AN: Sorry I haven't posted for ages guys! Thx for reading.
Maya-202!
A Star Wars-Inspired Story!
Episode I
The Two Prince War
Chapter XV
Her Own Reasons
It had been a long ride to Coruscant, but eventually, Maya, Finn and BB-8 reached it. Although there had been an odd occurrence when they left Kamino – Maya could have sworn she had seen another Deep Beyond ship heading to the planet, long after the battle was over. Finn had seen it too, but they had assumed that it had just been sent to investigate the scene and the lab in a more thorough detail. Hence, they dismissed it.
Coruscant was magnificent to Maya – she had never really seen it in person before, although Prince Onasius had sometimes had to travel there to take part in the meetings of the Jedi Council. But this was the very first time she would be visiting it for her own reasons. She couldn't describe how she was feeling, apart from the cliché of being excited and nervous at the same time, but for so many different reasons. She was excited to be visiting the Jedi Temple, excited because this visit could open up a whole new way of life for her, nervous because of the threat that Thomanius posed right now, nervous because she was unsure of how she could be force-sensitive, and that was just to name a few. "I sense your anxiety, trooper. I know this is easier for me to say, but there is no need for you to feel worried about the Jedi Council, or Jedi Master Rey. You will be welcomed with open arms – but we must see if you are able to be trained," Finn said.
"I am ready, Master Jedi, I promise!" Maya urged, making Finn chuckle a little at her enthusiasm.
"Stay calm, Maya. Unfortunately deciding whether to take on a new Jedi padawan isn't as simple as you insisting you are ready to be one. We must see how you test first," the Master explained.
"Test… how do you mean?" the trooper wondered.
"The tests… well, they aren't tests like a school exam or anything. I guess a better way of putting it is that they are to see how compatible you are with the Jedi ways and the Force, and how ready you are to undergo training," Finn explained. Maya nodded slightly as if she understood everything he was saying, but truth be told, she didn't really know what he was talking about. It was all still so unexpected and new to her that she was having a tough time taking it all in. "Right…" she muttered.
"Don't worry, you'll understand soon enough," the Jedi Master stated, sensing her confusion.
The two dissolved back into silence again when they arrived at Coruscant – Maya was mesmerised by what she saw. A beautiful orange sky, rows and rows of city lights, and a multitude of speeders cruising around the Galactic City in altering skylanes. Her face was practically glued to the window in amazement.
After a short trip throughout several skylanes, past a litter of neon signs and buildings that stretched beyond what the eye could see, the Jedi ship landed peacefully outside of the Temple. "This… this is incredible," Maya uttered in mesmerisation. There were masses of people gathering outside, including many of what seemed to be other Jedi, conversing amongst each other. It was rather different from the tales she had heard about it, its destruction, and the fall of the Jedi from over a century ago – she had kind of expected to see a ruin, although she wasn't sure why since it was more logical to think that it would have been rebuilt. After the ship had settled on the landing platform that was near the Temple, Finn exclaimed "We're here," as if Maya was a child that had just arrived at here holiday destination. She felt like a child, however, as her excitement levels were raising beyond the roof, although she felt inappropriate for having them so high due to the ongoing situation with the Dark Prince. Once the hatch opened, Maya sprawled out eagerly, hopping onto the ground and drawing a little attention to herself whilst doing so. Besides her, BB-8 sprung out with a small buzz and Finn joined them. Maya petted the droid like he was a pet strill from Mandalore. "This way, if you please," Finn instructed, guiding Maya with a gesture to the new, large staircase that lead up to the rebuilt Jedi Temple. She climbed the grand staircase and stared all around her at the gargantuan pillars that looked so tall they would reach the sky. The light was golden, illuminating the temple walkways like a beacon of new beginnings. Finn must have noticed Maya's even higher level of elation, as he commented "It's quite something, isn't it?" to her as he strolled alongside. There were a couple of solo Jedi wandering and Jedi groups congregating in the halls, some of which noticed Master Finn's entrance along with the new face. The trio strolled down the great corridors, Maya still gawping at the temple's structures until eventually they arrived at a fork in their path. Maya turned to look at Finn as if to ask, "Which way now?".
