After a while back at the shop, I didn't even think of that Jedi too much once I got to work after an hour or two. Canto was pretty mad at my adoptive brother and me for a minute, but he was willing to help us help the Jedi. Canto went to the stand every once and awhile to see how Beepy was holding down the fort, and came back incase the Jedi woke up. At the time, Onthant was in charge of watching over the female Jedi. Since Strive was on lunch break, he was talking to Onthant as they stood a little ways away from the Jedi who laid on the ground with a pillow made of some rags. We had put some bacta on her head and the swelling was starting to go down on the side of her head.
I was taken out of work mode once I heard a woman scream,a thump and crack, and Onthant yelled in pain. When I dashed over to see what was going on, I saw Onthant holding his nose in pain while the female Jedi was apologizing as she sat up. Strive was laughing as Onthant continued to hold his nose and moan in pain. I couldn't even help but to slightly chuckle at my older adoptive brother's pain.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I must've scared her or something!" Onthant said as he had a nasal voice as he covered his nose. "She punched me!"
I looked over to the female Jedi as she still apologized to Onthant, I stated with a smile, "I like you already."
"Shut it, you little nerf-herder," Onthant glared at me.
"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," the female Jedi apologized. Getting a better look at her as her cloak was fully down, I could see she had brown hair that was braided. She had green eyes and was about eighteen years old. Then, as she realized her sword was gone, her voice got stern. "Where's my lightsaber?"
"Why were you attacking my little brother is what I'd like to know," Onthant looked over to the lady and had a harsh voice.
He had never referred to me as his little brother before.
"I was simply trying to retrieve my holocron back," the woman stated sternly.
"Hey, what's your name, lady?" Strive asked.
"I'm Cyla. Jedi Knight Cyla Dume."
We each greeted ourselves.
Canto then came up from behind us and saw that the Jedi was awake. He must've know that she was awake beforehand because he tossed her lightsaber at her.
"Thank you, sir," Cyla thanked as she looked to Canto. She began to stand until she abruptly stopped and let out a moan of pain as she gripped her head.
Onthant kneeled down next to the Jedi and gently held her shoulder, he said, "You got your head hit pretty bad. I wouldn't stand up too fast if I were you."
As she settled back down onto the ground, the Jedi said as she looked to me, "My holocron, do you have it?"
"What's a...holocron?" I cocked my head to the side as I asked her.
"The cube," Cyla explained. "It's a holocron. They store information for the Jedi."
"Go get it, kid," Canto looked to me. "We don't need trouble with any Jedi."
I scurried to find the cube I had fought for and looked to where I had put it by my workspace. My feet came to a halt when I saw that holocron faintly glow a light teal. I slowly stepped towards it until a was only a little ways away from it. The glowing cube mesmerized me as I stared into the glass to see the mechanics inside. Each piece working so smoothly and so complicated as it slowly turned. It nearly floated when I reached for it, just hardly a centimeter above the table. I scurried back to the group with the holocron in hand as it began to get warmer in my hands. No...cooler. No...warmer.
The female Jedi's eyes snapped in my direction when I approached her. She seemed perplexed as she saw the holocron glow in my hands. When I stretched my arm out with the holocron and held it in the palm of my hand, she slightly smiled with her eyes and looked to me.
"Did you do that?" she asked, almost delighted.
I got scared for a moment. Did I break it? Man! Canto's really going to kill me now!
"I- I didn't- it just started to glow and…" the words tripped and fumbled as they left my mouth.
"No. No. You're fine, kid," she seemed so amused as she smiled at me. "You didn't break it. It's supposed to do that. It opens to those strong with the Force."
"Like...you?" I slowly asked.
"Jalo, just give her the holocron. We don't need to get involved with Jedi," Canto said, his voice gruff.
"He's fine," Cyla assured as she looked to Canto. "I would actually like to talk to his parents for a second if I could. Are you his dad?"
As he crossed his arms over his chest, Canto stated, "The kid doesn't have 'em. We took him in a while back when he was eleven. He's twelve now. My son and I here take care of him."
"Wow, boss, I'm hurt," Strive joked. "What do I get credit for?"
WIth a harsh glare, he stated, "How 'bout when you do your job?"
"Then can I talk to you two for a moment; alone?" the female Jedi requested.
Onthant and Canto shared a glance and shrugged, agreeing. Cyla slowly began to sit up as she seemed light-headed. Onthant and I helped her up to her feet and she walked a few meters away with my adoptive brother and Canto where she stopped to talk to Strive's cautionary requests, I inched myself close enough to hear as I hid behind some speeder bike. Not much of the conversation was clear until Onthant's voice was heard.
"How can you be so sure that he's even got the 'Force'?"
"All living creatures have the Force. Some are just stronger with it than others. And that boy is one of them," I heard the female Jedi argue.
Then, I heard Canto's voice, "I don't want any involvement with Jedi. I'm not going to have you take this kid."
"Yeah, we're all he's got," Onthant said. "How'd you feel if you were taken away from your only family left?"
