Chapter 1
Nine Years Later
"Arryn, Arryn, hello Arryn, wake up," said thirteen-year-old Elantra Villa-Neuava, waving his hand in front of his best friend's face.
"What?" Twelve-year-old Arryn jumped nearly a meter as Elantra broke her daydream.
"I was saying that we needed to find something to do because I'm bored, but since I was talking to the wall…" Elantra grinned as Arryn lightly punched his on the arm.
Arryn and Elantra's other best friend, Anaria Zahn lay sprawled out on the rug in Arryn's quarters, slowly flipping through a text. She looked up at Elantra and said, "I was listening to you."
Elantra rolled his eyes and leaned over the back of Arryn's desk chair to peer over Anaria's shoulder. "What are you reading?"
"A very fascinating study on the exobiology of the Gungan species."
Elantra shared a look with Arryn. Out of all the students in their year, Anaria was by far the most academically inclined, a trait that neither ofher friends inherited. Elantra picked up Arryn's datapad from her desk and played with it for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Do you ever think about your heritage?"
Anaria answered, "All the time. I don't know anyone here who doesn't wonder where they're from or who their parents are. The only thing I know about my past is that I am from Naboo."
Arryn looked at her bedspread and quietly said, "At least you both have some family here." She looked up at her friends. "Elantra, you have your sisters Sadie and Emalye, and Anaria, you have Jacinta and Rebekka."
Anaria sighed and sat up. "Arryn, you are forgetting one major thing. Jacinta is working here. Just because she was too old to become a Jedi doesn't mean that I get the luxury of seeing her often. And Rebekka has classes and training, so it's even rarer to see her."
Elantra added, "Sadie and Emalye are both Jedi Knights with their own Padawans. They're out on missions most of the time. I haven't seen either of them in months."
Arryn sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine, I get your point. But look at Peighton and Malina Greer. They are lucky...they're twins and get to see each other at meals andduring training...then look at me. I am all alone here. I don't even have a memory of a family or anything."
Elantra reached out and teasingly pulled Arryn's Padawan braid. Arryn yelped and yanked it away from him. "What was that for?"
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You may not have a family, but at least you have the best two friends in the entire galaxy."
"Very funny, Elantra, very funny."
Elantra stood up and pretended to take a bow. "Thank you, thank you very much." Arryn put her head in her hands in mock annoyance.
Anaria snapped her text shut. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but there is a way to find out about your family," she said.
Arryn's head snapped up. "What?"
"I overheard Madame Jocasta Nu telling someone on the Council that records are kept on every student at the Jedi Temple. They are stored in the main frame, so the only obstacle would be to break the password to get in the database."
Arryn's eyes widened in delight. She adored computers, and was especially good at hacking. She jumped off her sleep couch. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on guys, let's go!"
"In case you might have forgotten, we could get in serious trouble if we were caught," said Anaria.
Elantra eyed Anaria suspiciously. "Are you trying to be a coward, or does it just come naturally?"
Anaria narrowed her eyes. Arryn pretended to cough and said, "peer pressure!"
Elantra turned to Arryn. "If I remember correctly, it was you who complained about not knowing your family."
"Hey, I never said I wasn't going through with it. Besides, I'd like to see you try to get in the main frame without me."
"We are going to get in so much trouble," Anaria moaned softly.
"Not when I'm around," said Arryn confidently. "I can cover my tracks so well that they won't even know we're online."
Arryn got up and walked out quickly followed by Elantra. Anaria picked up her text and reluctantly followed her friends, shaking her head at their idiocy.
Will our sneaky Padawans find what they're looking for? Will the get caught? Stay tuned!
