I awoke before Anakin thinking all this was just a dream. To my delight, it wasn't. I reached into my backpack, and brushed my hair, this time making it into a braid. I went into the storage room, changing my clothes into ones my mother gave me before we left. It was a cute white crop top with a black vest and beige cargo pants. I put my boots back on and looked at myself. I always saw outlanders who wore these, which made me want to dress like them. My mother always told me when I became free I could wear them too. I smiled while putting on the new clothes. As I walked out, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were talking until they noticed me. I smiled and I noticed Ani was wide awake talking to Padme giving her a necklace. Someone has a crush.
I walked over to the Jedi crossing my arms, "Come on you two I don't think I look that different." I looked at a blushing Obi-Wan before he went to the front of the ship.
"Don't mind him. He feels unbalanced when you're around." Qui-Gon smiled. "Come, let me show you Coruscant, we just arrived."
I muttered behind him, feeling unbalanced as well. I dragged my brother away from Padme to come to see the new planet we were on. We walked into the cockpit and the man I saw yesterday smiled at us while Anakin stood behind him. I stood beside Obi-Wan, who quickly glanced at me but said nothing. The man next to Anakin explained that the entire planet is one big city. I stared at it in awe as other ships passed us. We approached a landing platform and slowly descended for landing. I bounced, not being able to contain my excitement as I dragged Anakin to the ramp.
"Stay close to us young ones." Qui-Gon informed us. "Senator Palpatine is greeting us, so no wandering off." Anakin stayed close to me as we followed the Jedi off of the ship. The Queen and her entourage followed right behind us. As we walked off, I looked around with a smile on my face, keeping in step as I walked behind Obi-Wan and Anakin behind Qui-Gon. Jar Jar was on the other side of Ani as the two Jedi bowed to the older men. The one on the left was in brown clothes, while the man on the right was all in black. I bowed my head, making Ani do the same just as Qui-Gon took Ani moving to the side. Obi-Wan grabbed my hand and pulled me along as well, keeping me behind him, while Anakin stood in front of Qui-Gon. The men talked to the Queen, expressing their concern for her. The one in brown, Chancellor Valorum I believe his name was, expressed his honor of meeting her Highness.
They began to walk off, and Anakin followed them making me almost follow as well. However, before I could even take one step, Obi-Wan grabbed my hand to stop me, shaking his head. Chancellor Velorum stayed behind as well, making Qui-Gon turn to him. "I must speak with the Jedi Council Immediately." He glanced at me quickly, "The situation has become much more complicated."
I felt Anakin get nervous and it made me look at him. He stood there looking at all of us. Padme called him over, but he ignored her looking at me. "Ani, go with them. I'll catch up." the Chancellor looked at me for the first time. Anakin finally went with Padme, as I watched them get on a shuttle flying off. The Chancellor kept his eye on me as Qui-Gon introduced me.
"This is Kida Skywalker. That little boy is her brother, they were slaves from Tatooine. I really must speak to the council." Qui-Gon urged.
The Chancellor nodded his head and guided us to a separate shuttle, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and I all sat on the same bench. I looked out as we flew off. Tall buildings quickly leave my sight, along with other ships.
"Why isn't Anakin with us?" I turned to look at Qui-Gon
"He is safer with the queen. Jar Jar will most likely watch him." He looked out the window.
"He's not a little kid that needs babysitting. You didn't want him with us, why?" I pushed the question. Obi-Wan shifted in his seat, but I didn't take my eyes off Qui-Gon.
"There is no fooling you." He sighed, "Anakin doesn't need to be around the council just yet. You have a higher midi-chlorian count than your brother. I want them to meet you first, I also need to inform them of the situation we encountered before we left." he looked away from me to stare ahead. We were approaching a humongous tower. The blood sample Qui-Gon took on the balcony must be what he was referring to. I remembered him mentioning the midi-chlorians but I didn't know what he did with the sample after he was done examining it. I guess this was it. How high was my count?
