A/N Takes places near the end of season 2. History of Mace Windu is a mixture of canon, legends and stuff I made up. Hope you enjoy!! Remember to comment!!! Xxxxx
Haruun Kal was a humid planet. Although from above it looked mostly blue with oceans it was in fact covered by lush jungles that were hidden thanks to the think, pigmented atmosphere. It was another mission from Hondo which everyone except Ezra was annoyed about. In exchange for finding a hidden artefact that had once belonged to the original settlers of the planet, Hondo said he could get them a list of Imperial shipping routes so they could highjack/avoid their ships. As far as missions from Hondo went, this seemed a relatively tame one. At least this time they weren't meeting up on an Imperial port that ended up with them going on a wild goose chase that lead them to the edges of wild space.
"Are you sure this thing is even on this planet?" Zeb grumbled, his fur not suited for this type of planet. And he wasn't the only one. Hera has stayed behind on the Ghost but the others had all gotten stuck on treasure hunting duty. Ezra and Kanan were sweating like mad after cutting down endless vines and trees with their lightsabers. Chopper let everyone know in his signature colourful language how much he hated the mud clogging up his wheel and Sabine had even been forced to leave her armour on the ship in fear of over heating.
"I am completely sixty-percent certain." Hondo proclaimed proudly. The pirate was in his element, hunting for lost treasure as he swished an actual metal sword around whilst wearing nothing but his hat and a pair of loose pants after claiming the planet was too hot for shirt. He wasn't exactly wrong but still there were some things Ezra didn't need to see, and Hondo's old wrinkled bare chest was one of them.
"Great." Zeb growled. Chopper whistled, for the first time in his life agreeing with the lasat's sentiments. Only Hondo had the ability to be that annoying.
Eventually they came across an old village in the heart of the jungle. It was old fashioned with clay houses that had clearly been abandoned for some time judging by how the jungle had reclaimed it. Vines weaving in and out of the windows and doors and one even had a tree growing out of it. But it was the house on the edge drew Ezra's attention. It was deeper into the jungle than the others and looked older. He couldn't explain it but if felt like the house was calling him somehow. He started moving subconsciously towards it.
"Hey kit! You find anything?" Zeb asked waking Ezra from his daze.
"I'm not sure. I'm going to check out that last house out. I'll catch you guys up."
After a brief sign of acknowledgement from the others he headed in the direction of the house. The door was old and rotting causing it to crumble away from it hinges and fall to the floor. Curious, Ezra went inside. In the entrance was the remains of a circular sofa and holodesk that had long since been in use. He moved from the entrance to the next room then to the next. The house had obviously been well lived in and had probably housed several generations of the clashing of old and new items seemed to suggest. The further into the house he got the stronger that strange feeling became until eventually he came to the top of a trapdoor. Ezra knew where he needed to go.
He lifted up the door to find a ladder leading down into a basement like area similar to the one that had been in his own home, only this one seemed to have been carved out of land. It was colder down here, probably due to the lack of walls but the earth that the room was made out felt stronger than any building material he'd ever come across before. A fireplace that hadn't been lit in a long time was situated in the far side of the with some kind of shrine built around it made out of the vines found all over the planet.
But that wasn't what grabbed Ezra's attention. It was the faint blue figure of a man stood in front of the it. His skin was a deep brown and his head was completely bald. He wore light robes with a long cloak just like Depa Billaba had done, meaning that he was most likely another Jedi.
Ezra had been beginning to think his vision of Depa Billaba had been a figment if his imagination but the man before him proved otherwise.
"Who are you?" Ezra asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I am Mace Windu." He spoke in a deep voice that demanded respect. Ezra felt the need to apologise for every time he's disrespected authority. "I was a member of The Jedi High Council and Master of Depa Billaba."
Ezra had heard of Mace Windu before, as a war hungry criminal according to The Imperial holo-net and a wise leader from Kanan, but he'd never known that he'd been Depa Billaba's Master.
"So you're my Master's Master's Master? Does that make you my Great-Grand Master?" Ezra asked.
The corner of Mace Windu's twitched in the slightest smirk before it vanished so quickly that Ezra thought he must have imagined it.
"You're just like your master." The man stated.
Ezra shrugged trying to hide his pride at being compared to Kanan. "I get that a lot."
"What is it that you seek?" Mace asked, his deep voice echoing around the small room.
Ezra was surprised at the question but replied anyway since he didn't think not listening to the man was possible.
"A treasure of some kind for my friend- I mean business associate Hondo."
