Once upon a big grey planet…
Jorren Tarrak snapped awake in his cot. He was sweating all over and breathing heavily. It had happened again. He had the dream of himself fighting the sith menace, he had been having this dream since he was a young child.
Jorren was coming up to his fourteenth birthday. He was average sized for his age, with brown hair and pale yellowish eyes. He had always prided his eyes, although his friends thought they were strange. He lived in a foster home, as he had been abandoned as a small child.
From the sounds of the stirring above him, his bunk mate was also awake.
"Jorren?" came a voice from above.
"Yeah?" replied Jorren.
"You have that dream again?"
"Mmm." Jorren replied.
"Seriously, that's like the third time this week. You should really find out what that's all about."
"Right, Warr."
Warr's real name was Warren, but he hated the name and had always introduced himself as Warr. Warr was fifteen and was rather muscular for his age. He had always been quite an athlete. No one from Warr's age group had ever bested him in a fight, although no one really wanted to. He was a real likable fellow, and Jorren had always thought of him as an older brother.
"Well, G'night Jorren." Warr said sleepily.
"Night," but Jorren did not go to sleep. He lay awake for hours pondering on the dream. He always did when he had it, but recently the dream was becoming more frequent. It was always the same. He was in a dark circular room, surrounded by dark Jedi. He was facing the door, waiting for someone to come through. All the Jedi would draw their sabers, and the door would open as a dark hooded figure walked through. Just as the figure would raise its saber, Jorren would snap suddenly awake, sweating.
Jorren slowly slid off to sleep in the early hours of the morning. It felt as though he had just closed his eyes as he was being shaken awake.
"Jorren, wake up quickly, some Jedi have come to the orphanage!"
Jorren merely grunted. He rolled over in his sleep. It took a while for what had just been said to sink in.
"Wait, what?" Jorren said, as he jumped up.
"Jedi, here!" Warr said, "They're apparently investigating some crime that happened a few planets away!"
Jorren got dressed quickly and bounded out of the room. Warr followed him.
"This way!" Warr said, gesturing towards the main quarters.
They went through the doors and saw them. Standing there, speaking with the orphanage warden were the Jedi.
"Wow," said Jorren, "I wonder what happened?"
"Well let's find out!" Warr said enthusiastically.
They walked over to the Jedi and the warden.
"Well if you see anything, anything at all, contact us immediately." The taller Jedi said. He looked unshaven and exhausted.
"What's going on?" Jorren inquired.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you tha-'' the Jedi looked at Jorren. He looked like he was racking his brain for information. His brow furrowed.
"Will you excuse us for a moment?" The shorter bald Jedi said.
He pulled his partner aside. They were talking, and from what Jorren could gather, the short one was trying to talk the taller one out of something, while the taller one was trying to convince the other of something.
Finally, the short one said, "I'm going to wait on the ship. It's up to you, although I don't think Seris will approve."
The tall one nodded. He came over to Jorren and Warr.
"Whaddya think he wants?" Warr wondered aloud.
"I dunno…"
"You are Jorren, are you not?" the tall Jedi asked.
"Yeah," replied Jorren, wondering what the Jedi could want with him.
"The warden has told me a bit about you. Is it true you have been having a recurring dream?"
"Uhh… yeah, it is," replied Jorren, perplexed.
"Whaddya want with Jorren?" Warr asked.
The Jedi looked at Warr, as if just noticing he was there.
"I suppose you will find out soon enough."
The Jedi turned to leave. His robe billowing behind him, he exited the room.
"Well that was…odd," Warr said.
"Huh, yeah," replied Jorren.
"How did he know abut your dream?" Warr asked.
"Huh, I dunno, I suppose he heard it from the warden, and he might've heard us talking."
A few dream filled nights later, Jorren was being shaken awake in the middle of the night by a familiar face.
"Whasgoinon?" Jorren mumbled sleepily.
"Come with me, Jorren. Your friend Warren is on the ship already," said the familiar voice.
"The sh- sh- ship? Said Jorren, stifling a yawn.
"Yes, come on."
Jorren sat up and looked at the familiar man. It was the tall man from the other day. He was gleaming in the night light and looked even more tired and unshaven than the last time Jorren had seen him.
"Where are we going?" Jorren asked.
"To Enima III, a secluded planet on the Outer Rim. There is a small Jedi enclave there where I am going to take you and your friend."
"But, why-''
"We can talk on the ship, come on!"
Jorren packed up what little belongings he had, and followed the Jedi out of the orphanage and onto the planet's surface. They made their way through the town and to the Jedi ship.
As the Jedi prepped the engines, Jorren sat in the main hold with Warr. He could see that Warr was very grumpy from being awoken as well so he thought it best to not talk to him. They sat sleepily as the engine began to roar and the ship lurched as they took off. Jorren rubbed his eyes and looked around. He had so many questions. Where were they going? Why was he so important to this Jedi? Why were he and Warr being taken without any knowledge to Enima III? He sat thinking for what felt like and hour before he dosed off.
Jorren was in a familiar circular room. He was surrounded by dark Jedi and he was facing a door. He was waiting for someone. Darth Rotis. Wait, where did he know that name? The door opened and from it came a hooded figure with a blazing red saber. He raised it and slowly walked towards him.
"Jorren? Jorren?"
Jorren opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground of the ship. Warr and the tall Jedi were standing over him.
"Are you alright?" the Jedi asked.
"Just – just dozed off…" said Jorren.
"We're here," said the Jedi.
They all exited the ship, walking for about twenty minutes in silence. They arrived at a courtyard of a large building. It looked very run down.
"Welcome to the enclave," said the Jedi.
They entered the enclave, there were many Jedi roaming about. Some were training with their lightsabres and some were meditating. Others were merely chatting amongst themselves. They passed through a few rooms, Jorren observing very interestedly in all of them. One room looked like an archive, with hand print sensors on the computer panels. Another looked like a work station when Jorren saw a Jedi making adjustments on his lightsabre. They finally arrived at a large set of fine polished doors. The Jedi knocked and they entered.
"Ah, Jedi Tien. You have returned, perhaps with the one called Jorren?" a Jedi with a goatee said.
"Yes, he is here," said Tien.
"Uh… hello," Jorren said.
"Hello, Jorren. I suppose you are wondering why you are here. It has come to our attention that the sith have taken their threat o the next level. They attacked a Jedi freighter on its way here to Enima III. We have been searching for more padawans to train in the ways of the force and we believe you two," the Jedi gestured at Jorren and Warr, "are befitting to become Jedi. Do you wish to learn the ways of the Force?"
"Y-Yes!" Said Jorren.
"The Force… alright!" Warr seemed excited.
"Good," said the Jedi, "I am Seris, one of the Masters here at the enclave. I will take a personal interest in you two and your progress. For now, you two should rest. Tien, will you escort them to their quarters?"
"Yes, Master," said Tien, "Come on, you two."