Disclaimer: I do not own any of Star Wars, the right of ownership of Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm and I guess Disney too. The only thing I own is the characters you do not notice and the plot.
Chapter 26: Order Accepting Marek
Mark is sitting in the Padme's apartment in the 500 Republica. Well, more like the Skywalker's apartment. Mark watches as Leia plays a game with Mara and Luke. It seem like hide and seek or something.
Mark was sitting with Padme, Anakin, Maria and Rachelle on the couch. Leia is running around after Mara. So maybe Mark is wrong at what game they are playing. It must be some type of game between tag and hide and seek.
Mara screams joyfully as she rushes away from Leia. "Careful Leia, Mara is younger than you." say Anakin. Since saving Maria and Mara, they have been staying with Padme and Anakin. When on Coruscant, Mark tries to visit them as often as possible. "I was giving Leia a bath yesterday and you see her back." say Anakin as he looks at Mark.
"The scars, I think they will fade, Anakin. Hopefully due to her being very young, maybe she will forget what had happen to her. I did say that I had a couple visions of her being torture and plus you had a vision." say Mark looking back at his best friend.
Mara starts to chase Leia and tackles her. The two little girls went rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles. This got both Padme and Maria smiles. "I am so shock at how close Leia and Mara got over the past couple days. I mean, Mara does not open up to people a lot easy, but that due to us being lost in Bakura." say Maria.
"That is not your fault. Your life was hard since the beginning if I remember correctly." say Padme. Just like Mark she has heard Maria's history. Even through she have hard life, she did have a lot of good time with all the jobs she have, but it seems like her past keep catching up to her.
"So what are we going to do about this war?" ask Maria. Padme looks at her and then to Mark. "We have to fight back. We worked so hard of keeping the Republic safe from Palpatine, it will be a shamed to see it fall to a monster that he had created." say Padme.
Maria looks at Mark for a few seconds. "The Jedi will aid the Republic as it always does. Even if they do not help, I will help. I came to this dimension to make sure what had happen in my universe will not happen in this one. I will be damn if I let the Republic falls in the hands of the Sith." say Mark.
"Wasn't your mission to stop Palpatine?" ask Maria. "My mission was to protect the Jedi Order and the Republic. The main topic of that mission was to stop Palpatine. In ways I have failed, because of him creating Darth Vader. Still Palpatine is still a threat." say Mark.
Rachelle was amazed at what she just heard. How he just thought was something you do not see everyday with many Jedi. Most would not consider Palpatine a threat now that he is dead, but for a certain point of view, Palpatine is still alive through, quoting Padme, the monster he had created which is Darth Vader. Even if they manage to kill Darth Vader, which she begins to think is a millimeter from impossible, Palpatine will still be a threat through the order that Darth Vader had created.
Then again she had spent few hours talking to Kento Marek, Mark's very first Padawan. He told her that if this Mark is anything like the Mark who trained him, then this Mark is very unique in ways of doing stuff and thinking. He stills kept saying that Mark is much wiser then his age and from what Rachelle had experience with Mark, which is an understatement.
Rachelle looks at her mentor who is sitting besides her talking to Padme and Maria. It is hard to believe with all the skills and knowledge that he is 37 years old with all the knowledge he process. After she heard about how fast he advances through the Jedi Order, it would make anyone think becoming a Jedi Master was a piece of cake. Being a Jedi Padawan for most of her life right now, she knows the path of a Jedi is a tough one. Most are not Jedi Master, but Knights. Holding the title of a Jedi Master is a high honor to bestow on one.
She used to dream of becoming a Jedi Knight often, but she set her goals much higher now that she knows she will soon become a Jedi Knight like her first mentor, who always stated that she could be great enough to become a great Jedi. She always laughed when her first mentor told her that if she changes greatly then she might be able to become a Jedi Master.
The door hisses open and walks Kento Marek. "Master Yoda told me that I will be able to find you here, Master." say Kento. Padme looks up and saw Kento and she remembers right away as Mark's Padawan when they did a mission on Naboo to protect her and some of the royal members in 30 BBY.
"What do you want Kento?" ask Mark. "Mallie and I agree upon to rejoin the Jedi Order. Master Windu told me to talk to you about it." say Kento. "The question is, are you still fit to be a Jedi Knight?" ask Mark standing up and facing his former Padawan. "I might have left the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars, but I assure you that I am still as good as I was when I was Knighted." say Kento.
"I am not talking about your skills. Skills are one thing, but know how to use them in the ways the Jedi Order sees it is another thing. I am not questioning your ability of your skills since you stand up to the like of Darth Vader." say Mark.
Rachelle watches as her mentor talks to his former student. Through what her mentor saying sounds slightly harsh, she sense great amount of respect between the former student and mentor for each other. They have a lot of respect for each other, even more than her and Mark has for each other, and that is saying something because they have great amount of respect for each other.
"You doubt my abilities as a Jedi, Master. You really think I could forget how to be a Jedi in 7 years. I have been a Jedi for almost my whole life. When you be something that long, it is hard to forget that stuff that you learn. With you teaching me for 7 years, those things you taught me are drilled into my head." say Kento as he looks at his former mentor.
He notices all the changes went on with the Jedi Temple since he had left. They allow family and marriages. He notice all the Anti-Jediism that the Jedi Order was faced during the years became low since they allow family members still see there children. With Jedi taking infants from their family and not allow family members seeing them was what cause most of the Anti-Jediism. Seem like Mark have manage to change the Jedi Order for the better.
