Chapter One
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. -William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming"
Fourteen Years Later
Sammi bounded noisily into the chambers she shared with her Master, Amila, after her first day working with the crèche babies. Amila still served as the crèche master, but had taken the fair-headed girl as her Padawan when the child had shown great aptitude with smaller children, hoping to train the girl to someday take her place. At first, Sammi had been afraid that her training as a Jedi would be shorted as Amila's Padawan, but had been proven wrong the first time she had dueled the motherly Master in the training salle. If anything, Sammi's training was more rigorous than that of anyone else her age, since she had to take both the normal training lessons and those with the babies.
After the first full day of working with the initiates, Sammi found herself remembering clearly the day when Obi-Wan Kenobi had first come to read stories to her crèche group. The group of toddlers had spent the last fourteen years growing up together, and had remained friends, both with each other and with Obi-Wan and his new Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. In fact, only two of the original twenty in the group no longer remained with them; D'rash had died tragically in a training accident that had left the group mourning for nearly a year, and Jesalin had left the temple at the request of her birth family, a noble House on Chandrila. None of the other initiates had known any family but the Jedi, or any friends of their age group but the others of their tight-knit band.
Fourteen years of friendship allowed for some concessions, so Sammi was unsurprised when her best friend Regan and Regan's twin brother Ray barged in without knocking. Sammi's master, Amila, was still the crèche, and so was not available to comment either on Sammi's earlier ungraceful entrance, or that of her friends, though, had the Master been present, she would have spared no sharp-tounged, well-meant retort. Though Regan and Ray had both chosen to do their volunteer hours at the crèche, as Obi-Wan had done before them, neither had the responsibilities that came with being apprenticed to the crèche master.
Regan barreled into the sitting room where Sammi had dumped her bags in a pile on the floor. She took a running leap and bounced over the back of the comfortable sofa that faced the window overlooking the council spire of the Jedi Temple, landing on the soft cushions.
"Hey, Sammi; how were the babies today?" the cheerful Padawan queried.
Sammi scooped up a pile of picture books, then turned to face her friend. "As rambunctious as usual. You know this group; they're almost as bad as we were!"
Ray, who had followed his sister into the room at a more leisurely pace laughed in remembrance. "How could they be? D'you remember that time when the three of us snuck out of the crèche in the middle of the night to steal cookies from the kitchen?"
"And got caught by Obi-Wan and his friends who were down there for the same reason?" Regan chimed in. "Yeah, I remember that!"
Sammi slid past the sofa with the pile of book in one hand, palmed the door to her room open with the other, and dumped the pile of books onto the sleep-couch that rested against on wall. The twins followed her in, Regan sitting cross-legged on the bed beside Sammi, who had pushed the books aside to make room. Ray, though always welcome in Sammi's room, tended to avoid the bed, pulling the chair from the computer terminal on the opposite wall and turning it to face his sister and her friend.
"So, what's been going on in your lives?" Sammi asked brightly, changing the subject. The question was more or less a tradition for these after- class meetings, and one of twins always had a new story to tell her.
"Well, nothing's new with me," began Ray, "but Master Koru was talking to the council last night, and he came home looking awfully worried."
The girls sat up straighter, puzzlement on their faces. "You didn't tell me about this before," Regan pointed out.
"I only just thought of it. We were at saber practice today, and Master Windu came in, asking to talk to Koru again. I heard some of what they said, but it didn't make any sense. They said a lot about the Senate, and they were talking about the Supreme Chancellor and something about Obi-Wan and a bounty hunter."
Sammi shrugged. "Did it seem important?"
"Well, they looked really worried, but I asked Master Koru and he said that I shouldn't worry; that the Council would take care of any problems," Ray replied, his brow furrowing with frustration. "I figured it was something about the Military Creation Act everyone's been up in arms about."
Master Koru, the dark-haired Human Jedi who had taken Ray as his second Padawan, was, from what Sammi had heard, soon to be given one of the temporary seats on the council; anything he heard was likely to be important.
"Maybe I'll ask him again tonight," Ray added, suddenly interrupted by the hiss of the door to the hallway rushing open, and Amila's footsteps in the sitting room.
The motherly Master poked her head in the door, her brow knotted with some unknown frustration. "Are you all in here? Your master's been looking for you, Regan."