"I never knew my family," the Jedi's voice seemed so solemn. "Most Jedi are raised at the Temple from a very young age."
"Well, he has us," Onthant stated.
"It is very dangerous to have someone that is strong with the Force to be untrained. I am asking to at least get him tested to see if my suspicions are correct. That's all I'm asking."
A deep sigh made it's way from Canto. After a long pause, he asked, "How exactly would he be tested?"
"I'd take him to the surface where the Jedi Temple is and have his blood tested. You can even come to the surface if you'd like."
The surface? To a kid like me, the surface of Coruscant was only a thing to imagine. In my mind, have never left the lower levels of Coruscant, that place was like heaven on Coruscant. The place had rich people's houses, the bright light of the sun shining down on all the people above, skyscrapers. And the actual sky. I had never seen a sky at that point in my life. I had also heard that those living on the surface actually breathed clean and filtered air. That was absurd to a kid like me who was used to the toxic fumes of factories and vehicles. To me, all of it was like a myth.
When I was a kid, I had always dreamt of leaving the lower levels. To see the galaxy. To see new see the sky. To see natural light.
"I guess the least we can do is ask Jalo what he wants," Canto offered.
I scurried back to Strive once I realised they were coming to an agreement. But, I was still happy. I got the chance to see the surface!
I plopped myself down next to Strive as I waited next to him with my fingers twiddling with excitement. My face could hardly be straight as the Jedi, my brother, and Canto had approached me. Onthant was the one to tell me what I already knew and my facial expression was hard to keep from overjoyed.
"Yeah!" I answered with excitement.
"Hold on now," Onthant spoke calmly. "You do realize if you really do become a Jedi...you probably won't see me, Dad, or Strive ever again. You know that...right?"
My ecstatic feeling quickly drained as those words set into my mind. I had not thought of that; not seeing them again. Before I could speak, Cyla spoke.
"I can always request the Council allows him to see his family as he is so old and has a family."
Onthant and Canto shared a concerned glance with each other, pondering the idea. Canto let out a sigh as he turned to the green-eyed Jedi.
"Are you positive that he is strong with this 'Force'?"
As she turned back to him, Cyla answered, "I am sure. He wouldn't be able to make the holocron glow if otherwise. If he were to concentrate, he could open it."
"Wait, so I'm not going to be able to see my little buddy anymore?" Strive seemed so sad as he gestured to me.
"It's a good possibility that the Council will agree to him being able to see you all. It would be the wisest choice as we don't want to emotionally distress him," Cyla told. "We can leave now so we can have him tested, would any of you like to come along?"
"Well, we need to man our stand. I'll be out there," Canto gestured to outside. "And one of us needs to be here. Onthant, you take him. Strive, you stay here."
"Hold on," Onthant objected and looked to Cyla. "Your head got hit really hard and the bacta may be wearing off by now. Do you think you can even get in an elevator to get to the surface?"
Cyla was about to shake her head up and down, but she regretted it as soon as she did so. She moaned in pain and gripped her head where the bacta patch still was. Onthant put a hand on her shoulder as she still gripped her head.
"I guess I could at least take some rest before we leave," Cyla admitted.
"I'll go to the stand with R3," Canto stated and turned to me and Strive. "Don't burn the place down while I'm gone."
"Can't make any promises, boss," Strive joked.
As he glared at us, Canto stated, "I mean it."
When Canto was gone, Strive, Onthant, and I decided that Strive and I would finish up some jobs and Onthant volunteered himself to watch over Cyla as he didn't want her to be alone while injured. Cyla was one to disagree, saying that she is perfectly fine on her own. Onthant just assured that she needed someone to look after her incase her head injury was worse than what we thought.
Strive and I laughed at Onthant when he was picking up some heavy crates; an obvious show of his strength to the woman. Strive and I made fun of him even more when Onthant would stare off at her with a mystified look in his eyes and a stupid grin on his face. The Jedi seemed slightly amused, slightly chuckling at my adoptive brother's awkwardness. I could hardly breath as I was laughing so hard after Onthant actually spoke to the Jedi.
As he ran his hand through his hair and some sweat on his forehead, he stuttered, "Hey ,are you hot?"
Cyla squinted at the man with her green eyes.
"I-I know you're hot appearance wise...but...uh...are you hot? Warm? Like temperature wise?" Onthant could hardly speak.
He always had a thing for when he was nervous or stressed that he'd run his hand through his hair. I had noticed this during my first weeks of knowing him; often doing it when he was having trouble with a project.
The shop would get warm once and awhile as we didn't have good ventilation, but not enough to were I had seen Onthant so sweaty on his forehead and a bit on the palms of his hands. Yeah, this was one of the worse times for Onthant talking to a female.
"Don't worry," Cyla assured. "I'm alright."
As Strive was right by me he snickered a little with me and turned to the two, "Hey, Onthant! When's the wedding for you and Syla?"
"Shut it," Onthant glared at his friend.
