Tales of the Jedi: TALE OF BAKKOU

Chapter 1. Broken Jedi

Mere Weeks After the Battle of Christophsis...

   Having received his Padawan braid, The blonde-haired Bakkou finds himself in a Republic Rear Guard Encampment; lying down on a makeshift bed while sleeping in his tent. During his slumber, the lad overhears something through the force. It is the sound of a woman screaming in fear. Soon, the sound of a firing blaster can be heard through the force as well. Suddenly, the lad is woken up when a fellow Padawan calls his name. "General Bakkou," the other Padawan says. It is the black-haired Clodd of Ethosia who also recently received his Padawan braid. "Sorry for the wake-up call, but I have business elsewhere by order of the Council. Mind holding down the fort?"

   Still troubled by his vision, Bakkou hesitates before saying "Y-yeah, sure. Do what you need to do, brother."

   Clodd nods and says "Much ablidged."

   As his fellow Padawan leaves the tent, Bakkou's R3 Mech beeps and the boy himself replies "Hmph. I'm fine, R3. I just...I just need a minute." He then takes a long breath before getting out of bed. R3 then beeps with uncertainty. "No. I'm okay." The lad says again. "I had a bad dream. That's all...I think."

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Outside...

   As Clodd takes off in his one person vessel along with his astromech, Bakkou exits the tent along with his own R3 unit, and walks over to one of the Clone Troopers. "Hey, Sergeant," he says.

   "Good day, Sir." the Clone replies.

   The Young Padawan then inquires "Did Clodd happen to mention what exactly his orders were from the Council?"

   The trooper shakes his head. "No, General. Only said it was 'Jedi Business'."

   "'Jedi Business'? Why am I not surprised?" Bakkou says in a sarcastic tone. "It hasn't even been a month since we both trained under Master Yoda, and Clodd is already keeping secrets."

   The clone lets out a chuckle. "Yeah, that is pretty wild now isn't it?"

   After a short pause, the young Jedi's expression turns serious. "Look, Sarge. I know I make jokes about the Jedi Council sometimes, but have you ever heard the old saying that 'Truth is often said in jest'?"

   The Clone Sergeant is taken aback by this. "Uh...No, I haven't...actually."

   "Long story short, the Council doesn't always get it right." Bakkou continues. "Some of the Order's best people were lost due to their poor decision making. Qui-Gon gets killed in action...Yaddle leaves and is never seen or heard from again...Both these incidents could've been avoided if the Council had only done the right thing."

   "Really? Where did you hear all this from?" The trooper asks.

   "It's no secret that the council never trusted Qui-Gon," Bakkou replies sincerely. "He was one of the good ones, and among the very few who were willing to go against tradition. By Qui-Gon's own word, he discovered the presence of a Sithlord, and the council did nothing! After Qui-Gon's death, Yaddle left the order and disappeared without a trace. Nobody ever found out what happened to her. And then just in the past few weeks, Master Cann told me about Kamino where you clones were created, and Master Obi-wan's investigation." The boy scratches his head. "Now, no offense to you or anything but..."

   The clone cuts him off saying "It's alright."

   Bakkou then continues. "...An entire planet goes missing from the archives without anyone noticing until just recently? It reeks of incompetence."

   At this moment, the lad's Comm Link goes off and he answers it. "Yes?" He says aloud. "Yeah this is he..." The young Jedi rubs the back of his head. "No. Not in the past two weeks." Bakkou is seemingly taken aback by what he hears from the other end of the conversation. "Wha-? What?" The lad's expression turns sad. "Oh...okay. Um...w-what exactly did she die of?" At this point, Bakkou is seemingly overwhelmed with horror and shock. "W-Wha-? No...No. No way!" As the conversation ends, the young Jedi heads back over to his tent without saying a word. R3 beeps worriedly.

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Later That Day...

   Clodd returns to the encampment along with his own R3 Mech.  As soon as he exits the vessel, he salutes two of the clone troopers before heading over to Bakkou's tent along with R3. Once there, Clodd finds that the tent is empty. "Damn. He's not here." Clodd says before his mech starts beeping worriedly. "Yeah, I feel you buddy." The lad then walks over to one of the clones and says "Hey. Have you seen General Bakkou?"

   "Uhh...he-he's meditating over there, Sir," The clone says pointing in the direction of a fruit tree.

   Clodd looks over and he sees Bakkou, but he also notices that his friend's R3 companion isn't with him at the moment. "Huh...that's strange. Where's his R3 Unit?"

   "Doing maintenance right now," the clone says. "Seemed like the boy needed space, so I put the droid to work for the time being."

   Clodd looks in the opposite direction from where he saw Bakkou, and sure enough he sees his friend's mech doing maintenance. The lad looks at his own droid and gestures for the mech to follow him. "Come on," he says silently. Clodd and R3 make their way over to the fruit tree. "Hey, Bakkou," the boy says. "Are you alright?" His fellow padawan doesn't respond. "I-I just got back from-."

   Suddenly Bakkou interjects in a cold tone. "My mom is dead. She was murdered."

   This statement takes Clodd by surprise. With a sad look on his face, he sincerely says "Ohh. I'm...sorry to hear that. Um...When did you hear-?"

   "Soon after you left," Bakkou interjects again. "I was contacted by local law enforcement in her area."

   Bakkou's fellow padawan nods. "Hmm." Then he takes a moment to think while pacing off to the side. "Is a wake being prepped?"

   Clodd's friend glances sideways. "Yeahh."

   "Can you...tell me where or when it's happening, or-?"

   Bakkou shakes his head. "Doesn't matter. The council wouldn't let me go there even if I asked em."

   Bakkou's fellow Padawan lets out a sigh. "Yeah...Yeah that's true." Clodd rubs the back of his head. "I wish there was...something I could do, but I'm already on thin ice with the council."

   Bakkou himself nods. "Yeah, that's right," he says in a stark tone. "Your uncle put you in a tough spot by taking you in as a Padawan." He lets out a breath and shakes his head. Then with bitterness and discontent in his voice, the boy says "At least you have an uncle...and your...mom and dad are still on your home planet. Meanwhile the only family I have left is the Jedi Order...for what little that's worth." With Bakkou's face turned away, Clodd doesn't notice that his friend's eyes are reddened from tears.