The Padawan slapped her hand to her forehead. "Blast! I was supposed to meet Master Sacha in the training salle after my last class! I completely forgot!" She turned to her brother and Sammi. "I have to go; I'll see you both tomorrow!"
As Regan rushed from the room, her twin appeared to be suppressing an amused smile at his sister's antics. Sammi laughed, but then the room grew awkwardly quiet.
Simultaneously, both Padawans stood up and spoke.
"I guess I should be going now."
"I really should go talk to Master Amila."
A nervous chuckle emitted from both of them, accompanied by a rising flush in both teenagers' faces. Ray toyed with a slip of paper on Sammi's desk; the girl turned to shuffle through the books that she had pushed to the side of her bed. They spoke again.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll see you in physics tomorrow."
Still, neither moved, though Ray's face was now the shade of a darksider's lightsaber, glow and all, and Sammi had never felt more awkward. Right at that moment, Amila poked her head in the door.
"What's going on in here? It's awfully quiet!"
Ray rushed to his feet, slid gracelessly past the surprised Master and was out into the sitting room, headed for the hallway when he spoke in a rushed, almost panicked tone. "I-I'll see you tomorrow," he paused, "Sammi." Another pause. "Uh," he stopped again, "bye!" In a moment, he was in the Temple's hallway, door hissing rapidly shut behind him. Amila just stared, and Sammi felt a blush to rival Ray's brilliant shade rising in her cheeks.
"Well!" Amila exclaimed, her surprise fading into amusement. "Someone seems rather nervous."
Sammi just spluttered, unable to produce a coherent thought, much less coherent speech. "I." she tried. She started again. "He." That didn't work either. "We." Even worse. She didn't even know why she was so embarrassed.
Amila struggled to hide her amused smile. "Padawan, why don't you go and get cleaned up for dinner."
"You-uh-aren't cooking, are you?" Sammi bantered, trying-and failing-to cover her embarrassment with old jokes.
Amila laughed at the harmless repartee, trying to reduce her Padawan's teenaged mortification. "No, I ordered from the kitchens. But I thought you liked my cooking." She assumed a hurt expression for a moment, then allowed a motherly smile to smooth her face. "Go get cleaned up, hon."
Sammi granted her Master a weak grin, then rushed into the 'fresher. As her Padawan disappeared from sight, Amila frowned. She didn't mind her apprentice's crush, but she had had very serious matters indeed to discuss with Sammi, and the girl's embarrassment would hinder the conversation that she knew they must have. The Jedi Master debated how to breach such a difficult subject to her sometimes painfully naïve Padawan, but realized that the girl's innocence would be tested nevertheless in the trials that the council had just warned her would come over the next few years; waiting to break grim news to Sammi could only hinder her in what was to come.
With a hiss, the door to the 'fresher opened and Sammi emerged, her face still slightly splotched with pink. Amila finished dishing out two plates of salad and sat them on the table.
"Sammi," she began, "I need to talk to you.."
Before she could finish her sentence, Sammi had broken in. "Master, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, with Ray, I mean, and I guess."
"Sammi!" Amila interjected, stopping her Padawan's tirade cold. "I didn't mean about Ray."
Sammi's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and she tilted her head almost suspiciously. "Master," she began, "there's something wrong, isn't there." It wasn't a question. "Really wrong."
Amila nodded. "Padawan, I-don't really know how to tell you this; there isn't an easy way for me to say it."
The teenager gave her Master a quizzical look.
"A war has started, hon. A real war." A faint gasp. "I don't know everything; I don't know if even the Council does, but there are some serious problems in the Galaxy. We know this much: The Seperatists who've left the Republic have attacked the Jedi. There was a run-in on a planet called Geonosis, where Obi-Wan, Anakin, and some Senator woman were trapped. Master Windu and several other Jedi went to rescue them, they were attacked by the Seperatist army, and a lot of them were killed. Apparently Master Yoda came to the rescue with-you won't believe this-an army of clones that Obi-Wan had discovered, which was then turned over to Chancellor Palpatine, who was granted emerency powers to create an army by the Senate. A war has begun.
