Chapter II: Training and Reactions (22-19 BBY)

The quiet of the Jedi Temple's halls was broken only by the footsteps of the few that remained inside it. The galaxy seemed on the edge of war again, what with the Separatists seceding from the Republic in the past few months, and the assassination attempt of a senator a few days ago.

Now the Temple was almost empty, the result of a rescue mission to Geonosis where Master Kenobi, his Padawan, and that same senator were being held prisoner. Ten year old Jorec Merridon chuckled quietly while walking through the hallways.

I've heard about those two. Always getting into trouble. But why did the senior Jedi send almost all Jedi in the Temple to the planet on a simple rescue mission?

Jorec rounded the corner of the hall and entered a large training room. Already he could hear the crackling of lightsabers meeting. He turned to the source of the sound and watched as two young humans; a ten-year-old male with dark blonde hair and blue eyes and an older female with brown hair fought desperately against the dual-wielding Serra Keto.

The seventeen-year-old Serra moved gracefully as her two attackers attempted to lure her into providing a vital opening for their sabers. The boy quickly swung his saber upwards towards Serra's head and then dropped to the floor as her defending saber quickly reached out and deflected the attacking blade. The younger girl made her move towards her opponent and swung her green blade towards Serra's midsection. The strike swung harmlessly over Serra's body as the boy swept the older girl's legs out from under her.

A voice quickly rose up from the hum and crackling of lightsabers.

"Whie, I told you only 'sabers and the Force this fight. I want all younglings to wait a while before throwing in martial arts into their combat. Why do I say that?"

The boy looked at Master Cin Drallig, his head low in shame.

"Because you say, 'To properly fight with a lightsaber, one must look to the saber first. Once proficient in its use, other tactics can be learned.' You said not to use martial arts yet because we haven't had a full experience of learning the basics of lightsaber to lightsaber combat."

"Correct. Take a rest. Jorec, you face off against Zett next."

Jorec walked towards a display of training lightsabers and selected one he had used regularly in the past. He took Bene's place on a training mat and faced his opponent. Jorec held the 'saber in a basic combat stance and thumbed the blue blade to life. His opponent did the same and the two began circling each other. Neither one wanted to strike first and potentially give the advantage to his opponent. After a few seconds of circling, Jorec made the first move by making a quick swing towards Zett's lightsaber. The slightly older Zett quickly took a step backwards and swung his lightsaber toward Jorec's leading arm. A quick parry by Jorec halted Zett's chance of ending the fight early.

"Nice move, Zett. Jorec, attack the opponent not his 'saber."

Jorec held his lightsaber near the center of his body, with the point facing his opponent. A slight movement of his wrist sent the blade towards Zett, who moved to swat it away. Jorec then quickly reversed his thrust and sent a swing towards the right side of his opponent. Another quick jump backwards sent the blade within inches of Zett's stomach. Zett quickly returned to his previous position and sent his blade towards Jorec's knees. Jorec leapt backwards and landed a few feet away from Zett.

While Jorec and Zett sparred, they did not notice Depa Billaba walking in the room.

"Master Drallig, there is some troubling news regarding the operation on Geonosis. Early reports suggest that there were heavy casualties."

"How many?"

"Around fifteen Jedi survived…"

Jorec wiped the sweat off his brow and sat down on his bunk in a large common room. He absentmindedly rubbed his left arm, trying to return feeling back to it from Zett's finishing blow in their duel. In his right hand, he clumsily held a datapad containing a history text of the Jedi Order provided by the Jedi Library.

He sighed in worry as he began reading about one of the last major wars the Republic had been in, and the horrifying aftermath of it.

So, this is what it comes to. War… With the droid and clone armies facing each other, the fighting could last forever. Both sides are pretty much disposable. That means, one day I'll have to fight. I could be out there in three years! What if I'm killed? Will my parents even be notified? Will I even get to meet them as other Jedi have? What of my friends here? And my instructors? Will the Jedi even survive this war? I need advice, I need to ask Master Yoda about these feelings when he returns from Geonosis. If he survived…

Three Years Later

Jorec Merridon looked at the Coruscant cityscape from the view of an open balcony in the Jedi Temple. Without thinking he ran the fingers of his right hand over the black Padawan braid that ran down toward his right shoulder. He gazed at the aircar traffic that sped around the city even at this hour. Jorec rolled over on his back, and then quickly kipped up and landed on his feet. He needed to get rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day he officially became a Padawan learner. The next day would bring a series of tests that he hoped would prove himself worthy of being a Padawan to some unknown master. And with that, came the Clone Wars…

The past three years had been full of war as both the Republic and the Separatists gained and lost ground almost equally. For every Kamino and Dantooine there was a Hypori and a Jabiim. And there was General Grievous… The thought of one day having to face the cybernetic general sent chills through Jorec whenever he thought about it. He had heard numerous whispers amongst the other children his age of the horrific exploits of Grievous, how he had once held his own against five Jedi Masters, and the time he single handedly destroyed an entire regiment of clone troopers. Of course, Jorec had thoughts that the numbers were heavily exaggerated, but the slight twinge of doubt remained.

The next day involved a grueling set of simple tasks using the Force. For about half an hour, Jorec moved things using the Force, exhibited that he could use the Force to improve his own physical condition, and finally he faced off against two nasty remotes determined to get their volleys of blaster fire past his lightsaber. Despite these simple tasks, Jorec kept a level head during his tests, and every once and a while looked toward the four Jedi looking for a Padawan to attempt to gauge their reactions. Going last of the five students, Jorec knew how all of the other Padawans had done. Soon, he was dismissed from his demonstrations and took a seat with all of the other hopeful Padawans and awaited the decisions of the Jedi Masters.

Soon a middle-aged man in his early thirties approached Jorec. His wore his light brown hair long, and was clean-shaven, on his belt were two lightsabers. He extended his hand toward Jorec. Jorec shook the Jedi Master's hand and stood up.

"Hello Jorec, I am Merrick Fionst and I select you to be my Padawan Learner. I was quite impressed with your demonstrations out there. I feel that I can offer you some of the best teaching on how to be a Jedi in these turbulent times. Do you accept my teachings."

Jorec smiled slightly and bowed.

"Yes, I acc…"

Before Jorec could finish his sentence, a messenger quickly ran into the room.

"Urgent message from our planetary lookouts. The Invisible Hand is nearing Coruscant with several Control Ships and several landing craft have broken through our defenses. We fear a land engagement with Grievous is imminent!"

Merrick quickly looked at Jorec and handed him a lightsaber from his belt.

"I'll have to tell you the story about this later. Stay in the Temple and help the others protect the younglings in case a few droids break away and head toward the Temple."

"Master, what if Grievous…"

"If you see Grievous, run."

Jorec watched as the Masters in the room quickly ran out of the room to join the others defending the capital of the Republic from the Separatists threatening it. He looked at the lightsaber in his hand, and analyzed it. He thumbed the activation switch and watched as the blue blade came alive. A rumble in the distance signified that the battle was already starting. He deactivated the lightsaber and left the room and headed towards the spot he was supposed to guard.

I'm not even a Padawan for five minutes and my life is already in danger…