Star Wars: The Unlikely Hero
--sparkvallen
Disclaimer: Star Wars is copyrighted by Lucasfilm and associated companies - I do not own any of the Star Wars characters, settings, etc.
Chapter Two
Allowing Falco Volt Jr. the life that Jedi Master Teri Cho'din had promised for their son was the most difficult decision his parents had ever made. In the two weeks she had allotted them, the Volt family agonized over who knew what was best for the infant. Falco Sr. had obviously had dreams as any father would of his son succeeding him in the family business, in this case, their supply store. Annalia had dreams of her son marrying and a good Dantooine girl and starting his own family, so that she would have grandchildren to dote over someday. And yet, the words of the Jedi Master echoed in their minds about who Falco should be allowed to serve; were their interests in him carrying on as a Dantooine man best? Or was it better to grant him the opportunity as a Jedi-to-be when he would serve the entire Republic?
Falco Sr. placed the comlink call to Master Cho'din with cold, clammy hands on his own communicator. His heart was pounding as he asked the Jedi to meet with them again in their home exactly two weeks later. The woman was serene and polite as she entered their upstairs home but she knew the answer the moment that she looked upon the Volt's: Falco would indeed train as a Jedi in the Temple on Coruscant. Years of experience in Acquisitions told her so.
"We have only one… um… request, well. One demand," Annalia said, holding her infant son in her lap. He was playing with her fingers, pushing them experimentally.
"I will grant it if it's in my powers, of course."
"We want him to know who is family is, when he's old enough. Falco and I created a Holocron that tells who we are, where we live and what we do. It tells the story of our lives together and--" Annalia's voice cracked as the tears that had been threatening to fall finally did. She wept quietly, clutching her son to her. "We want little Falco to know where he came from and that…. and that he'll always be welcome here if-- if he ever needs to come home."
Teri pursed her honey-colored lips as she stared at the infant, safe in his mother's arms. The "demand" that the Volt's had made was not unlike the same sorts of ideas other parents had had on other worlds across the galaxy; Teri could safely say she had heard it all in her years in the department. Their request was spoken out of love and attachment, the sort of possessive love that was forbidden for Jedi but automatic with parents. The Force seemed to slow and time became hazy as Teri watched little Falco; a vision of him as an adult flashed through her eyes, seeing him tall and broad shouldered, wearing the traditional robes of a Jedi Knight. She closed her dark eyes, concentrating on the vision. The Volt's watched her, mystified.
"I'll take the Holocron you created with me," Teri said after a long time. It was an unorthodox allowance, one that others in the department would not approve of… but also a decision that she had made more than once in her career. "It will be placed in a secure vault within the Temple but only offered to Falco if he should ask of his family. And when the time is right for such truth to be shared by his Master."
"By his Master? You mean, you're not--"
"No. I'm not." Teri shook her head. "My role is to find Force sensitive children and only should an advanced student seek this path in the Living Force would I take one on as a Padawan, my personal student."
"But--" Falco Sr. seemed very troubled by this, learning that the woman whom they were entrusting their son to wouldn't be raising him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Volt, the way of the Jedi stems back over one thousand generations. Believe me; this method is for the best. Falco will be raised by Jedi whose purpose is to tend to younglings, to teach them to walk, to speak Basic and then begin studying other languages early on. They are taught values and grow up with other Force sensitive children in a supportive environment," Teri explained, her voice full of warmth though she spoke matter-of-factly. "Falco will be educated in history, how the Republic functions, sciences, art and technology, just as any child would in the Republic. The difference is that he'll also be learning about the Force and how it manifests for him."
They listened to her in distressed silence.
"From the age of nine to thirteen, Falco will be a candidate for an apprenticeship where he will become a Padawan Learner to an experienced Jedi. He will then learn the ways of the Force through practical experience, walking the path and serving the galaxy under the guidance of a Master."
"But what if he doesn't?" Annalia asked.
"What if he doesn't what?"
"What if he finds no Master to train him individually?"
Teri thought the vision she had just seen, seeing Falco garbed as a Jedi Knight and not in the jumpsuit of a member of the AgriCorps. "He will. Of that I am certain," the Master said.
"You know what his future will be?" Falco asked, his tone also anxious.
"The Force is always in motion. What I see as his future now may change over time as Falco makes his own choices along the path. But yes, the Force shows me Falco Volt as a Jedi Knight."
This seemed to settle them somewhat, at least knowing that the path they were presenting to their son would be actualized. They looked to one another, then to Falco Jr. who remained oblivious of his destiny being laid out for him in the living room. He began to clap his hands for no apparent reason which made everyone smile, even if the moment was bittersweet.
"Now?"
Teri cocked her head to the side. "I'll leave that decision to you both. Falco and I can travel to Coruscant tomorrow morning as well as tonight."
"Tomorrow morning then, if you please, so that we have one more night with our little boy," Annalia said.
And so it was done. The following morning, Teri Cho'din returned to the Volt store and apartment a third and final time; when she departed, she carried an especially quiet baby in the crook of her left arm and a bag of supplies in a satchel on her right shoulder. Annalia and Falco Volt Sr. stared in anguish as their son was carried away, to the spaceport in order to begin a life they could never provide him: the life of a Jedi becoming.
Upon arrival at Coruscant and the Jedi Temple, Teri was as good as her word, placing the Holocron they had created for Falco in a vault that was a part of the Jedi Archives. Master Jocasta Nu had shaken her head with dismay as another of Teri's "artifacts" found a home in her vast library. He was nkown upon arrival as only Falco Volt and not Falco Volt Jr. to signify back to his family. Falco had gone up to the crèche where the youngest of younglings were raised by members of the Order who - while not Knights - were still trained Jedi nevertheless. Teri Cho'din never did see the child again; once he had been placed in the care of the Temple, her journey continued with the Acquisitions Team, taking her across the wide galaxy.