"Things are going to change here, hon," Amila said, sadness and desperation making her voice sound as though it were carrying the weight of ages. "Things are going to change a lot."
Sammi didn't speak. In a daze of shock, she simply sat, rocking slowly back and forth. Amila pushed back her chair and walked around the table to stand beside her Padawan. When she saw how close to tears the girl was, she knelt beside the chair and held out her arms. The girl fell into them, sobbing softly.
"I don't want things to change," Sammi wept into her Master's shoulder.
Amila held her Padawan back from her body for a moment, looking deeply into the girl's sapphire-blue eyes. "Change is a part of life, Sammi, and we are Jedi. We are sworn to preserve life, in all its forms."
"And death too?" Sammi accused, tears streaking her face. "Death is also a part of life. Are we sworn to protect it?"
"Sometimes we must accept death, Sammi. Sometimes, death may be the only option. You're young, and this is hard for you to understand, but the day comes for every living thing when they know that it is their time to die. When that day comes for you, Sammi, and I pray it may be far in the future, you must accept it. You will accept it, because death is the way of the Force, and the Force speaks to you, Sammi. That is why you are a Jedi. The Force will tell you when you must become a part of it."
"There is no death, there is the Force?" Sammi quoted bitterly.
"That is a part of what I'm trying to say, but the Code doesn't eclipse everything I want you to know. Let me try and explain. For there to be life, there must be death, and as such, death is a part of the Force. You are a Jedi, Sammi, and the Force speaks to you more clearly than it does to others. When your time comes to join it, it will let you know, and when it does, you'll be ready to face the unknown."
Sammi shook her head. "I don't understand. Aren't we sworn to preserve life?"
"Yes, when others seek to destroy it before its time. And that is why there must be war. There are paradoxes, you see. How do you know if it is your enemy's time to die, for example? Can you cause death to protect life? It can't always be explained, but if you trust in the Force and remember that fear and hate are of the dark side, then Light will guide you."
Sammi sat back, scrubbing her hand across her eyes. She understood her Master's wisdom, but she also feared the changes that would sweep her life and, she knew-was it precognition from the Force, or simply intelligent insight?-that she would have to grow up faster than she had ever intended.
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. -William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming"
Fourteen Years Later
Sammi bounded noisily into the chambers she shared with her Master, Amila, after her first day working with the crèche babies. Amila still served as the crèche master, but had taken the fair-headed girl as her Padawan when the child had shown great aptitude with smaller children, hoping to train the girl to someday take her place. At first, Sammi had been afraid that her training as a Jedi would be shorted as Amila's Padawan, but had been proven wrong the first time she had dueled the motherly Master in the training salle. If anything, Sammi's training was more rigorous than that of anyone else her age, since she had to take both the normal training lessons and those with the babies.
After the first full day of working with the initiates, Sammi found herself remembering clearly the day when Obi-Wan Kenobi had first come to read stories to her crèche group. The group of toddlers had spent the last fourteen years growing up together, and had remained friends, both with each other and with Obi-Wan and his new Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. In fact, only two of the original twenty in the group no longer remained with them; D'rash had died tragically in a training accident that had left the group mourning for nearly a year, and Jesalin had left the temple at the request of her birth family, a noble House on Chandrila. None of the other initiates had known any family but the Jedi, or any friends of their age group but the others of their tight-knit band.
Fourteen years of friendship allowed for some concessions, so Sammi was unsurprised when her best friend Regan and Regan's twin brother Ray barged in without knocking. Sammi's master, Amila, was still the crèche, and so was not available to comment either on Sammi's earlier ungraceful entrance, or that of her friends, though, had the Master been present, she would have spared no sharp-tounged, well-meant retort. Though Regan and Ray had both chosen to do their volunteer hours at the crèche, as Obi-Wan had done before them, neither had the responsibilities that came with being apprenticed to the crèche master.
Regan barreled into the sitting room where Sammi had dumped her bags in a pile on the floor. She took a running leap and bounced over the back of the comfortable sofa that faced the window overlooking the council spire of the Jedi Temple, landing on the soft cushions.
"Hey, Sammi; how were the babies today?" the cheerful Padawan queried.
Sammi scooped up a pile of picture books, then turned to face her friend. "As rambunctious as usual. You know this group; they're almost as bad as we were!"
