Star Wars: Apostate - Chapter Two - The Beginning of the End
"Very well, I will tell you. Although you witnessed the tragedy of that day, there are things that you do not yet know". Ochi sat with her eyes closed as Shu'un placed his hands on Ochi's. Ochi's people could use the force to view the thoughts of those with whom they held hands.
Shortly after the Clone Wars began, Master Rahad Ka'ato had decided to leave the Jedi Order. He believed that the Jedi becoming generals in a war was the ultimate betrayal of their principles and could no longer stay. Having been told of her master's decision, Jedi Knight Serivia Zek, Master Ka'ato's former padawan, decided to leave the order alongside her master.
The force guided Master Ka'ato towards the planet of Tlacuu. On the pair's journey to this world, they encountered what seemed to be wreckages of a Jedi transport vessel near the planet of Mandalore.
Master Ka'ato and Serivia boarded the damaged vessel and found it littered with the corpses of pirates. In the cockpit of the ship, they discovered the body of a Jedi Knight. The Knight had died defending the ship and a very important passenger. Me.
I was an infant on my way to the Jedi temple on the planet of Coruscant, the capital of the then Galactic Republic. The information about my home planet and kin had been destroyed in the skirmish with the pirates.
Sensing that I would be in danger at the Jedi temple, Master Ka'ato decided to bring me along to Tlacuu.
"Master Ka'ato always remained candid about your origins. He seemed to be protecting you from something". Ochi could feel the loneliness within Shu'un's heart.
Master Ka'ato and Serivia arrived on Tlacuu, a remote world where the Republic had no influence or even the slightest idea of its existence. After meeting the locals Serivia and Master Ka'ato constructed a temple deep within the jungle.
Master Ka'ato was determined to learn everything the force had to teach. The Master also named the youngling Shu'un Alasaari, a name from his culture. At a young age, the boy showed promise in the force and so Master Ka'ato began educating the boy on the nature of the force, the light and the dark.
Serivia meanwhile began to grow bored and disillusioned with her choice of abandoning the order.
When the boy came of age, Serivia began to teach the boy about the art of lightsaber combat. Soon the boy was skilled enough to hold his own against Serivia, for a short time at least.
One day, Serivia announced to Master Ka'ato her desire to leave and explore the galaxy. Although Master Ka'ato was weary of this choice, he allowed his former padawan to leave the remote planet, nonetheless.
With a heavy heart, Master Ka'ato bid farewell to his apprentice. Allowing Serivia to take his ship he and the boy were essentially trapped on Tlacuu.
The boy was dismayed at the loss of his mentor and his first love. Through the several years of training and living together, the boy developed deep feelings for her.
Master Ka'ato reassured the boy and told him that attachment was not love. That love was freedom and respect for the choices of those you love. From that point on Master Ka'ato continued training the boy.
"You trained hard for an entire year, didn't you? I remember observing you working so hard, looking so handsome" Ochi giggled as she remembered Shu'un's fit body meditating in the middle of a waterfall.
The day I was to be knighted, Master Ka'ato and I sensed a shift in the force. As the knighting ceremony began, several explosions were heard, and your father came rushing to alert Master Ka'ato of an attack on the village.
Master Ka'ato and I rushed towards the village to investigate. Master Ka'ato believed that the war had arrived on Tlacuu, or at least, that's what he told me.
Soon, we would discover the horrible truth.