33 BBY, Coruscant
"Hello? Master? I'm here!"
Starlet called into the apparently empty room, searching for the Jedi Master she had been told to meet. She knew someone was here; she could feel their presence. Just in case it was a trap of some kind, the girl's hand fell to the training lightsaber hanging from her belt. She had been gifted the weapon soon after graduating from Master Sinube's class, and she practiced with it regularly against a lightsaber training droid. Not sensing a trap of any kind, she instead reached out with the Force, trying to learn the identity of the other being in the darkened room. There they were, seated in the shadows. A man with a kind soul, positioned comfortably in waiting for his pupil. This Jedi Master was most familiar to the fledgling Jedi.
"Master Qui-Gon, I'm here for my lesson."
The Master in the shadows smiled to himself, still unseen by Starlet. She had passed the first test. "Very good, Starlet," Qui-Gon said softly, officially revealing his presence. He leaned forward a bit, putting his face in the light. "I see you've been training yourself in my absence."
Starlet smiled, walking toward her friend. "Nice to see you again, Master. It's been too long."
Qui-Gon's smile widened even further. "I can certainly agree with you on that, young one."
Starlet's arms snapped to her side, and she bowed slightly in respect. "Always an honor to spend time with you, Qui-Gon."
The experienced Master smirked at the sincere flattery displayed by the girl. Starlet had certainly matured in the months since they had last seen each other. "You've been very patient, waiting this long for my lesson. I apologize that I couldn't find time any sooner."
The wait had been no problem to Starlet. She was used to waiting for things to happen. Patience was a virtue after all, especially when you were hiding in a tree on Batuu, waiting for a predator to pass by. "When I was surviving in the forest, impatience could be a death sentence.. You had your own… things to attend to, and I had mine. I'm just glad we're here now."
Even with the lapse in her vocabulary, Starlet had made her point. It was something Qui-Gon had never considered. The girl's past experiences were truly foreign to him, having been mostly raised in the Jedi Temple right here on Coruscant. Starlet had shown him flattery; now it was his turn. "Once again, you showcase the wisdom that has made you the talk of the Council. Wisdom far beyond your age."
"I am older than three, you know," Starlet stated with a slight giggle. People around her constantly forgot her true age. To be fair, it wasn't like she could blame them; she looked like a little girl about to turn four, instead of the nearly twenty-year-old she really was.
"I am aware," Qui-Gon said with a smile. Starlet had always shown she was older than she looked, but she certainly had a childish air to her that made her approachable for everyone around her. She had even helped train the other Younglings around her, since she was able to grasp the lessons faster than the actual children. "I'm saying you possess wisdom beyond that of even your actual age. Your experiences are unique among Jedi, perhaps among sentient beings. You have chosen to learn from those experiences rather than leave them behind. That is why you will be learning to meditate today." That was the clincher. This was a more advanced lesson than some other Masters believed Starlet was ready for. Qui-Gon had more faith in the girl.
Starlet wasn't aware of any of Qui-Gon's thoughts. She knew meditation was something older Jedi practiced, not Younglings. "I thought I was too small for that?" she asked with a head tilt, a habit she had picked up from Ahsoka.
"You've proven yourself time and time again, Starlet. I believe you are ready." Qui-Gon saw Starlet's smile widen even as she sheepishly lowered her head. He was sure the girl was blushing. But now was the time for business. "Now, sit in the seat across from me," Qui-Gon instructed. "Make sure you're comfortable." Starlet walked slowly to the raised platform as if it was the most precious object in the galaxy. She pulled herself onto its surface, assuming a cross-legged position. There was no wince of pain from her injury nine months prior. "Now, I want you to close your eyes. Close yourself off from the physical, and reach out into the Force itself. Tune out all distractions. Listen to the Force. Heed what it has to tell you." The Master watched the girl follow his instructions, and observed as she almost immediately fell into a meditative trance. "Starlet?" Qui-Gon leaned forward, waving his hand experimentally in front of his student's face. She gave no indication whatsoever of reacting to him. He was impressed; she was a natural. "Huh. She's even better at this than I thought she would be." Qui-Gon sat back, simply watching for Starlet to come out of her trance.