Ray, who had followed his sister into the room at a more leisurely pace laughed in remembrance. "How could they be? D'you remember that time when the three of us snuck out of the crèche in the middle of the night to steal cookies from the kitchen?"
"And got caught by Obi-Wan and his friends who were down there for the same reason?" Regan chimed in. "Yeah, I remember that!"
Sammi slid past the sofa with the pile of book in one hand, palmed the door to her room open with the other, and dumped the pile of books onto the sleep-couch that rested against on wall. The twins followed her in, Regan sitting cross-legged on the bed beside Sammi, who had pushed the books aside to make room. Ray, though always welcome in Sammi's room, tended to avoid the bed, pulling the chair from the computer terminal on the opposite wall and turning it to face his sister and her friend.
"So, what's been going on in your lives?" Sammi asked brightly, changing the subject. The question was more or less a tradition for these after- class meetings, and one of twins always had a new story to tell her.
"Well, nothing's new with me," began Ray, "but Master Koru was talking to the council last night, and he came home looking awfully worried."
The girls sat up straighter, puzzlement on their faces. "You didn't tell me about this before," Regan pointed out.
"I only just thought of it. We were at saber practice today, and Master Windu came in, asking to talk to Koru again. I heard some of what they said, but it didn't make any sense. They said a lot about the Senate, and they were talking about the Supreme Chancellor and something about Obi-Wan and a bounty hunter."
Sammi shrugged. "Did it seem important?"
"Well, they looked really worried, but I asked Master Koru and he said that I shouldn't worry; that the Council would take care of any problems," Ray replied, his brow furrowing with frustration. "I figured it was something about the Military Creation Act everyone's been up in arms about."
Master Koru, the dark-haired Human Jedi who had taken Ray as his second Padawan, was, from what Sammi had heard, soon to be given one of the temporary seats on the council; anything he heard was likely to be important.
"Maybe I'll ask him again tonight," Ray added, suddenly interrupted by the hiss of the door to the hallway rushing open, and Amila's footsteps in the sitting room.
The motherly Master poked her head in the door, her brow knotted with some unknown frustration. "Are you all in here? Your master's been looking for you, Regan."
The Padawan slapped her hand to her forehead. "Blast! I was supposed to meet Master Sacha in the training salle after my last class! I completely forgot!" She turned to her brother and Sammi. "I have to go; I'll see you both tomorrow!"
As Regan rushed from the room, her twin appeared to be suppressing an amused smile at his sister's antics. Sammi laughed, but then the room grew awkwardly quiet.
Simultaneously, both Padawans stood up and spoke.
"I guess I should be going now."
"I really should go talk to Master Amila."
A nervous chuckle emitted from both of them, accompanied by a rising flush in both teenagers' faces. Ray toyed with a slip of paper on Sammi's desk; the girl turned to shuffle through the books that she had pushed to the side of her bed. They spoke again.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll see you in physics tomorrow."
Still, neither moved, though Ray's face was now the shade of a darksider's lightsaber, glow and all, and Sammi had never felt more awkward. Right at that moment, Amila poked her head in the door.
"What's going on in here? It's awfully quiet!"
Ray rushed to his feet, slid gracelessly past the surprised Master and was out into the sitting room, headed for the hallway when he spoke in a rushed, almost panicked tone. "I-I'll see you tomorrow," he paused, "Sammi." Another pause. "Uh," he stopped again, "bye!" In a moment, he was in the Temple's hallway, door hissing rapidly shut behind him. Amila just stared, and Sammi felt a blush to rival Ray's brilliant shade rising in her cheeks.
"Well!" Amila exclaimed, her surprise fading into amusement. "Someone seems rather nervous."
Sammi just spluttered, unable to produce a coherent thought, much less coherent speech. "I." she tried. She started again. "He." That didn't work either. "We." Even worse. She didn't even know why she was so embarrassed.
Amila struggled to hide her amused smile. "Padawan, why don't you go and get cleaned up for dinner."
"You-uh-aren't cooking, are you?" Sammi bantered, trying-and failing-to cover her embarrassment with old jokes.
