Legacy Rising: This is the story of Arryn Mindalen, second Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi, before, during, and after the Clone Wars.
Chapter 1
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.
25 BBY, Coruscant
The Padawan-Helper paced the hall, wringing his hands, trying to think of a creative excuse to explain to the Clan Master why he had lost a youngling. Again. The little scamp had somehow evaded him three times this week. Not to mention the five other times over the previous two weeks- and those were only the instances he knew of.
"I swear, Arryn Mindalen is going to be the death of me!" he said aloud in frustration.
He looked up at the wall chrono, mentally calculating how much longer he had until Clan Master Ali-Alann would arrive, and tried to figure out how the whole situation had come to pass in the first place.
"I did a count when they awoke," he mentally assured himself, but when he'd counted again during the morning meal, the group was suddenly minus one. He smacked himself on the forehead for overseeing the obvious, and raced to the dormitory to confirm his suspicion. There was still a youngling-shaped lump in the initiate's sleep-couch. He pulled back the blanket to see a pillow smushed to look like a sleeping child. "That devious little….!" he cried out. He returned to the classroom where the rest of the obedient younglings were having their second of five required meditation periods, running through all the possibilities of where she could be. His reverie was interrupted by the soft pat of boots echoing down the hallway behind him.
Jedi Knight Ali-Alann frowned when he saw the Padawan-Helper's distress. "What happened?"
The Padawan-Helper looked at his hands. "One of the younglings is missing."
Ali-Alann sighed. "Let me guess. It's young Mindalen again?" The Padawan-Helper nodded. Ali-Alann picked up his comlink and summoned two crèche droids, who whirred down the hall a few seconds later. "Arryn Mindalen is missing. Please locate her if she is in the Temple and bring her back to the group." The droids acknowledged their order and sped off. Ali-Alann returned his attention to the Padawan-Helper. "It's not your fault, young one," he said, placing a hand on the youth's shoulder. "Something needs to be done about young Mindalen…I'm just not sure what."
While the Jedi and crèche droids were scouring the Temple for the wayward youngling, nine-year-old Arryn Mindalen sat cross-legged by the edge of one of the observation balconies of the Galactic Senate, intently watching a Bothan delegate give a lengthy speech about the need for tighter security on the Holonet. Once he finished, floated his pod back to its place, and the vote was tallied, Arryn typed a brief synopsis of what she had observed into her datapad, and repeated aloud some of the new vocabulary she picked up, mentally translating them into several other languages she was teaching herself at the moment. Satisfied with her entry, she glanced at the chrono at the bottom of the screen, and let out a small gasp. Poodoo! She'd stayed nearly an hour longer than she'd meant to, which only meant one thing- big trouble.
It had become routine for her to get up before the sun rose to wander amongst the various beings in the Senate. She loved observing their interactions- both informally and during intense floor debates- and found the experience more educational than sharing a morning meal with thirteen other Jedi initiates with whom she didn't really get along. She had unintentionally become rather sloppy with the timing of her more recent expeditions, earning warnings and several days' extra chores for her noticeable tardiness to class, but Arryn's hope for such lenience this time around waned like a Nubian moon.
Upon reaching the Temple, she quietly made her way through the ziggurat, up to the study halls above the entrance. She peeked around the corner to the room where the Dragon Clan had their Galactic History class, and to her chagrin, saw their Padawan-Helper anxiously pacing the hall. She considered the possibility of creating a distraction to get the Padawan-Helper out of the way, which would free up the ability to sneak to her seat in the classroom, but the plan was short lived when a crèche droid came up behind her, and in its tinny voice said, "Arryn Mindalen. You are missing. You are to be returned to your clan immediately."
The Padawan-Helper, having heard the droid, stalked over and angrily asked, "Where the Force have you been? We've been looking all over…you could have been killed or stolen…not to mention what you've done to my nerves! I'm far too young to be getting grey hair."
Ali-Alann, having been summoned by the crèche droid, folded his arms and fixed his charge with his sternest look. "Arryn Mindalen, you have a lot of explaining to do."
Now it was Arryn's turn to anxiously pace, but it was not a wayward youngling causing her such distress. Ali-Alann had taken her up to the Temple's most southwest spire, home to the Jedi High Council, where he firmly told her to stay put while he explained the situation. Arryn, despite her shortcomings, never had any sort of disciplinary hearing in all her time at the Temple. And now, fear swelled inside her that the Masters had had enough, that she was a lost cause unworthy of training, and they would dismiss her on the spot.
She could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes at such a thought, but mentally suppressed them, mentally repeating a mantra from the Jedi Code: there is no emotion, there is peace. Ali-Alann emerged from the council chamber, and beckoned Arryn to enter. She took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed with impending embarrassment, and followed him, feeling like a prisoner condemned to death.
Master Mace Windu sat back in his seat and regarded the small figure in front of him, head bowed, a curtain of red hair obscuring an equally red face. "Well, Young One, I think you know why you were called here."
She nodded, eyes still focused on the circular pattern on the floor.