"Over twenty-thousand." Obi-Wan whispered to me. I looked down at our hands and realized Obi-Wan hadn't released my hand since we boarded the shuttle. With this recollection, I sat quietly for the rest of the trip, amazed by all the buildings and how busy this planet seemed. Except it wasn't nearly as hot as Tatooine, I shivered as the wind hit us. Obi-Wan took his robe off, handing it over to me to put on. I smiled, thanking him as I put it on. His hand found mine yet again.
We landed next to a tall tower, Qui-Gon told me this was their headquarters. It looked like a metal tower that was the shape of a rocket on top of an oddly shaped box. Interesting shape of a building if I had to say so myself. We walked into the elevator and worked our way up to the top of the tower. Qui-Gon had us wait outside, while he went in first. I took the opportunity to look at Obi-Wan. I took off the robe, and handed it back to him.
"Thank you for this. I'm still getting used to the cold air." I smiled at him, grateful for his kindness. Obi-Wan took it back silently, as he put it back on himself. I sensed him feeling nervous. "Did I do something to upset you?".
Obi-Wan sighed, "No, Kida," he looked at me with his arms crossed, "Being a Jedi isn't easy. You cannot have any relationships. Not with your family or if you develop feelings for someone. You have to be prepared to take a life." I could feel him trying to keep his emotions in check. However, I felt him struggling. From what I didn't know.
"I'm prepared to fight for what I believe in." I said honestly, "Even if that involves taking someone's life. If it can save millions I'll gladly take a life to do that."
"My whole life I've followed the rules. I never felt the need to break the Jedi code. Now, I feel conflicted."
"Conflicted over what?" Before he could answer, Qui-Gon came back into the room. The way he looked at us, it was as if he knew what we were talking about. He gestured for me to follow him. Before I did, I turned to Obi-Wan, "You're not the only one who feels conflicted."
Inside the small room, twelve people sat in chairs. The one who stood out to me was a small green alien with big pointy ears that stuck out on the side of his head. He looked like he had claws too. I have to say he looked cute with his tiny robe and cane. Next to him was an intimidating-looking man with dark skin, in the same clothing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan wore. In fact, all of them were dressed the exact same way.
"You're all Jedis." I looked around at everyone. Obi-Wan came in quietly standing behind me.
"Smart, she is." the green one looked me over. They all looked at me like I was a foreign creature, ready to be dissected.
"Her name is Kida Skywalker. She was able to feel the individual with whom I spoke to you before. He was trained in the Jedi Arts, my only conclusion can be that it was a Sith Lord."
The man who sat next to the little green guy was the first to speak up. His head was oval-shaped and he had a grey beard, "That's impossible. The Sith have been extinct for a millennium." The Jedi with the dark skin on the right of the cute tiny green guy didn't think that the Sith could return without them knowing.
"Are you talking about the black and red-faced man we saw on Tatooine?" I wasn't expecting them to stop talking when I asked my question.
"Seen him before, you have, hmm?" The green alien looked at me with great interest again. Almost as if the news was the best thing he heard of in ages.
"Yes, I have. In dreams and when Qui-Gon taught me how to meditate."
"Tell us about him, you will." he ordered.
So I did. I told them all about my meditation dreams, and my nightmares. I even touched on dreaming about Obi-Wan, just not what we did. I only told them about the dream I had with the red beams. They looked disturbed by this. Occasionally they looked at each other and whispered. I had no idea what any of these dreams were. What had worried me was the dream about Qui-Gon. They explained to me that the Dark side was evil. They relied on anger, fear, and aggression. The light side of the force or "Ashla" as they also called it, relied on honesty, compassion, mercy, and self-sacrifice, something I believed in and showed on a daily basis.
"Afraid you are not." the green alien spoke again.
"I'm not afraid of a lot of things. Only myself." I tucked my hands behind my back, hiding my fidgeting from all the Jedi watching me.
It was the man sitting on the right that spoke this time, asking me why I was afraid of myself. It was an honest question, and they probably had never heard what I said before. I looked to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan who both nodded and had me explain.
