For three months he drove a taxi-shuttle around the interplanetary spaceport in Joltanga, a planet in Coruscant's system. The rarity of a human offering to pilot shuttles combined with his expert performance in a short ability test meant that he was accepted by the first company he applied at. He only had to key in the destination and the computer would plot the route. Danyon merely had to keep the thing on track and avoid other craft. Any nine or ten year old Jedi trainee could have done it, but Danyon found transporting people quite satisfying work, and only once in three months did he see a face he recognised.
He had begun to feel quite lonely, which surprised him because he had always preferred to be by himself. He missed his mother and the couple of people at the Academy who didn't completely ignore him, but most of all he missed Taren.
He had met her one evening while he was taking a walk around the Academy grounds. He had been gazing up at the stars and crashed right into her because she was looking up at them too. He had knocked her to the ground and then fussed over her, helping her up and apologising repeatedly. She looked about Rhianne's age, maybe a little older and had straight blond hair that hung neatly to her shoulders. Her skin was fair, and her eyes, deep brown and secretive. He thought she was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen.
He wasn't sure about the Jedi rules on love. There was an old story told between the trainees about a Jedi who refused to choose between his devotion to the Jedi order and his love for a woman. In the end, so the story goes, he lost both.
All Danyon knew in that moment was that it was the strongest emotion he had ever felt. After that evening he felt a need to see Taren, to talk to her, just to be with her. Though they weren't supposed to socialise away from the group, they continued to meet under the stars for a couple of weeks, and share their evening meal together. Friendship and alliances were encouraged. Romance was not. Romance was what happened after you retired from official duties, not before.
He had hoped they would remain close for a long time, until one afternoon. Keller had come to Danyon's room, which was unusual in itself, because Keller didn't like to publicise the fact they were related, and rarely spoke to his brother. Taren had come to visit him while Keller was there, and Danyon introduced them. No one would have missed the look that passed between them. Keller was well known throughout the Academy as one of its most promising students and Taren, obviously aware of his achievements, was in awe of him.
Within a week, there were no more midnight strolls, no more starlight conversations. In time, Danyon forgave both Taren and Keller. They were perfect companions for each other, and had an understanding of each other minds that Danyon couldn't comprehend. They were not in love, neither would have wanted it to infringe on their dedication to the Jedi order, but they were never apart.
Danyon knew that he would always love Taren. But he also knew that she and Keller would have a fulfilling life together and that she would be happier with his brother.
But it still hurt when he saw them together; even more when they were sitting as close as they dared in the dining room. But nothing compared to the pain he felt when he saw them walking together under the stars. Taren was beautiful, wise and talented - Danyon didn't feel like he deserved to be in her company. But that didn't stop him loving her. He needed to be near her, even seeing her filled his heart completely.
He shook himself out of his vision and the first thing he saw was a visual comm and a wave of guilt washed over him. His poor mother. He walked over to the device and keyed in his mother's identification number, then waited. It seemed to take forever for her to answer, but when she did, Danyon immediately knew something was wrong. Her face was damp and her eyes puffy and red and she burst into tears when she saw him.
"Mother, what's wrong?" he asked as a sick, cold feeling crept through his body.
"Oh Dan… something terrible has happened… it's… just so…. oh…" she trailed off and disappeared from the screen. He had never seen his mother upset, let alone hysterical. Jedi's don't usually show that kind of emotion.
His father appeared on the screen and stared straight through him. "Danyon… we need you to come home. It's Rhianne." Suddenly he felt short of breath and could only watch as his father ended the transmission before he could ask exactly what had happened.
But he didn't have another conscious thought until the transport touched down in Coruscant.