temple.
A few other padawans were there, and several of the Jedi Masters stood in the middle, including her own master, Amandi Oraculi, a human with dark hair and deep brown eyes. Nova asked, "You called for me, masters?" Not long after she walked in, her best friend and fellow padawan Forren Lasek entered the room and stood beside her.
"Yes, need you for a special mission, we do," Master Yoda replied. "Trouble on Geonosis, there is."
Nova and Forren gave each other a questioning look, while the other padawans expressed their surprise, before directing their attention to Mace Windu.
"Senator Amidala, Master Kenobi, and padawan Anakin Skywalker have been captured by the Separatists, and they are soon going to be executed. Meanwhile, a clone army for the Republic has been created on Kamino. We need a group of Jedi to go to Geonosis. Due to the skill you all have shown as padawans, we are sending you to aid in this rescue mission." Master Windu looked to Yoda.
"A droid army, the Separatists have," Yoda said, continuing Mace Windu's briefing. "On Geonosis, the factory is. Expect for battle droids to be there, you must. Beginning, a war may be."
The two friends looked at each other again, a bit more concerned. A war? There hadn't been any major battles in years, except for the Battle of Naboo ten years before.
"Go prepare for this mission," Plo Koon said. "We will call for you when we are ready to leave."
The padawans bowed in respect, then exited the room. As they walked toward their living quarters, Nova said to Forren, "Can you believe it? This is going to be our first real battle."
He only nodded, deep in thought. Finally he replied, "I know. But what if it does lead to war like Master Yoda said? The entire galaxy will be divided."
Sensing his uneasiness, Nova stopped, stood in front of him, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, everything's gonna be okay. We'll all survive. And no matter what happens, we'll always be best friends."
He smiled at her, and she turned to go into her room. Deciding to meditate for a few minutes before leaving the Temple, Nova sat down and closed her eyes as memories came to her…
Nova Farlander had been brought to the Jedi Temple by Jedi Master Amandi Oraculi when she was four years old. She had just arrived, still in her tunic and leggings from Naboo, when she was led to a room full of younglings. A few of the children had stopped eating their lunch to greet the Jedi master, who introduced them to the girl. A boy with dirty blond hair and brown eyes had walked up to the girl with brown hair and blue eyes and introduced himself. "Hi. I noticed that you're new here. I just started eating my lunch. Do you wanna come sit by me?"
She had quietly replied with an "okay."
He had then taken her hand and led her to a table full of younglings. He had pointed to an empty chair and said, "Here, you can sit next to me. I'm Forren. What's your name?"
Starting to feel a bit more comfortable, she had said, "I'm Nova Farlander, and I'm from Naboo."
Several years later when Forren and Nova were nine, they had been sitting outside in the courtyard talking. Nova had asked him, "So, do you remember any of your childhood?"
He had answered, "Not really. I was brought to the Temple when I was about two or three. My parents lived in the lower levels of Coruscant. We couldn't really afford much better. So when the Jedi came to bring me here, they went ahead and gave me up so I could have a better life. My father was good and hardworking, and my mother was always kind and wanted what was best for me. I guess that's why they so willingly gave me up; they loved me and wanted me to have something better in life." He had paused, pondering over that thought for a moment. "What was your early childhood like before you came here?"
Nova's eyes had lit up as she started to talk. "We lived out in the lake country of Naboo, where everything was quiet and peaceful. We had a house right on one of the lakes, so every day after breakfast, my mom would pack me a lunch, and I would play outside, swimming and exploring with our astromech droid, R4-C17, until dinner time. Then my parents would tell me a bedtime story after I told them about my adventures. I usually pretended to be a Jedi; I always wanted to go on the adventures that I would see in holofilms. So I would usually find a stick and pretend that it was a lightsaber, and I would use the Force to lift leaves and small rocks. I practiced that whenever I could. Eventually my parents noticed, so they had me checked for midichlorians, and sure enough, I was Force-sensitive. Then Master Oraculi came and I was brought here." She had paused, catching her breath. "I still sometimes miss my parents," she had murmured, momentarily looking at the ground. "But then I met you, my best friend," she had said quietly, looking back up at him.
Nova stopped meditating and came back to reality right as Amandi Oraculi knocked on her door. "Nova," she called through the door, "we're leaving in a few minutes. Go to the west hangar immediately."
"Yes, Master." She stood up as she gathered her lightsaber and cloak. When she opened the door, Forren was standing there. "Hey," she said, smiling at him.
"Hey. I thought I would walk over with you if that's okay."
"Of course! Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."
The ride to Geonosis was unusually quiet. When the ship came out of hyperspace, Mace Windu announced, "We are going to blend in with the Geonosians. We'll split up into small groups and get seats throughout the arena. When the time is right, I will give the signal. Then we will all jump into action. Understood?"