"Anakin and I always had special powers as my mother called it. I developed mine first. A group of kids were picking on me, and when I got angry, I pushed them all away from me, and I hurt one of them. I couldn't explain how I did it without even touching them. I was eight when it happened. As I got older, It was even harder to control my emotions so I learned to turn them off. Nothing bad happened if I didn't feel anything. When Anakin was born, I learned new things. I could fix or move things with my hands if I really focused. I started having dreams around ten years old. I met all of you, and I became a Jedi, the best fighter and pilot anyone has ever seen. My brother started developing his powers and I've been trying my best to teach him, but even I'm limited. He has no issues with his emotions. I would rather it be this way, he's only nine years old, and he doesn't understand any of this. But both of our dreams led us here."
Just as a demonstration, I felt myself lose control, and the window behind the little green alien crack, made everyone gasp looking at what I was capable of doing.
The little green alien was the first to speak, "Test you, we will." he looked to the rest of the Jedi, "Very strong with the force, you are. Feel it, I can."
"As for the person you encountered on Tatooine," the man on the right explained, not taking his eyes off me, "we will use all our resources to uncover the mystery and identify the attacker, May the force be with you." Again with that strange saying.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed and left the room, leaving me with the council. I turned to the Jedi council, a bit nervous but I was ready to pass any test they gave me. Asking if I was ready, we began the test. At first, they had me pick up a piece of a lightsaber. I had been doing that on the ship so this was easy. What I wasn't expecting were the questions. I wasn't afraid of anything, only losing my family. However, the little green alien saw right through me. The first question was innocent, asking how I felt, which I answered. Being used to the heat on Tatooine didn't do me justice here, it wasn't as cold as I expected until the sun went down, but I was cold. The next question caught me off guard, they told me I was scared.
"Your thoughts dwell on your brother." a man with white hair looked into my mind. I tried my best to block them out.
"I'm worried about him." I let out a sigh as I fidgeted with my fingers, "I know he misses our mother. When Anakin is afraid, he tries to fix everything he can and then blames himself when he can't. Not what you would expect from a nine-year-old." I looked at the entire Jedi Council. "I had a vision of a man going to save our mother who got taken by a group of people. I don't see his face or the people who took her, but he's tall, and has a Jedi robe."
"Your brother, you think this man is." The alien spoke first, reading my thoughts.
I nodded my head, "I've never seen Anakin lose his temper, he lets his frustrations out on fixing the pods we used to race on Tatooine. Now we're on a strange planet, away from home. No offense, but the change is a big thing for a kid. I'm hoping we both get trained if you want me to be honest. I'm afraid of what he'll do if I get picked and he doesn't. I'll only train if my brother can as well."
"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering, which is the path to the dark side." the man explained on the right. "Be mindful of your feelings."
The next test, the man named Windu gave. He held up a metal screen and asked me to tell him what ships were on the screen without me looking. I had to dig through his mind with the force to figure it out. The first one was a regular ship, then a speeder, and then another regular ship. Yoda told me this test helped establish where my force sensitivity was. After my test was completed they asked for my brother Anakin. I reminded them, I wouldn't be trained unless they accepted my brother as well.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were walking my way when I left the council room and saw Anakin running to me. "Did you pass your test, Kida?"
"I don't know, I was just about to come find you, they wish to meet you."
Qui-Gon entered the room with Ani while Obi-Wan and I stayed outside. I walked to the balcony, letting the wind hit me. The sun was setting and it was incandescent. The wind hit me, making me shiver and I felt someone put a robe on me. I turned to see Obi-Wan smiling as he looked to watch the sunset with me.
"What you said before, about being conflicted." I started but he interrupted, never taking his eyes off the sunset.
"I'm very obedient with the Jedi code, no attachments to family or lovers. Never train anyone that's too old-"
"What do you mean too old?"
"If you already have attachments, those are hard to break. You are considered too old. The Jedi train younglings very young before they can grow attachments."
I felt devastated by this. "So then Anakin and I won't be Jedis." I stated plainly, letting my anger get the better of me, "Anakin has his attachment to me and our mother who we will never see again. And I have my attachments."
"You and Anakin will be trained." Qui-Gon interrupted us. He put his hand on my shoulder, "You had a Midi-Chlorian count higher than twenty-thousand and your brother's count was just slightly lower. They would be fools to not have you two trained."