Mace shook his head with a stern but slightly disappointed expression on his face.
"That is not what you truly seek. Why do you want this artifact?"
"So that Hondo will give us the shipping routes of imperial ships so that we can destroy the Empire!" Ezra shouted his voice growling with anger at the end as his hand curled into tight fists.
"That is not what you seek." Mace said slowly with the wisdom only a master Jedi could deliver. "Vengeance and destruction is the way of the dark side. I will only ask you one more time. What do you seek?"
"I seek to free my people- no to free the galaxy! So that no one has to suffer like me or my family have." Ezra said, his voice hardening but this time not with anger but with conviction and determination.
The former Jedi master nodded, satisfied and proud of his answer before stepping aside. He motioned to a box resting on an old fashioned fireplace behind him.
"Open it."
Ezra walked over to it and opened the lid find a wooden cylinder that had been engraved with long vines that ran all around it. The young padawan gently picked it up but nearly dropped it when a long rod of purple light burst out of one end at his touch.
"Wow!" Ezra exclaimed enarmoured by the lightsaber. He'd never seen a purple one before or one that looked so old.
"It belonged to my ancestor." Mace explained, his eyes shining brightly under the purple light. "He was the leader of the first settlers on this planet nearly seven hundred years ago. He was a Jedi like you and me."
"Wait, how can he be your ancestor if the Jedi weren't allowed to have kids?" Ezra wondered out loud as he swung the sword around.
"Things changed." His expression was somber and his tone held traces of regret. Ezra wasn't sure what about. After a small shake of his head the stoic expression returned to his face, ridding it of all emotion.
"That lightsaber has been pasted down through my family for generations. And now through my padawan lineage I entrust it to you."
Ezra smiled widely in awe before he remembered the reason he'd come to this planet.
"I can't take it. I'd have to give it away and I don't want to do that since it obviously means so much to you."
Mace Windu stepped forwards and placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "The oppression of The Empire can not be allowed to prevail. Give it to your pirate friend. A Jedi does not need possessions to know of their family's love. Nor does he need blood to have a family."
Mace lifted his hand from his shoulder and Ezra missed the comforting weight as the figure brushed a tangle from his hair before running his braid through his surprisingly gentle fingers.
"You must go now." Mace Windu ordered, although the regret was apparent in his voice. Ezra nodded but he too was reluctant to go. He'd never known his own grandparents but he imagined that they would feel a lot like the man before him.
He went back up the stairs but once he got to the top the old master called out to him one last time.
"And Ezra. Tell Kanan he needs a shave." This time there was no mistaking the smirk of his lips on his transparent face.
Ezra gave him a quick salute before hurrying back up the stairs. He left the house with lightsaber still in his hand and beaded back to the main village where his friends were still looking.
"Hey! I found it!" Ezra cried when he saw them.
"Perfecto!" Hondo cried swinging his sword in the air in celebration nearly decapitating Zeb. It took Sabine, Kanan and the force to stop the lasat from ripping him to pieces.
The pirate rushed over to the young padawan not caring about what had nearly just happened. This man had pissed off Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul and lived to tell the tale so an angry lasat was nothing to him.
Ezra held out his hand to give it over to Hondo's eagerly outstretched hands before pulling it back at the last moment.
"And you promise to give us the our information as all as we get back to the ship?" Ezra questioned.
"Of course, of course!" Hondo said offhandedly.
"Swear it." Ezra ordered. As much as he liked the pirate he knew he couldn't trust him for a moment.
Hondo sighed and placed his hand in the air in the style of the junior space scouts. "I swear on my mother's grave."
Ezra still wasn't entirely convinced since he wouldn't put it past him to sell his mothers grave if he thought he could make some quick credits but reluctantly he handed the artefact over.
Hondo's face lit in in barely contained glee as he felt the artefact in his hands. He twisted it and a moment later the bright purple light of a lightsaber ignited severing a nearby tree. Everyone's except Ezra jaw dropped open in awe.
"Is that... is that a purple lightsaber?" Sabine asked in amazement as Hondo hastily shut off the blade.
"The only person I've ever seen with a purple lightsaber was Master Windu." Kanan said thoughtfully.
"Yeah. He says you need a shave by the way." Ezra said offhandedly as they headed back to the ship. Kanan stopped in his tracks looking at his padawan in a state of surprise before a soft smile of understanding crossed his face.
"Of course he did." He said shaking his head thinking fondly back on the old master.
Zeb and Sabine shared a look as they questioned the pair of Jedi's sanity before they all headed back to the Ghost.