Chren let out a sharp breath. He knew who this man was. He knew what this man was.
The man held out his hand. His eyes were cold, with an underlying tone of security. They were stern and strict but in a good way.
With slight reluctance, Chren gently placed his palm in the man's hand. He had read about this man's kind before. He'd heard other civilians talk about them on the street. He never dreamed that he would be able to meet one face to face.
Chren was nervous. He got up slowly and carefully with help from the man. There was no reason for his unease, and he couldn't help but ask himself, What will happen to my family after leaving? There was no telling.
Why do they want me? he thought. He could be getting arrested? No, that can't be right. He'd done nothing illegal. Maybe his parents signed him up for a boarding school and he's being taken there?
Chren was led out of the house and onto the surface of the green planet. It had been years since he had seen the surface. Due to the ongoing troubles between the Naboo and the Gungans, no one outside of the military was allowed to resurface.
It was beautiful. He never knew that there could be something other than blue and orange. The beautiful baby blue in the sky with the white mixed in, the green on the ground and in the trees, the grand, giant buildings. He could see ships leaving and coming into the planet, he could see the city bustling with activity, it was amazing…
Chren was led through a landing bay and into a grand ship. Great, he's being led from a cramped space right into yet another cramped space. But it would be better than his life inside the bubble city, right? But he still couldn't figure out why they wanted him.
Chren and the man entered the cockpit.
"Alright, let's get going," the man said to the captain. He turned towards Chren. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Elicam. What's yours?"
"Chren," he replied, the nervousness oozing off his lips.
"Nice to meet you, Chren. I am from the Jedi temple, as you've probably already figured out," Elicam started. "We have a list of names of Force Sensitive children, and your name is on said list. It took a while to find you because you were listed as on the surface of Naboo, not the Gungan city."
Chren couldn't believe it. Yes, he figured out that the man was a Jedi and thus from the Jedi Temple, but Chren, a Jedi? This was impossible; he'd never had any force tendencies. He was skeptical, then though he had been told directly by the Jedi who came from him. I mean, who wouldn't be? You don't just come to someone's house, tell them to follow you, and then explain to them that you're going to become a Jedi.
"I suppose you're star-struck. There is a room prepared for you next to the droid room. He stumbled as the aircraft took off, As he left the cockpit he could hear the captain say "He's not ready, Eli."
"Have faith, young one," Elicam replied.
As he entered the droid room to get his own room, one of the astromechs beeped.
"Hello?" Chren asked, not knowing what to expect. One of the astromechs rolled up to him and chirped happily. "What's your name?" He read the plate on the back of the droid's head. "R4-A34." He didn't know how he knew to look on the back of the droid's head to get its model number.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak droid," Chren said. R4-A34 gave out a sad chirp. Chren went over to where Elicam said his room was. He found his bed and laid down. The bed was cold, like space. The mattress was firm like rocks, and the pillow doubly so. He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. R4 rolled up next to him. Chren laid a hand on the top of the droid's head and quickly drifted off to sleep.
He awoke to the sound of the ship flying towards something. Something big. It had only been 2 or 3 hours since he had fallen asleep. He got out of his bed and went to the cockpit of the ship.
"Just in time, kid. We're about to land," the driver said. He looked out the cockpit window and was greeted with an even more beautiful sight than the city of Naboo was. There were buildings everywhere, speeders zipping past them at record speeds, thousands of people everywhere. And, in the middle of all this, there was a grand temple.
He had only heard about the Jedi temples, never actually seen one, let alone be inside one. There were no words. He just stood there, looking out the window completely awestruck.
The ship landed in front of the temple and opened its doors. A man was outside, ready to greet him.
"Welcome to Coruscant!" the man exclaimed. Elicam, who Chren just now noticed was standing next to him, exited the ship and ushered him to follow. Chren was still speechless. He walked out of the ship and looked around at the bustling city, but it wasn't the same as Naboo's bustling. It was... urgent, whereas Naboo's was more energetic.
As he looked around he could see each of the individual drivers of the speeders above him. The buildings were a lot taller than they looked on the ship, and the people were more pronounced. And the temple was enormous. He could have been an ant for all that the temple cared.
"Chren?"
He turned around swiftly.
"Were you listening at all?" Elicam asked. Chren shook his head. Elicam chuckled heavily. His laugh reminded him of his parents. Not his adoptive parents, his biological parents. Oh, how he misses them.
Elicam went on to explain that Chren would be brought before the council for evaluation. After that, he would be admitted to the Jedi Academy and be trained in the use of Shii-Cho, the first and most basic form of lightsaber combat. All this would be taught by Jedi Grandmaster Yoda.
Chren couldn't wait. He had heard of the tales of old from the Jedi, and couldn't wait to find out if they were all true, and he couldn't wait to use his powers. Well, if he had them of course. He was still skeptical of the whole thing.
Chren was still at a loss for words. He was given very basic education back home and was suddenly elevated to the highest education there is, and the ability to become a Jedi. This was unprecedented in the Gungan cities. Gungans were rarely ever force sensitive, and if they were they were not found quickly enough.
Chren was pulled out of his trance when Elicam called his name. They were in the center of the council room.
"Welcomes you, the Council does."