"Now, he does have a point, Master. You do tend to drill us into knowing the ways of the Jedi hard." say Rachelle. "As with everything, there is a reason." say Mark looking at his current Padawan. "Plus, Master. Mallie and I have been living by the Jedi Code since we left. We protected people on Kashyyyk from various attacks." say Kento as he looks at Mark.
"So it is up to me, to decide rather to let you back into the Jedi Order." say Mark. He would ask why, but he already knows the answer. All Kento knows was the Jedi Order and it must have been hard for him to leave the Jedi Order in 22 BBY. For someone like Anakin, Rahm Kota, and him it would not be that hard since they know of a different life before the Jedi Order. Out of those three, Mark has the best. Anakin was born a slave and live as a slave until the age of 9. Rahm Kota was born on a planet that was ravage by war, so he faced war. By far, Mark thinks Kota is the oldest person to be accepted into the Jedi Order, because Mace Windu found him on the planet and bring him to the Jedi Order when he was 8 years old.
Thinking about that made Mark think. Anakin was younger but the Jedi Order has a hard time accepting him within the order, but his Kota was an adult when got accepted into the order and trained by Yoda. Mark knows one thing, Kota was a bit forceful and brave, but his loyalty to the Jedi Order and the Republic was never questioned. Through he takes on difficult missions and people think him as a rough type of person, Kota is actually a pretty decent person. He figure why his old mentor thinks of being forceful is better because of being in war on his planet for nearly his whole teen life.
"Yes, I promise you, Master. The only thing different is now I have a kid. That's all. I am still the same person you raise." say Kento. "That could be a good thing and a bad thing. If I remember correctly that you craved adventure, craved to be a hero, and for the excitement." say Mark.
"You have to think about I was young then! At the beginning of the Clone Wars I wanted to prove myself!" say Kento looking at Mark. "I was only 7 years older than you. I never craved those things. My only goal was to protect those that needed to be protected. Even when I was a Padawan, I did not craved to be a hero. I am not saying it is a bad thing. I sensed you have change and I bet being in love and have a child would do that." say Mark.
"Still you were 7 more years wiser and experience then me. You were 30 at the beginning of the Clone Wars. I was 23, a lot of people that age, besides you, are like that. Still I hold to the values of the Jedi Order." say Kento cannot believe his former mentor is doing to this to him.
Mark crack a half of a smile. "I know you are and you are welcome back to the Order." say Mark looking down. Kento looked at Mark with narrow eyes. "What with all that just now?" ask Kento. "Payback for all the trouble you have caused me on some of the missions we went on when you were a Padawan." say Mark with a smile on his face as he sits back now at the couch.
"Jedi not suppose to hold grudges." say Kento. "Who say it was a grudge or revenge in that case. I was just giving you a hard time. Trust me you will find out when you have your own Padawan and no I do not think you are ready for one yet. I will speak with the Council first thing in the morning. I figure if they have me deciding, then Master Yoda have already agree. No get out of here and spend some time with your family. You already spend 7 years of your life with me, so I must not be greedy." say Mark reaching down to grab a cup from the coffee table.
As Mark reaches for the cup, Luke rushes past Kento with Leia and Mara chasing him. He leaps over the coffee table and slides across the table taking all the cups that was on there and fall down the other side. On the floor on the other side, the blond hair Luke was shaking his head. Mara rushes forward while giggling, to make sure Luke was okay. Leia laughs a bit as she shakes her head. After a few seconds Leia walks over to make sure Luke was okay.
When both girls were near him, Luke scared them. Mark watches the interactions between Luke and Mara. He has been having a lot of visions of him seeing them together when they are older. He did notice how fast Mara got along with Luke and how close she have become. Even Maria says that she was shocked because Mara is highly shy around people.
"Thank you, Master." say Kento as Mark looks back up to him as Padme went to talk to Luke, Anakin was picking up the plastic cups that had fall to the floor and put them on the table.
"You are welcome." say Mark looking back at Mara who is sitting on her knees looking at Luke, while Leia look slightly guilty. Both Luke and she know better then to jump on the coffee tables or any tables like that. Kento left the apartment.
"How did he know where to find you?" ask Maria confused. She came over along with Mark from the Jedi Order and they did not talk to anyone at the temple. "Maria, my friend. The Force is a very helpful friend." say Mark. Maria looks confused a bit and Anakin went to explain more about it. He told her how that someone can find someone through the Force. She was awed. Apparent it remind her of the time where Mara was lost in one of the poor cities on Bakura. Maria was so scared, but was relieve that her little girl manage to find her.
Even through she went to the city on Bakura she did not trust a lot of people there, so she did not often to talk to them. She figures if she talked to them, then she would have not been presumed dead and be found. A mistake that her caution thinking got her and Maria into bunch of trouble. In the end it works out great for both of them. Mara is having two best friends at the Jedi Temple. The Jedi Order and her are in the process of getting her papers in order so she would no longer be consider legally dead.
She really wants to help out in the upcoming war that Mark have foretold will happen if Darth Vader did not gain control over the Republic. She will be good at commanding a ship, piloting, and fighting alongside the ground forces due to her training at Corulag Military Academy. Also throw in the experiences she has through her life, it will make her a fine addition to the Grand Army of the Republic.
The reason why she wants to join the military is to provide a better future for her little girl. Since she was pregnant with Mara, that was all she could have think of was how to make life better for her little girl. She knows the only way for that to happen if the Sith were stop in their plans for to have control over the galaxy. She is more than willing to help out in that case.
As of right now she will enjoy the peace that they have and the time she can spend with her daughter. Even if she fails to bring peace, she knows her daughter will be trained well to defend herself. Mara is already knows a little bit about self-defense from their training on Bakura.