Star Wars- A Jedi's Journey One: The Padawan's Struggle

Chapter Nine

I followed in the heels of the Temple Guard, our breaths and bending clothes the only thing lending sound to our brisk walk down one of the halls of The Jedi Temple. I struggled to keep up with the steps of the long-legged guard. They were even taller than Aaron and their green hands let me know, they were no human. "Where are we going?", I asked, my voice breathy. "To the chamber of The High Council". I stopped in my tracks. It took the guard several meters to realize I was no longer beside them. No. No no no. No no no no no. Nope. Nein. No-uh. The Temple Guard turned to look at me. Their mask hid their face and their posture gave me no hints as to their emotions. "Did you just say 'The High Council'?", I asked, my voice shaky. The mask bopped in a nod. My nerves went aflame. All of my senses screamed at me. To the chamber of The High Council. The steering body of The Jedi Order, The Jedi High Council, most commonly referred to as 'The Council', consisted only of the finest Masters, The Jedi Order had to offer. And they were going to pass judgment on me? I was suddenly hyper-aware that at least two members of the High Council, Master Plo Koon and Master Kenobi, knew, I had harmed Youngling Starrl severely. What if disqualifying me from the tournament was not enough? What if they had changed the rules at the last second, deciding that outbreaks like mine were offenses only punished by expulsion from The Order? "Am I in trouble?", asking couldn't hurt, could it? The distorted voice did not ring with any answers as the hallway was laid in silence. Great. No answer. Once more, our clothes and huffs of breath were our only source of sound. We slowly started to ascend, letting me know, we were getting closer to the center of The Jedi Temple. The Jedi Temple had been built upon a Coruscanti mountain, the fortress-like and austere building sprung from the sides of a mountain covered by buildings and monuments on all its slopes with The Jedi Temple cresting on its peak. The Jedi Temple itself consisted of 5 towers, each inhabited by its own council and a foundation, which housed an almost unlimited number of classrooms, dueling grounds, sleeping quarters, a Grand Temple hall accessible to the public, training rooms. I had not visited all of them. The Temple Guard gestured for me to enter an elevator. The High Council tower, the temple's south-eastern tower, which held the chamber of The High Council, was built around the summit of The Sacred Spire, the aptly named mountain that gave foundation to my elevated home. As such, elevators were added for those of us, who did not wish to spend two hours climbing stairs, which my clan had once done. Master Quare had wanted to 'test our resiliance'. Aaron had reached the top first, no surprise there. I let out a scoff thinking of the pride, which had shone off of my best friend that day. The Temple Guard turned their head in my direction. I smiled innocently. No, I'm definitely not insane. No need to look twice.

