Chapter Three

Valin Horn followed Nejaa Halcyon down the long, bright corridors of the Jedi Temple. Though he was a bit nervous at being separated from Anakin, his only link to the future, Nejaa was friendly and obviously pleased to be showing his great grandson around the temple.

They entered a room that was filled with waterfalls, and startled by the beauty, Valin could only stare. "Wow."

"Pretty, isn't it?" Nejaa asked as he gestured for Valin to take a seat next to him on a bench.

A pretty, young blonde woman sat nearby as she quietly painted the room. Other Jedi milled around, either meditating or talking in small groups. Valin listened to the rush of the water for a moment, thoroughly enjoying its gentle music. "Nejaa?"

"Yes, Valin?"

"What code did Anakin Skywalker break?" Valin asked, wondering if Anakin had already started turning toward the dark side.

"You cannot guess?" Nejaa raised an eyebrow. "Anakin Solo is his grandson, and Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi of the Republic."

"So is Master Luke, and he'll be a grandfather someday."

"They no longer forbid love in your time?"

"Of course not! How could they?" Valin asked, shocked. "They do it now?"

"I am afraid so."

"But…" Valin hesitated, "you're married."

Nejaa nodded. "Yes, but I am Corellian."

"And that explains it?"

"I'm afraid that we are not part of the Republic Jedi, Valin. We broke away hundreds of years ago over a disagreement over personal attachments and have only recently made contact with Coruscant again. It was Master Yoda who renewed contact, inviting us to Coruscant for various meetings and tournaments." His tone softened. "He foresees dark times ahead of us and feels that the Jedi need to be united in order to combat it."

Valin shivered, perfectly aware of the dark times Master Yoda foresaw. He longed to tell Nejaa exactly what would happen, but he knew that his great grandfather would not want to hear it. "So your only disagreement is love being forbidden?"

"Among other things."

"Such as?"

"The Republic Jedi feel that the best way to serve the galaxy is to live in it but not be of it. They set standards for themselves that no sentient being can follow and refuse to acknowledge their ancestry. They believe in complete impartiality, Valin. They are not even allowed to contact their own families."

Valin's eyes widened. "That's horrible!"

"Having been raised in your family, you would believe that," Nejaa pointed out. "We Corellians refuse to live outside of our own system. We raise our own children. We hold jobs alongside being a Jedi. We feel that the best way to serve the galaxy is by living in it so that we can better understand the needs of the people."

"Wouldn't a compromise between both ideologies be best?" Valin asked. He was certain that if the Jedi of his time were more numerous, they would have followed both ideals.

"Absolutely."

"But it will never happen," Valin predicted.

"Probably not."

"And I thought we had problems," Valin said, shaking his head. The Jedi of his time had always placed the old Republic Jedi on a pedestal and tried their best to emulate them. They researched Jedi artifacts and studied every record they could find to further understand the ways of the Force. Valin had no idea that the Jedi of the Old Republic had been divided. "I sort of thought you guys would be perfect."

Nejaa nodded. "Funny what the truth reveals, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Valin turned his attention to the young woman sitting nearby. He blinked. "She isn't a Jedi."

"She's probably a student at Coruscant University. Their students are permitted to explore the temple at times."

Valin grinned as the woman looked over at them. "She's pretty."

The woman put her paint brush down. "Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all," Nejaa said. "What is your name?"

"Nyche," she responded. "And you are?"

"Nejaa, and this is Valin," he said, resting his hand on Valin's shoulder.

"Valin?" she repeated, pursing her lips. "I had no idea that was such a popular name."

"It's not." Nejaa smirked. "I take it you met my son, Valin Halcyon?"

"I did," Nyche gave him a warm smile. "He's quite the charmer. Is this Valin related to you as well?"

"Somewhere down the line," Nejaa admitted.

Valin blushed as he lowered his gaze. He realized that he'd just been checking out his grandmother. "Yeah," he muttered again, embarrassed.

***

Anakin Solo followed Obi-Wan into a large gym, where Jedi sparred with lightsabers. He watched them in fascination, noting the fluid, graceful movements of the fighters. The practiced movements. "Are we going to duel?"

"I'd like to check your skills, Anakin," Obi-Wan said as he began stretching. "Go ahead and warm up."

Anakin started warming up, but he had mixed feelings about the duel. The Jedi of the Old Republic were so different than his order. He only had to watch them for a few minutes to recognize that their styles didn't match the way Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn had taught him lightsaber combat. Anakin was used to being the best, and now he had to duel against one of the most famous Jedi in the Galaxy.

When both he and Obi-Wan were ready, they stepped onto the mats and bowed to each other. Anakin briefly wondered why they bowed so much but then forced himself to focus on the present. He reached for his lightsaber and raised shields at the same time he sensed Obi-Wan doing so. Both Jedi lit their sabers and started circling each other. Anakin waited for Obi-Wan to strike first but almost countered his attack too late. Obi-Wan was relentless and even fancy in his attacks. Every move flowed perfectly from the last, and Anakin was forced to fight entirely on the defensive.