Amila laughed at the harmless repartee, trying to reduce her Padawan's teenaged mortification. "No, I ordered from the kitchens. But I thought you liked my cooking." She assumed a hurt expression for a moment, then allowed a motherly smile to smooth her face. "Go get cleaned up, hon."
Sammi granted her Master a weak grin, then rushed into the 'fresher. As her Padawan disappeared from sight, Amila frowned. She didn't mind her apprentice's crush, but she had had very serious matters indeed to discuss with Sammi, and the girl's embarrassment would hinder the conversation that she knew they must have. The Jedi Master debated how to breach such a difficult subject to her sometimes painfully naïve Padawan, but realized that the girl's innocence would be tested nevertheless in the trials that the council had just warned her would come over the next few years; waiting to break grim news to Sammi could only hinder her in what was to come.
With a hiss, the door to the 'fresher opened and Sammi emerged, her face still slightly splotched with pink. Amila finished dishing out two plates of salad and sat them on the table.
"Sammi," she began, "I need to talk to you.."
Before she could finish her sentence, Sammi had broken in. "Master, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, with Ray, I mean, and I guess."
"Sammi!" Amila interjected, stopping her Padawan's tirade cold. "I didn't mean about Ray."
Sammi's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and she tilted her head almost suspiciously. "Master," she began, "there's something wrong, isn't there." It wasn't a question. "Really wrong."
Amila nodded. "Padawan, I-don't really know how to tell you this; there isn't an easy way for me to say it."
The teenager gave her Master a quizzical look.
"A war has started, hon. A real war." A faint gasp. "I don't know everything; I don't know if even the Council does, but there are some serious problems in the Galaxy. We know this much: The Seperatists who've left the Republic have attacked the Jedi. There was a run-in on a planet called Geonosis, where Obi-Wan, Anakin, and some Senator woman were trapped. Master Windu and several other Jedi went to rescue them, they were attacked by the Seperatist army, and a lot of them were killed. Apparently Master Yoda came to the rescue with-you won't believe this-an army of clones that Obi-Wan had discovered, which was then turned over to Chancellor Palpatine, who was granted emerency powers to create an army by the Senate. A war has begun.
"Things are going to change here, hon," Amila said, sadness and desperation making her voice sound as though it were carrying the weight of ages. "Things are going to change a lot."
Sammi didn't speak. In a daze of shock, she simply sat, rocking slowly back and forth. Amila pushed back her chair and walked around the table to stand beside her Padawan. When she saw how close to tears the girl was, she knelt beside the chair and held out her arms. The girl fell into them, sobbing softly.
"I don't want things to change," Sammi wept into her Master's shoulder.
Amila held her Padawan back from her body for a moment, looking deeply into the girl's sapphire-blue eyes. "Change is a part of life, Sammi, and we are Jedi. We are sworn to preserve life, in all its forms."
"And death too?" Sammi accused, tears streaking her face. "Death is also a part of life. Are we sworn to protect it?"
"Sometimes we must accept death, Sammi. Sometimes, death may be the only option. You're young, and this is hard for you to understand, but the day comes for every living thing when they know that it is their time to die. When that day comes for you, Sammi, and I pray it may be far in the future, you must accept it. You will accept it, because death is the way of the Force, and the Force speaks to you, Sammi. That is why you are a Jedi. The Force will tell you when you must become a part of it."
"There is no death, there is the Force?" Sammi quoted bitterly.
"That is a part of what I'm trying to say, but the Code doesn't eclipse everything I want you to know. Let me try and explain. For there to be life, there must be death, and as such, death is a part of the Force. You are a Jedi, Sammi, and the Force speaks to you more clearly than it does to others. When your time comes to join it, it will let you know, and when it does, you'll be ready to face the unknown."
Sammi shook her head. "I don't understand. Aren't we sworn to preserve life?"
"Yes, when others seek to destroy it before its time. And that is why there must be war. There are paradoxes, you see. How do you know if it is your enemy's time to die, for example? Can you cause death to protect life? It can't always be explained, but if you trust in the Force and remember that fear and hate are of the dark side, then Light will guide you."
Sammi sat back, scrubbing her hand across her eyes. She understood her Master's wisdom, but she also feared the changes that would sweep her life and, she knew-was it precognition from the Force, or simply intelligent insight?-that she would have to grow up faster than she had ever intended.