The Jedi all nodded their heads. The ship landed on the outskirts of the arena. Blending into the Geonosians, the Jedi split up into small groups to avoid suspicion. Nova stayed close to Forren and their masters. They walked in and quietly sat down, their faces concealed by their hoods. The Jedi watched anxiously as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padmé Amidala fought off the acklay, reek, and nexu that were supposed to execute them. Several droidekas had surrounded them, but the Jedi continued to wait. Mace Windu activated his purple lightsaber, and all throughout the arena, the other Jedi did the same.
Battle droids soon came out, and the Jedi soon began turning them into scrap metal. The Jedi all fought bravely until they were overwhelmed by the battle droids. Count Dooku had the Jedi surrounded, and he was about to order the droids to finish off the Jedi. Not a moment too soon, gunships descended, mercilessly shooting down battle droids. It was Master Yoda and the clone troopers. He commanded the troops, "Around the survivors, a perimeter create." As the clones surrounded the Jedi, the warriors began to climb aboard the ships.
Forren was about to climb on board when he noticed that Nova was missing. He turned around and saw a few battle droids dragging away the unconscious Jedi. He ran over to where his master and Nova's master were. "Masters, Nova is being taken away. We have to rescue her."
"My padawan, I feel that you are ready for this assignment. While we work on capturing Dooku, you may go to save your friend," Forren's master said.
"Thank you, master. May the Force be with you."
"May the Force be with you, Forren."
Forren nodded his head, then ran through the crowd of battle droids to find Nova.
After her lightsaber was taken off of her belt, Nova was thrown harshly to the ground. She regained her consciousness, and Viceroy Gunray walked in, a smug look on his face. "You were foolish to come on this rescue mission, padawan," he sneered. "You are not skilled enough to be here. Look at that situation you are in."
"Yoda and Mace Windu thought I was skilled enough to come. I will escape," she replied boldly. "And you will pay for your treason against the Republic."
"Not if we… eliminate you first," Gunray replied, waving his hand for the droids to lock her cell. "It is you who will pay." The Neimoidian then turned and walked away as two droids moved in front of the door to stand guard.
Forren waited around the corner, watching the battle droids. Nightfall was soon approaching, and if he could wait until then, it would be easier for them to escape. He was about to find a better hiding spot when he heard Nute Gunray's voice again. "We will execute this Jedi scum at dusk to eliminate any idea of a rescue mission."
The two droids responded with "Roger Roger."
Listening carefully, Forren heard the Separatist viceroy's footsteps become faint. When he sensed that Gunray was gone, he jumped out from behind the wall and sliced the two droids in half with one quick stroke.
Nova heard a noise from outside her cell, but she didn't care. She felt that escape would be impossible now, especially since Gunray was so intent on making sure she did not come out alive. Right as she was losing hope, the door opened. Nova turned toward the entrance, expecting to see Gunray and more battle droids, but instead she saw Forren. She jumped up and ran to hug him.
"I guess I had perfect timing, huh?" he greeted her, smiling.
"Yeah, especially since the sun's about to set. Let's get out of here." She grabbed his hand and he reached for his lightsaber with his other hand as they started running down the hallway.
They soon came across several battle droids who had been walking toward Nova's cell. She asked, "You didn't happen to find my lightsaber by any chance, did you?"
"No, the droids standing guard didn't have it, but you have the Force as your ally."
Nova then Force-pushed several droids over. "Forren, cover me." He moved to stand in front of her, deflecting blaster bolts away from them and towards the droids. He suddenly heard her scream in pain from behind him and he looked down. Nova had been shot in the leg three times. Using the Force to push more droids over, he deactivated his lightsaber and knelt down next to her.
He frantically asked, "Nova, are you okay? Will you be able to walk?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she whispered, trying to stay calm. Taking Forren's hand, she slowly started to stand up. As soon as she tried to stand on her leg, however, she almost fell and had to stifle another scream.
More droids were coming, so Forren once again pushed them down, then carefully scooped up Nova. He whispered, "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here. I promise."
She closed her eyes and nodded gently. She's losing consciousness, he thought. Holding her a little tighter, he did one more Force-push to knock over oncoming droids before running out the door. Once they were outside, he found a place to rest for a moment before pulling out his comlink. The sun was about to disappear below the horizon. "Master, come in. This is Forren Lasek. I have Nova Farlander, and we are waiting for a ride."
"Good work, Forren. Please turn on your beacon so we can find you." He pressed a button on his comlink. "I see your signal. We'll be there in a few minutes."
Several minutes later, Forren looked up and saw a small transport land several yards away. He picked up Nova and carried her toward the ship. Amandi Oraculi greeted them. "How is she doing?" she asked Forren once he had climbed aboard.
"She got shot in the leg three times and went unconscious shortly after," he replied softly, carefully laying her on the hover-gurney.
The Jedi Master kindly placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about your friend. She's a strong Jedi; she'll soon recover."
"I hope so," Forren whispered as the ship took off.