Five years later…
"Falco, would you like to tell us why moisture vaporators are in such high demand on Tatooine?" There was a lengthy pause before the Jedi instructor who taught Galactic Awareness spoke again. "Falco? Falco Volt!"
Absorbed by the designs he'd been working on for a droid arm accessory on his flim-plast, six-year-old Falco hadn't so much as heard his name spoken by his instructor much less heard the question that had been asked of him about moisture vaporators. He looked up blankly at Instructor Kel and flushed. "Um… what?"
"The question, Falco, was why moisture vaporators are in such high demand on Tatooine," Kel repeated. "But now, I'm more curious to know what was so engaging on your flim-plast that you didn't hear the question."
He covered the flim-plast with his forearms without thinking, trying to hide his sketch. Falco caught himself and sat his hands in his lap, bowing his head. "I was working on a sketch, Instructor. For a droid accessory."
"Ahh, yes. Our other droid-making youngling," Kel said, glancing over at the Padawan Learner who was in his course this session.
A Padawan who had been allowed into the Order well beyond the normal age range for a youngling: Padawan Anakin Skywalker. His story was well-known because it was unconventional and it figured prominently around the maverick Master Qui-Gon Jinn; young Anakin's future as a Jedi had begun unlike most others as he was discovered as a boy and then caught in the middle of the Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo where Master Jinn had been killed by, presumably, a Sith Lord. Though Kel had had little choice when it came down to it, he had allowed Padawan Skywalker in his course for younglings as a favor to the boy's master, Obi-wan Kenobi.
Anakin looked back at Instructor Kel with unflinching blue eyes while Falco squirmed. He had been nearly bitten his tongue off not to interrupt the reprimand, knowing first-hand why vaporators were not just in high demand but essential on Tatooine. Now, young Anakin was serious and calm.
"Well. Let's go back to the question, Falco. Why are moisture vaporators so important?"
"Because Tatooine's a desert and deserts aren't known for their water supplies," Falco finally said. He knew the material they were covering even if he wasn't paying attention in class.
Kel caught the tone of Falco's response, but decided he was already too weary to reprimand the boy further. "Very well then. Let's move on to Alderaan and its non-defensive stance…"
When he was finally able to leave Instructor Kel's class forty-five minutes later, Falco bolted out the door and into the hallway. His datapad reader was tucked under his arm as he scurried into the flow of foot traffic. Falco had lunch plans with his best friend in the Temple, Siri Sarae. Siri was a Chadra-Fan and stood as tall as he did. She always teased him though that one day, Falco would grow tall and she would stay as tall as they were now so he'd remember how tall he had been when he was six.
"Falco! Hey! Falco!"
A voice behind him in the corridor slowed his rushed pace back to the dormitory. Falco turned and saw the taller boy, Padawan Anakin, hurrying toward him. He quickly remembered what Instructor Kel had said: Anakin was also into droids. Falco found that strange since he'd heard that Anakin was supposed to be "The Chosen One." Whatever that even means, he thought.
"Padawan Skywalker," Falco said respectfully as he'd been taught early on.
Anakin rolled his eyes and brushed a hand over his spiky blond hair. "Just call me Anakin. Hey, where are you rushing off to?"
"My dorm," Falco said. "I wanted to toss my stuff in my footlocker before I go to the cafeteria for lunch with my friend, Siri!"
"Can I walk with you? You told Instructor Kel you were working on a droid accessory?" Anakin asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Uh-huh. Just a sketch, really, but I'm… like, I think it would work!" Falco replied as they continued up the corridor.
Anakin smiled at meeting a kindred spirit in the Jedi Temple. Since he'd arrived several weeks earlier, he'd done nothing but struggle to adapt to the life of a Jedi Padawan. He felt uncomfortable being the boy who knew nothing about the Jedi path but had arrived as Obi-wan Kenobi's student. He was interested in droids, piloting and technology and he was completely in the minority compared to other students.
"I could help you out with that," Anakin said to Falco.
"Huh?"
Smiling at the younger boy, Anakin explained, "I've already made one droid! A protocol droid to help my… my Mom. She's on Tatooine and needs the help a lot now that I'm gone."
Completely derailed by mention of family, Falco stared at the taller boy. "You know your Mom?"
"Yeah. I miss her a lot."
"I don't know who my parents are," Falco said. There was no trace of sadness in his voice like there was in Anakin's. It was just something he had grown up knowing; it was just the truth that he had been raised in the Jedi Temple.
"None of you do, it sounds like. Anyway, I've been working on building my own droid in my free time here at the Temple. You should see! I've got parts everywhere in my room! Master Obi-wan keeps telling me to clean it up or to work on my studies, but I really love working with stuff, you know?"
Falco smiled. "Yeah, I know."
As they entered the dormitory, Falco was quick to stow his studies in the footlocker. Anakin looked around the room, comparing the several younglings to a room to his accommodations adjacent to Master Obi-wan's. He realized this was how everyone else lived until they were chosen by a Master.
They walked to the turbolift and rode that down to the cafeteria's level together. Falco decided to just invite Anakin to lunch with Siri and him, figuring she wouldn't mind. They chatted actively about droids and the parts that Anakin had been able to get within the Temple to tinker with. Knights and Masters who were in the corridors themselves noticed "The Chosen One" finally seeming like he might adjust after all to life in the Temple as he talked animatedly with a youngling so much younger than himself.
