A Prince of Dathomir (Darth Maul x OC)

Hunt - Part 1

Contains/Warnings: Death, violence, blood, child death.

So often when the other Masters and Padawans would go out on assignment with their clone battalions, while Farley Korro was left at the Temple to meditate, only hearing about all the action days after it happened.

Not today!

He and Master Avona Teller had been assigned to a small mission, not his first, but among the very few he'd been granted permission to attend alongside Master Teller. He assumed it was because she didn't have enough faith in him yet.

It bothered him sometimes. Yeah, he was still young, but he was a Padawan, not a youngling! Farley was a little frustrated, he wanted to be a good Padawan and an even better Jedi... but he didn't always see eye-to-eye with his Master. She seemed to see the Force differently to him. Maybe it was because she was Umbaran? As a species, they tended to perceive the worlds in a different way to humans. Maybe that was why Farley sometimes found it more difficult to understand his Master?

"Keep up, young one," Master Teller's smooth and calm voice cut through his mind and he realised he'd been lost in thought again. "Keep your mind on what you're doing, my Padawan." I have told you this a thousand times. Her tone was gentle but firm.

"Yes, Master," Farley replied brightly as he adjusted his pack and hurried his pace to catch up. Another thought occurred to him as he reached her side, "Master...?"

"Yes?" Master Teller asked knowingly.

"You're Umbaran."

"Astute observation, Farley," Master Teller replied dryly.

"I mean," he continued, "your people, your homeworld, they're... Separatists."

"They are," she replied with a sage nod.

"Doesn't it bother you? They are your people after all."

"We are Jedi," she began calmly, it was rare she ever raised her voice, though Farley could tell when she was disappointed in him. "We are more than just Separatist or Republic."

"But we serve the Republic," Farley replied, confused.

"Yes we do, but that does not mean we are the Republic," she gestured to the path ahead, "I am Jedi. To be Jedi means the individual and the group are one and the same. We are with the Force and the Force is with us."

"So without the Republic, the Jedi would still exist?" Farley asked, trying to get his head around it.

"Correct."

"So if the Republic were to disappear and something else -"

"A grim thought, but yes, that is the idea," Master Teller conceded. Farley frowned. What would that even look like? A Galaxy with no Republic? He couldn't really picture it. Though, he wasn't sure if he was supposed to, considering his Master was always telling him to remain in the present.

"I guess..." While he was contemplating it, his Master interrupted his distracted thoughts again.

"What is our mission here, Farley?" the Jedi Knight asked serenely. Farley patted the strap of his pack and smiled.

"Delivering aid to the Troopers and civilians." He grinned, as he finally felt a part of the action. Sometimes he felt it wasn't fair. Other Padawans like Barriss Offee and Ahsoka Tano got to go out in the field and have amazing adventures so often. He tried not to feel jealous... but sometimes, he couldn't help it.

Today however, he had the important task of bringing a pack full of rare herbs to a local village so that they could make a very special healing salve, one the Jedi thought lost to time.