Minutes later, I stood facing the grand door that would open to The Jedi High Council chamber. Temple Guards stood in every crevice in the huge high-ceiling entrance hall surrounding me. I was allowed a single attempt at a calming, deep breath before the Jedi Temple Guard pushed open the door with the force, then placing themself in an empty crevice. I was afforded a full view of the entire High Council. I felt like a bantha caught in the front lights of a speeder mind reeling. Twelve people's eyes were fixated solely on me. My body refused the orders of my mind, standing frozen on the spot. By the force, do something! Finally, I managed a rigid bow, my voice timid and tiny as I spoke: "Greetings Masters. You summoned me". A human with dark skin, whom I recognized as Master Windu, beckoned me closer in an almost arrogant motion. I stepped into the room, trying to dampen the fear that made my steps falter halfway. Master Plo Koon and Master Kenobi sat in their respective chairs. Oh no. No, that won't do. If I'm to receive punishment, I will do so with my head held high. I did not, in fact, manage to hold my head high for long. Looking at the twelve austerely faced Masters seemed impossible, so I was stuck staring at the pattern on the floor. That's when I realized, there was a 14. person in the room. The force pulled at me in a recognizable way. A pair of boots blocked my path. I looked up and up and up and my eyes met General Swift's. What in Coruscant's name was he doing here? Had he delivered a witness account on my break of protocol? He sent me an assessive look. Oh no, I had not addressed him with my greeting. I dropped a stiff bow for him too. "Apologies, General Swift, I didn't see you were present". All the warmth of our earlier conversation was gone. If there had even been any warmth in it. I rose, when the General gave me a tiny nod. I turned away from him and faced Master Windu. He held the lucrative title of Master of The Order and was The High Council's leader. "Youngling Moon. We have trustworthy testimonies that - ". Oh no. They were going to punish me. Just hurry up and tell me the consequences. I had no nerve to listen to any meaningless words. Please, please, please, just get to the point. Tell me, what punishment I must wade through. " - You are an abnormally strong healer". Huh? Out of everything he could have said, that was the very last thing, I would have expected. I stared at Master Windu. "I am?", I questioned. Wauv. When given a compliment by one of the highest ranked Jedi, immediately question it. Great idea. The Master lifted his one eyebrow so artfully, I could never hope to replicate it. "Erh, yes, yes I am. Thank you, Master Windu". I did not sound confident in the least. I caught several Masters of The High Council exchanging worried glances. Master Kenobi cleared his throat, his words spoken with a familiar clip: "Well, as you know, Youngling Moon, we are at war. The number of injured clone troopers grows exponentially. We need healers on the battlefield". Did he just imply they would be sending me off to war? Was that why General Swift was here - Was I going on a mission with him? I wasn't sure what to think. I was excited at the idea that I might be going on a mission, but not so giddy at the thought of why I was going. "You want me to go to war?", I gulped. My throat stayed stubbornly dry. Was this my punishment? "Yes, but, more precisely, we want you to go to war with General Swift", a humanoid male with an incredibly large forehead said - I thought his name was Master Mundi. So, things, I'd already deducted myself. "If this is punishment for what I did to Youngling Starrl, I promise, there are better ways to do that", I blurted out with a plea. Of course, when given an opportunity to impress THE General Swift, immediately squash it. Sooooo clever. "Erh, no offense, General Swift", I sent him a look over my shoulder, only to catch a dying glimpse of humor in his eyes. "None taken", he said briskly adding a wave of his hand to indicate, we should continue the conversation. "You think we summoned you because of what you did to Youngling Starrl?", Master Plo Koon asked, his tone conveying surprise. I stared at the floor. What had I gotten wrong? "Yes?". I did not let my gaze wander up to look at their faces. The force let me know, they were silently communicating with glances. I let myself focus on The Force, using its ever-lasting presence to comfort me. I was immediately covered in a warm blanket of soothing signals from The Force. "Do not worry, things like that are expected to happen at these tournaments. Why do you think the healer was so close by?", Master Plo Koon asked. I blew out a long breath. I hadn't thought of it like that. I wasn't in trouble. But then why were they sending me to war? Seeing the expression of realization on my face, Master Plo Koon continued. "You are not here to receive judgment. You are here because your healing abilities are remarkable. We want you to fight in the war. We want you to do so alongside General Swift". Wait a minute - Did he imply, they wanted me to - "As his apprentice". My jaw dropped. Not even just figuratively. "So. Youngling Moon, do you want to be the apprentice of Jedi Knight Curra Swift?". Yes, most definitely. "Ye-yes". Why was I stammering? "General Swift, please proceed with the apprenticeship rite", said one of the masters, I did not recognize. I stood very still. What was I supposed to do? Assumably, I'd have to do something in the apprenticeship rite, since I was to be the apprentice. It dawned on me, that although I had seen Aaron accept Master Drime's proposal for apprenticeship, I had not seen them do the rite. They must have done so in private as I had heard was custom. And of course, I was the unlucky idiot, who was gonna have to showcase my ignorance in front of The High Council. I still couldn't quite wrap my head around my current situation. I had thought, I was summoned to be punished, then I was told, they wanted me to become General Swift's apprentice. Wait - Was I supposed to call him Master or did he prefer 'General'? Ooh, maybe I got to call him Curra, the same way Aaron called Master Drime 'Lon' or 'Master Lon'? My new Master cleared his throat. Or soon-to-be Master, since we hadn't done the rite yet. "Padawan Moon, I'm gonna have to ask you to kneel down, facing me". I was so grateful, he took the wheel on this one, I all but scraped my knees on the floor. I looked at his boots. They were pretty worn, actually. "Now, I shall take out your ponytail and braid a small piece of your hair. Ready, Padawan Moon?" came from above me. I nodded rigorously, my eagerness coming to the surface. My hair fell down, blocking my vision in a glory of a brown rat's nest. When was the last time I washed my hair? On top of that, twitches and mud was still stuck in my hair from my earlier frolicking in the grass. I bit my tongue, hoping General Swift didn't find it disgusting. I tried to understand my predicament whilst General Swift braided a small part of my hair with surprising agility and strictly controlled moves; I was to be someone's apprentice. I was to be General Swift's apprentice. But, General Swift hadn't wanted an apprentice and his hand muscles were clearly flexed while he braided my hair. He had had a meeting with The High Council before me. They must have asked him to do this. My eagerness started to subside, but I soon found that it didn't completely disappear. Regardless of General Swift's wants, I was now his apprentice. General Swift put the hair tie, I had used for my ponytail, into my new braid, which was still in The General's hand. "Stay still", The General ordered, adjusting my braid. I did and I felt his hand on my shoulder soon thereafter. "Rise, my apprentice". Joy jolted through me, making me scramble up immediately. Instead of looking at me, General Swift stiffly turned to the council members, his back impossibly straight. In a window behind the chairs, I saw his stance more clearly and it was clearly a warrior's pose. "You are dismissed", Master Windu said to General Swift. "Thank you, esteemed Masters. Have a good day", General Swift said, his tone clipped, bowed, turned on his heel and strode out of the room. I was still stunned from the events of the day, so it took me a minute before I did the same with the reasoning, that an apprentice followed their master.