Anakin focused on breaking through Obi-Wan's intricate defense. He was direct in his approach and didn't bother with fancy footwork and hand movements. He fought with as much effort as he could in the hopes that the older Jedi would tire. But Obi-Wan soon forced him into the inner ring of defense before pushing him back with a sudden burst of telekinesis. Anakin landed on his back, which caused him to lower his guard for a fraction of a second. Obi-Wan touched his saber close to Anakin's neck. "Kill point."

"You're very good, sir," Anakin said, allowing Obi-Wan to help him to his feet.

"You fought well, Anakin." Obi-Wan glanced briefly at the other Jedi sparring in the room. "You've seen real battle before, haven't you?"

Anakin nodded. "You can tell?"

"Of course. You don't waste energy, and your approach is very direct." Obi-Wan gestured towards the other Jedi. "There are some padawans who think that all it takes to win a battle is fancy tricks, but endurance is a key factor when fighting for your life." He paused, studying Anakin for a moment. "You were surprised by my Force push. Why?"

"It isn't a tactic we've used before," Anakin answered. But he planned on adapting to it. When it came to tricks of the Force, he only needed to see it once before picking up on it.

"Why not?"

Anakin shrugged. He knew he couldn't explain to Obi-Wan how much knowledge had been lost during the Jedi Purges. "I guess because our combat Master isn't telekinetic."

"He's a Halcyon, then?"

"Yes. He's Valin's father."

Obi-Wan frowned. "I thought Valin's last name was Horn."

"It is, sir," Anakin said, wondering why Obi-Wan was questioning him.

"Then why is Nejaa Halcyon's grandson's last name Horn?"

Anakin froze as he realized his mistake. Obi-Wan couldn't possibly know that Valin Halcyon would have to go into hiding and pretend to be Rostek Horn's son. He cleared his throat. "Do you want me to explain, Master?"

Obi-Wan hesitated. "No, Anakin, I do not. But tell me, is Valin Horn's father also his Master?"

"Yes."

"And who is yours?"

"Mine was my uncle."

"Was?" Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

Anakin straightened. "I am a Jedi Knight, Master Kenobi. I have passed my trials."

"You are a child," Obi-Wan said shortly, but he scanned Anakin with the Force. "And I can sense that you have suffered for it."

"The war made it necessary for a lot of us to become Knights earlier than usual," Anakin explained.

Obi-Wan nodded. "War often does. It even forces some to become Masters even if they are years from being ready to train a padawan."

Anakin had no doubt that Obi-Wan was speaking of himself, and the padawan was…Anakin Skywalker. "Yes, sir."

The door to the gym opened, and a pleasant looking older gentleman entered, flanked by two white armored guards.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said softly. "I am afraid that I must ask you to lie for me."

"What?"

"Do not tell the High Chancellor where you are from, and do not give him your real name."

"Yes, sir," Anakin agreed as he watched as the Chancellor approach them with a warm smile.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi." The Chancellor acknowledged Obi-Wan's bow with a nod. "Where is young Skywalker?"

"He is off world at the moment," said Obi-Wan smoothly.

"And who is this young Jedi?" the Chancellor asked, turning to Anakin.

"This is Quentin Solsar, a visiting Corellian apprentice," Obi-Wan rested his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Quinten, this is High Chancellor Palpatine."

"It's a pleasure," Palpatine said, offering Anakin his hand.

Anakin stiffened, suddenly unable to breathe. This was Emperor Palpatine? The dark Lord of the Sith who had destroyed an entire Jedi Order? Anakin couldn't believe that Obi-Wan was being friendly with him. If it weren't for Palpatine, thousands of Jedi would not be dead. If it weren't for Palpatine, millions of people wouldn't have died in the war.

If it weren't for Palpatine, his grandfather wouldn't have turned to the Darkside.

Angry to see Palpatine standing among the Jedi, Anakin reached for his lightsaber. If he killed Palpatine, he could save billions of people from suffering at the hands of the Empire. His siblings would not have to grow up in a galaxy constantly fighting wars. What did it matter that Palpatine was unarmed when billions of lives were at risk if Anakin allowed him to live?

He removed his lightsaber from his belt and was ready to light it when he saw something that raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

Palpatine smiled at him, as if pleased at Anakin's desire to kill him. He almost seemed to revel in it. "You're a very interesting apprentice, Quinten. I look forward to seeing more of you."

Anakin nearly dropped his lightsaber as he shook with the realization of how close he had come to using the darkside of the Force. He refused to acknowledge Palpatine's parting words. Instead, he focused on taking deep breaths, which helped to gently release his anger. Killing Palpatine without provocation and in anger was not the way to save his grandfather from the darkside.

He was absolutely certain, however, that Palpatine would not be happy to see him the next time their paths crossed.

Obi-Wan watched Palpatine leave and then placed a firm hand on Anakin's shoulder. "We need to have a talk about your attitude towards the Chancellor, Anakin."