I spent the next three years at the Temple, either in the room that the Jedi had granted me or in the training ring outside of the Temple that I covertly found. I passed the time that I had in my room reading over my data pad, sleeping, modifying the range of motion on my new forearm with the tool kit, exercising as best I could, or mediating.
Once a day, I left to gather some food from the common eating area. My meals usually consisted of a couple pieces of fresh fruit, a piece of hard bread, a small portion of lean meat or fish, and a large glass of water. Along with the food, I also took my daily dosage of the nutrient tablets that I had brought from Alderaan. On my home world, we tended to never eat large amounts of food, in order to avoid becoming corpulent. But we made it important to eat at least one meal every day, so the small amounts of food did not disturb me.
In the eating area, when I came to select my food, some of the Padawan Learners would stop what they were doing and stare; they would begin to whisper amongst their friends and point at me, like I was some kind of animal in a zoo. No one came and actually asked me anything; instead, I heard the stories that I was a Separatist, that I was being held prisoner here by the Republic, that I was a Jedi android long come out of retirement. Nothing that they told came anywhere near the truth. I heard their comments as I walked to the food line: "Who is she? Why is she displaying her wounds, like she's some like of hero? She's just doing it for the attention! She's a freak!"
I guess that I was some kind of freak in their eyes, with eyes that change colors with my moods, shorn chestnut brown hair, loose black clothes, and a drawn in stomach with bandaging showing everywhere. But still, the comments cut me deep. So I learned how to erect walls around my heart and my head in order to keep myself in check.
Once every four days for the first four weeks, I found myself in the med center, being monitored by both the med droids and the healers. After about six of these check-ups, the healers decided that it was time to remove the bandages and stitch up the avulsions that stubbornly did not want to heal on their own. "Suri," the head healer, a kind Twi'lek named Naru, told me. "We need you to take off your jacket, and lie down on the sleeping mat. We are going to sew up your back. We cannot be sure whether or not the electro-whip was poisoned as well, so we must do this manually."
With that, I did as they asked; I wanted to get rid of these bandages so badly. The healers numbed my back, so that I could not feel them sewing up the skin of the avulsions on my back. I felt nothing except the prick of their needles. Once they were done, Naru tapped my shoulder. "We have done all we can, but we must tell you. The scars will never go away. You will have long ropy scars on your back for the rest of your days."
Back inside my room, I inspected the healer's handiwork. The avulsions were just started to scab over, but like she said, the scars would be massive. The lacerations formed pearly scars on my arms and legs on their own. At least the burns had mostly healed by now. That was a blessing; now I didn't have to worry about placing weight on them and feeling pain.
At last, I was summoned again to the Council Room. I initially thought that they had more questions that they wanted to ask of me. When they called for me, I entered the room, bowed before the Masters, and stood at ease before them.
"Suri, you are aware that the Jedi have their own little armada of fighter pilots, are you?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi began.
"Yes, Master."
"Well, since you have been deprived of the opportunity to train at the Starship Academy, may we offer a new route?"
"What do you mean, Master?"
"We are offering the chance to train as a pilot, with the most talented flier in the Jedi Order as your mentor: Anakin Skywalker. He will train you when he is not on missions. At the end of six months of training, you will perform a flight test in front of a select panel of judges. If you perform exceptionally well, you will have the opportunity to join the Jedi's personal air armada."
When I heard this, I was overflowing with delight that my dream was finally coming true. On the outside, I quietly stood up, thanked the Masters, bowed, and left the chamber.
My pilot lessons began within the next few days. I was up before dawn, my excitement supplying me with energy and adrenaline. I met Anakin down in the hangar bay. He was waiting for me, leaning on the side of one of the ships.
"All right. The first things that you need to know about flying are the controls of the ship. You will be flying in standard V-Wing fighter class ship during these lessons. Now, come with me." Anakin walked over to his own ship, and began to point out the controls. "Now listen, I need to teach you fast. Today is the only day that we will not fly. Now pay attention, Suri. This is your steering, your navigational computer, your torpedo launcher, the activation to your shields, and your trigger. Now, point them out to me." Anakin pointed out each control to me.
When I had finished repeating what he had just told me, Anakin showed me how to start the ship. That was easy; when it came down to actually flying, that was much harder. At least, I did not crash my ship on the first attempt. As I grew more accustomed to it, it was easier to navigate my ship.
As Anakin and I flew around the Jedi Temple, he communicated his instructions and admonitions to me through a headset. "Bank to the left! Slow down! Do a barrel roll! You're going too fast, Suri! Come on, slowpoke! Bank! Turn around and do it again!" I listened carefully to what he said, and retained every piece of information.
Soon, I began doing aerial tricks, like barrel rolls, close landings, fast takeoffs, and dodging other ships. This came in good use, once Anakin deemed me ready for his next test: racing him in the middle of the angry traffic of Coruscant.
Most of the time, Anakin won the races, but only because he had had more experience flying these crafts. Slowly, I became more skilled, and I began to beat Anakin at his own game, winning more of these little races between us, and the raging traffic. Every time that I stepped into the cockpit of a ship and took control, became a time of utter euphoria to me.
On one of the calmer days of flying, Anakin and I got to know each other better. "Hey, Suri," he spoke into his headset.
"Yeah, Anakin?"
"Can you do something for me?"
"Sure."
"Can you promise me that our conversations will stay between us?"
"Sure. It's not often I get to talk with someone who just wants to talk."
"Okay. Suri, I'm married."
"Married?" Normally, Jedi were committed to only the Order; emotional attachments were expressly forbidden. This was just plain weird. "To who?"
"Padmé. Senator Padmé Naberrie Amidala of Naboo. That's not all: I'm going to be a father soon."
"Man, you are one lucky man, Anakin." At this news, I smiled; I always had a weakness for babies.
The next day, our conversations took a more serious turn. "Suri, did you ever feel like you don't belong somewhere, that you feel yourself being pulled in other directions?"
"Anakin, I'm the daughter of a politician. Welcome to my life. Why you ask?"
"It's because I feel that sometimes the Council doesn't trust me because of my friendship with Chancellor Palpatine. He was the first friend outside the Order that I made, always wathcing out for me."
"And how does that relate to how the Council feels?" Despite not being a Jedi, I saw the struggles that the Order went through with the Republic. Everything seemed fine and dandy on the outside, but on the inside, it seemed like a struggle between obeying the Chancellor, and going off and find this mysterious Sith Lord that every one of them was searching for. Not for the first time had my room been ransacked because some of the more eager Padawans thought that I was the Sith Lord pretending to join their ranks to gain their trust.
Silence hung in the air after that last comment. "I don't think they trust the Chancellor either. The Council always pushes me to the side, keeping me out of its most important roles."
"Yeah. I feel discord between the Jedi and the Senate, but it's not easy to spot. Anakin, I trust more in the Republic than in the ways of the Jedi. Man, my own father is a Senator! But I think the Jedi are wrong; Chancellor Palpatine is one of the best Supreme Chancellors in the history of the Senate, and he's doing all he can and that within his power to stop the war! My trust and my allegiance are with the Republic, the Senate, and with the Supreme Chancellor, who at this point, is Palpatine."