Mace leaned forward and sternly asked, "How old are you, Initiate?"
"Nine," she mumbled.
He nodded slowly. "Nine. You are almost the age at which you could become an apprentice. But no master is going to want to take someone who has a complete and total disregard for the rules," he said sternly.
"I know," she said softly, for once at a loss for words. "I didn't mean…it…it was an accident…"
The chamber door slid open with a dull hiss, interrupting her attempt to explain herself and Yoda, Grand Master of the Jedi, smiled at the sight and said "Ah, young Mindalen. Talk of the Temple, you are. But be quick to discipline you, we cannot."
"Master?" said Windu, not understanding Yoda's insinuation.
Yoda waddled over to his seat beside Master Windu, but remained standing, a look of faint amusement underneath his firm expression. "Returned from the Senate, I have. Interesting gossip they spread, about a young Jedi who watches every day, watches and observes and takes notes. Know of who I am speaking, do you, hmm?" He poked lightly at Arryn's arm with his gimer stick.
Her aura instantly changed. She beamed at the small green Master. "I do, Master Yoda."
"You mean to tell us that your absences are because you've been going to the Galactic Senate," said Master Windu, in disbelief.
Arryn nodded fervently. "It's fascinating! I've learned about politics and history and languages, oh so many languages…"
Ali-Alann, who'd been standing against the back wall listening to the exchange, could hardly believe it. Arryn had always had an imagination about her, there was no doubt about that; this simply had to be her creative method of escaping a month of kitchen duty. "A measure was passed just this morning by the delegation from Bothawui. What was it about?"
Arryn turned to the Clan Master, grinning boldly, and began to explain, talking a mile a minute. "It was about Holonet security! Some of the delegation's constituents on Bothawui had been recent victims of identity theft stemming from the targeted advertising on the mainframe of the Holonet. The legislation now allows for any citizen to opt out of the targeted advertising, which, of course, the Commerce Guild vehemently opposed. They made threats and basically threw a fit, but the vote passed by 59%, if I remember correctly…"
Ali-Alann had to make a concerted effort not to gape at his young charge.
Master Windu broke the silence, looking over his steepled fingers at Arryn. "You said you've been learning languages."
She nodded excitedly. "I'm up to…I think…sixty-five now, Master." Arryn reached into a pouch on her utility belt and pulled out her datapad. "I've kept all my notes in here. You can look at them, if you like." She handed the datapad to Mace.
Yoda poked at Arryn's boot. "A question for you, I have, Youngling. Why do you not like being with your Clan, hmm?"
A cloudy look came over Arryn's bright blue eyes. "I…I'm not like them. They said I was bossy and mean, well, I mean...too honest I guess, and no one wants to be my friend. Sometimes I just can't stop myself from saying what I think…and, well, it's hard," she said with a sigh.
"Sartinaynian," said Master Windu, reading from the datapad. "You speak Sartinaynian?"
Arryn nodded. "I learned the basics from some spacers who'd returned from the Braxant Run, then found the rest in the Archives. Haven't had many opportunities to practice though," she said with a shrug.
Master Windu and Yoda shared a knowing look. Mace handed back the datapad. "You need to return to your Clan, Youngling. From now on, if you want to go to the Senate, ask permission first. Having nine-year-olds running rampant through the streets of Coruscant is hardly safe. But do not think this is not over yet. There is still much to discuss."
Arryn nodded solemnly. "So…um…does this mean I'm not getting kicked out?" she asked as she returned her datapad to her belt.
"Your desire to leave the Jedi Order, is it, Arryn Mindalen?" asked Yoda with a smirk.
Arryn looked horrified. "No, not at all! It's just that, I thought that-"
"All right," said Master Windu, holding up a hand to head off another ramble. "You have duties to attend to."
"Yes Masters. Thank you Masters," said Arryn in great relief, bowing as she followed Ali-Alann out.
The Master of the Dragon Clan shook his head in amazement as they walked to the turbolift. "I just can't figure you out, Arryn Mindalen. One minute, you're reckless on a subtle level, and the next, you're giving the Council a run for their credits." Arryn grinned. "I hope your future Master has all the patience in the galaxy- with you, they will certainly need it."
"She speaks Sartinaynian," said Master Windu, shaking his head after Arryn and Ali-Alann had left. "Of all the languages to learn…"
Yoda nodded in agreement. "Be of some use, Young Mindalen could."
"Obi-Wan and Anakin are supposed to leave tomorrow to facilitate trade negotiations. If we send Arryn with them, she could do the translating, and perhaps learn a lesson or two."
"Good for all involved, this is."
"But do you think she is mature enough to handle a mission?" asked Mace of himself and Yoda.
Yoda leaned on his gimer stick in a contemplative pose. "A test, this will be. For if anyone can be of help to her, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker it is."
A/N: Please check out Arryn's Tumblr at classicalbrunette. tumblr. com! If you'd be so kind, leave any comments/questions below...and have a very happy new year! MTFBWY!