Starlet had entered a completely different world. She saw little other than darkness. The girl couldn't shift her vision, and she didn't even feel like she was in her own body. She was simply observing. The Force had something to show her. Scenes began floating in front of her; wavy, out of focus. But they were clear enough.
She saw the inside of a house on a desert planet. An eclectic group was seated around a table, and Qui-Gon was among them. He was speaking to a boy, possibly eight or nine years old. "No one can kill a Jedi," the child said confidently. Starlet wondered what had happened in the conversation before this. She was chilled by Qui-Gon's simple, regretful response.
"I wish that were so."
The scene shifted. Now she was at a funeral. Many people were in attendance, but Starlet noted that Qui-Gon wasn't among them. She saw Masters Windu and Yoda talking to each other. Yoda was the first one she heard speak. "Always two, there are. No more, no less. A Master, and an Apprentice."
"But which was destroyed?" Master Windu wondered out loud. "The Master, or the Apprentice?"
Another shift, and Starlet was in a blinding white room. A tall, long-necked alien was speaking to a man who looked like he could be an older version of Obi-Wan. She didn't catch much of their conversation, only the tail end of what the alien was saying. "... And a million more well on the way." A million more of what?
She wouldn't get an immediate answer, as the Force showed her the Jedi Council's meeting room. Masters Windu and Yoda were there along with the older Obi-Wan. They seemed bothered by something, and it was Yoda who Starlet heard speak. "Begun, the Clone War has." Clone War? What was a clone, and why did war break out?
Starlet was confused, but she was whisked away before she could ponder further. Now they were in a courtroom, surrounded by the entirety of the Galactic Senate. The main attendees she could recognize were an older Ahsoka, as well as an older version of Barriss Offee, a Mirialan Padawan whom Starlet had shared a quick conversation with once. Weirdly, both Ahsoka and Barriss were handcuffed.
"The only thing the Council believes in is violence!" Barriss screamed. Strange. Why would she believe that? Starlet knew the other Jedi couldn't be right about that. Could she?
Now the scene shifted to the Council meeting room again. She could only really see Master Windu, who looked deep in contemplation. He looked troubled. "I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi." That sounded ominous.
The scene didn't continue, instead replaced with a hanger full of starfighters. Master Windu was speaking to a young man who looked disturbed by something. Master Windu leaned into the other's face. "A Sith Lord?" he asked, sounding alarmed. Sith?
"Yes," the other man replied. "The one we've been looking for."
Now they were in a large room, painted bright red. Even in this vision, Starlet could feel the strong presence of the Dark side of the Force. Master Windu was there, along with several other Jedi. "In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest," Master Windu announced to a man outside of Starlet's sight. Was this the 'Sith' they were talking about?
The scene didn't shift much this time. They were in the same room. A shriveled excuse for a man was getting up from in front of a shattered window. The young man from earlier was present, but the other Jedi were conspicuously absent. What had happened to them? "What have I done?!" the young man lamented. Starlet wondered the same question.
Once again, the scene stayed similar. The young man was gone, but the shriveled one was speaking to a hologram of someone in white armor. "Execute Order 66," the man said in an almost venomous voice.
"It will be done, my Lord," the armored man said, as if in a trance himself. What was that supposed to mean?
Now, the scene changed to a planet of lava. Two men were facing each other, blue lightsaber blades ignited. One of them was the young man from earlier, while the other appeared to be an older Obi-Wan. "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!" the young man shouted. How could he say that?!
"Well then, you are lost!" Obi-Wan responded furiously. What had happened between these two?
Finally, Starlet returned to the Senate room. The shriveled man was addressing everyone, including a woman the Force clearly wanted her to focus on. "The Republic will be reformed into the first Galactic Empire!" shouted the shriveled man. Starlet was shocked. Was all of this going to happen in the future?
"So this is how democracy dies," the woman stated plainly, the disappointment evident in her voice. "With thunderous applause."
Starlet came back to reality in the meditation room, falling from her comfortable sitting position in a cold sweat. Qui-Gon quickly got up, rushing to support the girl who had been in a deep trance just moments before.