"It's actually Cyla," the Jedi corrected. She paused,"But, that would be a beautiful name for a girl. I'll have to remember that for the Temple if we get any unnamed children."
"Why don't you save it for if you have a daughter?" I asked, confused.
"Jedi can't have attachments such as being married or having kids. It's forbidden."
"So, because ya got these powers that you were born with, ya can't live life ?" Onthant asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
"It's against the Jedi Code to have attachments. There needs to be some type of guardians for this galaxy, we Jedi need to fulfil that role and follow the ancient rules of the Jedi."
"So, would Jalo be allowed to be around us if Jedi aren't supposed to have family?" Onthant inquired.
Sighing, Cyla answered, "By the Code, he shouldn't. But, I will request to be his Master if the Council does not allow him to see his family ; then I would often take him here for you to see your brother."
"We're not actually brothers," Onthant corrected.
As she raised an eyebrow, the Jedi said, "But, you two act as so. A person wouldn't protect someone like you had to just anyone. I can tell."
Through the rest of the time Canto was gone, it was still obvious on how Onthant was doing his best to show off to the Jedi. I didn't understand him; at first he seemed to be so weary of her since she had attacked me in his eyes, then he'd act like he was almost flirting with her. I guess it was a mix of whether to be mad at her and also thinking she was pretty. I didn't understand what the heck went through his mind during those years.
I remember that after a while, Strive, Onthant and I all had to put our heads together on a landspeeder that had it's hover system broken. Cyla must've seen our troubled faces because she offered to help us. Onthant had denied help, though I would've gladly taken help if it meant I didn't have to work on the landspeeder longer than I needed. Despite what Onthant said, Cyla slowly stood up and made her way over to us three. She knelled down between Strive and Onthant and I watched in amazement as she got to work with a swift pace. She turned to me and kindly requested if I could turn the landspeeder on for her and I did so.
My friend and my adoptive brother's shocked faces made me laugh as the landspeeder proved to work as it floated a little above the ground. The Jedi only slightly smiled at her accomplishment before she turned to Strive when he asked her:
"Where did ya learn to do that?"
"My old Master and I work in the Temple to fix broken holocrons as well as organizing the Jedi Archives . I picked up a few things on mechanics."
Not too much time passed before Canto arrived back with what little he had left over from the stand; my droid rolled beside him. At that time, I was near the Jedi as I played with the holocron; doing my best to float it in my hands. Cyla was doing her best to teach me to focus, but I didn't listen too well.
I snapped out of what little concentration I had when Canto shouted at me; "Stop it with that floating stuff."
"Why?" I whinned.
"It's unnatural."
"Actually," the female Jedi turned to Canto. "It's not unnatural at all. It is the Force, and he is fairly strong with it."
"Well, Force or not, I don't like it," Canto huffed before he went off.
As the green eyes of Strive turned to us, he asked, "Hey, so when are you taking him exactly?"
To my shock, Cyla didn't reply in Basic. Instead, she replied in a language I didn't understand a word of. I had heard it being exchanged among rodians around the Under City, so I quickly inferred she was talking in Rodinesse. Him and her had a lengthy conversation in this strange language to me and Onthant and I exchanged confused looks as he didn't understand that language either.
Neither of us had ever even heard Strive really talk in his native language; only hearing a word or two under his breath or when he didn't want to curse around me.
Turning to Onthant, Strive broke his string of his native language and asked in Basic, "Hey, do you think you could go up on the surface with the kid? I'm pretty sure I can handle the shop all by myself."
"Yeah…" Onthant seemed suspicious as he slowly answered and narrowed his eyes at Strive and Cyla.
"I'll go pack!" I soon left with excitement to go and pack some things.I had kept some clean clothes at the shop and my bag incase I had ever gotten my work clothes too dirty to even walk home in. Or catch them on fire. It happened before.
As I went over to get a bag I owned and put some of my possessions in it, I could see Onthant pull Strive aside from the Jedi for a private word. As I hid myself behind some crates and such and changed into some nicer clothes, I did my best to listen to the two's conversation.
I could hear Onthant asking about what Strive had said to the Jedi. Strive told that Cyla had asked why Canto was so imprudent and if Canto wasn't my actual father, who was. I saw Onthant almost got aggressive with Strive when he mentioned the fact that Cyla asked who was Onthant's mom and what happened to her.
I knew never to ask about Onthant's mother, and he knew never to ask who my parents were. When he first had asked about my parents, I just told him that I'd never talk about them. When I asked about his mother, he didn't want to talk about her either. We shared that feeling so we both respected it.
When Onthant and Strive went back over to the female Jedi, I soon finished up packing a few possessions and I joined them.
Hey, everyone. Sorry I didn't update for a while. I've been really busy with Marching Band, Tennis, and school. I'm trying my best to write this story one chapter at a time between all the things going on in my life (And a tree that just recently fell on my house sure isn't helping anything).
Please write reviews; they are basically the thing that encourages me to write and also reminds me that people are actually reading this.
Thanks!