"The new Jedi Council chambers are through these doors. Master Rey is waiting for us through here," Finn mentioned, facing two large pyresistant wooden doors with brilliant gold markings on them. The symbols appeared to represent, what Maya recognised as, the Jedi's emblem, a perfectly symmetrical display of peace and hope. Finn pushed the double doors with both of his arms, and with almost impeccable timing, Grand Mistress Rey was stood right in the middle of the room. "Ah. You must be Maya-202, the one I've heard some… interesting things about," she welcomed. Maya couldn't help but not say anything due to her exhilaration. "Glad to see you in one piece, Master Finn," the Jedi commented. The Jedi Council Chambers looked extraordinarily like the holographs Maya had seen of the old ones, with several seats dotted around the room forming a semi-circle, presumably where the other Council members sat during meetings. "Well, it certainly wasn't easy" Finn replied. BB-8 chirped next to them, and Rey said it was good to see the droid too. "First things first, we are scanning the galaxy for intel and doing our best effort to track Prince Thomanius. Unfortunately, he has cleverly left no traces of his new whereabouts. Which means one thing – he planned this escape if he ever needed it. But our search hasn't finished yet – we are going to keep looking. Master Onasius has been informed. Now onto our other business – young Maya, Master Finn has told me that you appear to be force-sensitive." The Jedi Master almost knelt down when she said it, as she was a lot taller than Maya. "Yes, Master Jedi…" the trooper stuttered on her words as a result of her nervousness at meeting the Jedi Grand Master, and all the change that was occurring. "But I'm still not completely sure…" she added, more for her own benefit, to try not to raise her hopes high, than the others. The Jedi Grand Master contemplated Maya's statement for a second. This was the first time Maya had really noticed her exquisite outfit – she had a long flowing white tunic, like a dress but not too tight so that she could move in the agile fashion needed by a Jedi. "Well, there is something I feel about you… but I'm not entirely sure what it is… If you want to find out, we'll have to put you through the trials. Is that ok with you?" Rey asked.
Prince Onasius' Mansion, Iryx
"Your highness, one of our F-fighter ships is approaching the planet. We have performed a scan for life forms, and it appears that there is one trooper – Leo-78 – on board, along with two droids," the trooper Ediz-123 informed Prince Onasius. "Leo! He's back! Thank you, Ediz-123," the Prince exclaimed, as he leapt out of one of the seats in the mansion's main grand hall. He dashed outside into the brilliant, dazzling sunlight, and spotted the ship landing in the mansion's glamourous courtyard. Once the craft plonked itself down, the doors opened and a trooper, along with two droids, came rushing out of the hatch, right towards the Prince to tell him what the new course of action was, even though he had already been briefed a little by Master Rey over comms. "Sir Leo, how good it is to see you again," Onasius exclaimed with open arms. The soldier them with a friendly hug. "Prince Onasius, your highness, I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, at your service," the protocol droid explained. R2-D2, the astromech, beeped beside him to say 'hello'. "Hi there. Grand Master Rey has already explained most of the situation to me," the Jedi said to them to ensure that they got the jist.
"So what now?" Leo asked puzzledly. Onasius considered his options for a moment.
"I'm not sure, but I'm sick of sitting around whilst my brother jets off around the galaxy, putting whatever evil plans he has into action. I won't let him escape," he planned, and charged back towards the mansion gates. Leo and the others followed him, and C-3PO butted in. "Excuse me, your highness, but, what exactly are we about to do," the droid wondered, a nervous tone to his robotic voice. "I'm going to find him – one way or another. First, we'll go to the Deep Beyond, they should, somehow, be able to find him, right?" the Prince questioned the droids. R2 beeped to signal a 'Yes'. "Good. Then that's where we're headed now. I'm off to get my saber, and my robes, and then we'll get going. Meet you all at the ship you just arrived in in about 5 minutes."
"I'll prepare the ship again," Leo planned, and began trotting off back across the courtyard.
To tell the truth, the prince was scared of meeting his brother again. Not because of his power, but because he didn't want to see what he had become again. However, he knew he had to put that out of his mind now, as hard as that would be. Thomanius was a different person to the one he had known, and that was just the way it was. But Onasius knew that if the time came to put a stop to him permanently, he wouldn't be able to do it, no matter how much the Jedi Order needed it – he felt bad because of that…