"Starlet?" the Master said softly. The girl was shaking, clearly disturbed by whatever she had seen. She was almost whimpering. "It's okay, Starlet, I'm right here. I've got you. Give it a few seconds." He helped his student into a sitting position, keeping his hands on her shoulders for comfort. She suddenly seemed so… vulnerable. Helpless. Scared. He waited a few seconds for her to calm down. Qui-Gon needed to know what had scared Starlet so much. This girl who had seen so much. Survived so much more than even he could possibly imagine. "What did you see?"
It was all Starlet could do to respond with a few simple words. "War. Destruction. Violence. Death. Loss." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, almost looking like she was afraid of her own voice. How could the confident girl have gotten to this point?
Qui-Gon tried to dig a little deeper, being careful to keep his voice soft and low so as to not accidentally scare the girl. "Did you see anything specific? Can you tell me?"
Starlet turned her eyes toward her teacher. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to say something. Anything. Qui-Gon needed to know what she saw. "I saw the end of the Republic. The end of the Jedi. It was horrible." Starlet fell forward, burying her face in the Jedi's robes, her tears falling freely onto the fabric.
Qui-Gon wrapped his arms around the girl, comforting her, trying to raise her spirits as much as he could. "No more visions today. Would you like me to escort you back to your quarters?" He could feel Starlet nodding her head, still clinging to his torso. "Alright, young one. Don't worry. You're safe here. No need to be scared." He scooped the small girl into his arms, carrying her out of the room, keeping his walking speed as slow as he could. Starlet fell asleep before they reached her room.
"You say Starlet had a premonition? What was its nature?"
The shock was plainly evident in Mace Windu's voice. Even given Starlet's actual age, Younglings of her experience level just… didn't have premonitions.
"She saw a war," Qui-Gon replied gravely. It wasn't pleasant news, but then again, there hadn't been much of that lately. "The end of the Republic, and of the Jedi Order. She wouldn't tell me much else. She was… rather frightened by the experience."
A hush spread throughout the room. None of this was anything they could've expected. It all sounded unbelievable, to be honest. Especially one little detail.
"Starlet, frightened? That's a first." The other Masters were thankful for Depa Billaba's tension-cutting statement. A slight lightening of the mood was welcome in this instance.
"I've never seen her like this before," Qui-Gon continued. "I just hope that, once she recovers from this, she'll open up more."
"Speaking of which."
Mace Windu nodded his head toward the entrance. The Masters turned their attention to Starlet, who had just entered the room. Or, more accurately, she had almost absentmindedly stumbled into the room, even if she knew she had a mission. It was like she was on autopilot. Her mind was too distracted to truly focus on anything, but she had to ask the Masters about something.
"Forgive my intrusion, Masters," Starlet began with a bow, her voice low and quiet. She stumbled forward before catching herself. She felt embarrassed, but at least she caught herself. This time.
Yoda studied the small apparent child in front of them. There was much fear in her, but it wasn't necessarily the type of fear the Council would normally be concerned by. Starlet had seen something terrifying, and it was clouding her mind. However, she had been able to make her way here on her own, of her own volition. "Feeling better, are you?" Yoda asked, keeping his voice carefully controlled. The girl may have been nearly twenty years old, but she definitely still had the mind of a child.
"Yes, Master Yoda." Starlet had been spending the last few hours being comforted by Ahsoka. The Togruta's unquestioning care for her friend had helped Starlet immensely, pulling her out of the non-responsive state she had been in before. "Thank you for asking."
Master Windu wanted to get straight to business, but he knew to keep his voice gentle. "Would you be able to share more about these premonitions of yours?"
Starlet tilted her head to the side. "Premonitions?" In all the time she spent secretly listening to the villagers on Batuu, and even through her time with the Jedi, she had never heard a word like that before.
Mace allowed himself a smile. Even in her current state, Starlet remained curious and willing to learn. "Your visions of the future," he explained. "Can you share more?"
Starlet thought for a few seconds, then realized something. There was another word she wanted defined. "I heard the word Sith. I've never heard that word before, but it seemed important. What does it mean?"
A sudden feeling of unease settled around the room. Qui-Gon made the decision to speak up. "The Sith were a group of Dark Force users. They believed in power, and wanted total galactic domination. They hated the Jedi most of all."
