Night was beginning to fall over the galactic capitol. The agile air taxi weaved in and out of traffic with an improbable speed. Still the journey from the other side of Coruscant took far longer then Shaena would have like. The little baby that had entered her life so suddenly was sleeping fitfully cradled in her good arm. Shaena's other arm had gone thankfully numb a while back. The Temple was her only hope for saving this lost one's life.

The taxi docked at the traffic terminal for the temple. Shaena offered her last credits to the aged pilot who only shook his head in refusal. Unbelieving Shaena insisted that the kind man have the credits. The pilot firmly told her to go take care of that baby. Shaena thanked the man with heartfelt gratitude and stepped out onto the open-air docking platform. She took a deep breath; the air was remarkably clear and fresh. She never had such a sweet cool breeze surrounding her. She looked up at the temple in awe. It dominated the entire skyline. Its graceful spirals towered many meters over the surrounding buildings. The entire temple was lit up with warm lights, which made the building sparkle like some rare treasure. Few people walked in and out through an arched entrance, some were the legendary Jedi clad in their flowing robes, and some were mortals like her going about whatever business they had at this time in the early evening.

Shaena took a nervous gulp. While some might take the sight to be serene and peaceful, Shaena could only feel dwarfed and intimidated by this bastion of the mystifying force. She hugged the babe close to her body to protect its weakened body from the wind and walked out from the protection the bulk of the taxi provided and began the short walk that led her to the entrance into the Temple of the Jedi. Shaena's heart was beating a mile a minute. She had never been so nervous or frightened as she was at this moment. Circles of doubt flowed through her mind. One of her sort simply did not disturb the sanctuary of the Jedi. What would they think of her audacity? She hesitated at the great doors that led into the Temple. Could she just walk right in? As her thoughts turned to leaving, a gentle hand softly touched her arm. "Help you, I can?" a concerned gravelly voice asked her. She spun around in a startled jump, her shoulder slamming painfully into the metal door. The warm mossy green eyes of a diminutive humanoid with antennae like ears stared up at her in concern. I was all too much for her; the returning pain, the fact that she had not eaten for two days, and had no sleep either suddenly caught up to her. Shaena's vision slowly began to fade into strange blurs of dark browns, soft greens, and cool whites as the world spun around her. Voices speaking in strange tongues floated through her awareness until soon she knew nothing more.

Shaena slowly regained consciousness, her mind trying to catalog her many pains. To her surprise, she just felt comfortable and warm. Even the old injury to her knee did not ache. There were strange sounds around her. An insistent beeping, hushed voices coming from somewhere and the vague whir of droids were the few that she could pick out. Something was missing however. Shaena's mind thought about it groggily for a few minutes before she sat straight up in the bed. Where was the baby?

"Oh you are awake I see." A soothing young woman's voice spoke.

Shaena turned her head in the direction of the voice, standing in a doorway holding a covered tray was a young Twi'lek girl dressed in soft green robes. The girl smiled warmly at her and walked towards the bed and set the tray down on a table near the bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Shaena while checking over the monitoring machines.

"The child? Did he survive? Where is he?" Shaena asked in a rush, trying to get out of the bed, only to be gently pushed back by a strong caring hand.

"Shh, the baby is fine, although it is a very good thing that you brought him here when you did. How did you allow him to get into such poor condition?" She asked, her voice reproving.

Shaena fell back onto the bed in relief. The little one is well she did not fail him. Aware of the questioning eyes waiting patiently for her reply she looked up at the healer. "I did not allow it. I found him down in the lower levels of the city. " Shaena sighed. "The poor child's mother was... It was horrible. I could not leave him there to die!" She said defensively.

"Ahh, so you found the child and brought him here. " The healer asked. At Shaena's nod, she smiled. "Why here? Why not a doctor or perhaps an orphanage?"

"I have no money to feed the little one, let alone get the medical attention he needed. The only orphanage I knew of shut down 5 years ago. He did not have the time for me to go hunting down another one." She said tiredly. The whole ordeal taxed her last energy. Now this questioning, though she expected as much. "Listen, can I go now? I did what I could for the child." Shaena snapped at the sweet-faced healer. She only wanted to go home and forget about everything.

The healer nodded with a sigh. "Your shoulder has been cared for. Just take it easy. " She pointed at some folded clothes on a chair. "Your garments are there. You are free to get dressed at your leisure." The healer turned to leave, but then Shaena called out for her to stop.

"The baby… what will happen to him?" She asked softly.

The healer smiled brightly, " He has been found to be force sensitive. He will be cared for here in the temple. Perhaps someday he will be a great Jedi."

Shaena felt a heavy weight lift from her heart. The child's future would be very bright. He would be loved and raised with care. She looked up into the deep eyes of the healer, her eyes glistening with the light of tears.

"Thank you… thank you for everything."

"It is we who thank you, for bringing him to us. Good journey." With that the healer turned and left the room.

Shortly Shaena was guided out of the temple and with a last glance behind her she stepped into a taxi and left on the journey back to her life. She could not help feeling like she was leaving behind her heart, deep within that spectacular temple.

The End

Or is it Only the Beginning?