Starlet listened intently. Obviously, these Sith weren't exactly good news, but Qui-Gon was only referring to them in past-tense. "What happened to them?"
"They waged war against the Jedi," explained Master Ki-Adi Mundi, "and lost."
"As far as anyone knows," Master Windu continued, "the Sith have been extinct for a millennium."
Seeing the somewhat disappointed look on Starlet's face, Master Adi Gallia decided to speak next. "That is not to say that your vision should not be heeded, young one. Just know that premonitions are not always entirely accurate. Either they only show a possible future, or they show events out of order, out of context."
"Is there anything else?" inquired Master Even Piell, perhaps more roughly than was required. "Names? Faces?"
Starlet's voice began to falter. She felt her fear begin to creep back into her mind. "No. No names, no faces. Just voices, and I didn't recognize all of them."
"Which ones did you recognize?" Master Windu asked quickly, forgoing his earlier gentle tone.
Qui-Gon could tell that Starlet's breathing was speeding up. The other Masters were beginning to scare her. The girl had enough on her mind; she shouldn't have to deal with how the older Jedi were treating her. "Calm down, Master Windu," Qui-Gon began calmly, his voice still controlled so as to keep Starlet's nerves in check. "You're stressing her out. This is not an interrogation."
Mace Windu was disappointed in himself. He had let his own emotions get the better of him. Starlet was still mentally a child, after all. Qui-Gon was right. "So it is not. Apologies, young Starlet."
Starlet craned her neck up to look Qui-Gon in the eye. She had been slowly gravitating toward him the entire time. The Master looked down at her, seeing the fatigue building in the girl's face. He knelt down in front of her, still too tall to be at her eye level. "You can return to your quarters if you feel that is where you need to be."
Starlet nodded silently, thankful for Qui-Gon's gentle tone, then she turned to leave the room. She moved with a slow walk at first, then began running so as to not break into tears in front of the entire Jedi Council. The entire ordeal had been too much for her, and she wanted to get back to her own room as quickly as possible.
Siri Tachi, having been on her way to the Council, watched in confusion as Starlet ran past her in tears, barely holding in her cries. That wasn't like her. In the last six months of observing the girl, she knew Starlet to be strong, courageous, even fearless in many cases. The Master had never once seen the girl cry.
Master Tachi walked into the Council room. Qui-Gon seemed like he was about to leave. She made her entrance, bowing in respect. "Greetings, Masters. What's wrong with Starlet? I've never seen her like this before."
Qui-Gon smiled grimly. Of course Siri was concerned about Starlet; the girl was probably the reason why she had come here in the first place. "She is a bit… shell shocked," Qui-Gon explained. "She had a premonition of the end of the Republic, and it seems to have affected her on a rather deep level."
"Are you concerned about her, Master Tachi?" Adi Gallia wondered.
A slight chuckle from Yoda brought the attention to him. He knew Siri had come here for a reason. "Hoping to train her, you are?"
Siri nodded. "I am hoping to take her as my Padawan, yes. However," she continued nervously, "I sense that now is not the right time."
There was a pause as the Council processed what Master Tachi had just said. "Not the right time?" asked Master Eeth Koth.
Siri took a breath. This is what she had come to the Council in the first place. "Starlet isn't the only one receiving visions lately," she admitted. "I have seen a dark-skinned girl with silver hair… and a prosthetic arm, wearing a Padawan braid. I believe I am meant to wait for this unfortunate injury to take place. When that happens, she will need encouragement. Comfort. And I believe I am meant to provide those things. Until then, I will continue watching her progress." She watched the Council's expressions closely. What were their thoughts on this matter? Siri held her breath, waiting for a reaction. Any reaction. Her thoughts turned to the girl whose progress she had observed for the last six months. The girl who needed encouragement at that moment, still recovering from her terrifying vision. Would Siri be allowed to provide what Starlet really needed?
Finally, there were nods being shared amongst the Masters. Yoda watched the others, then made his decision. The Council was unanimous. "When right the time is, your Padawan, Starlet will be."
Siri Tachi smiled. Perhaps not now, but in the near future, Starlet would officially be her apprentice. And she couldn't be more proud.