Star Wars: The Jedi Revolt

Chapter Four: Rebuilding The Jedi Order

Master Kosh stood on a balcony inside the restored Jedi Temple. He was short and green, specifically a mildewy color. Kosh wore simple blue ropes that signified his rank as a Jedi master. He sat, cross-legged, meditating on his state of being. 

From his spot on the balcony, he had a perfect view of the archives — the grey steel databanks dotted with millions of blue data crystals. They contained countless eons of Jedi knowledge, and unsurprisingly, the data banks stretched out for miles. There were many levels for patrons to stroll through the maze of information. All held up by elegant stone columns etched in dead languages; no one alive knew how to read.

The data crystals could be physically removed like the ancient books of human libraries, but that information was also stored in many servers across the temple. One could access all of it through one of the temples many secure terminals. 

The Emperor had dedicated thousands of droids to mine through the information for secrets lost to history. It's part of the reason he had made this building his palace during the reign of the Empire. He did not trust organics with the archives, and in his paranoia, had purged all information he deemed too dangerous to save. Over 14% of the files had been lost during his reign. 

It had been such a waste and for nothing. The Emperor was dead. His asphyxiated body recovered from the depths of space, severed from the force, and incinerated. Kosh had overseen the force purification ceremony personally. The Emperor's essence wanted to live. It called out to everyone there, trying, begging to transfer into another being, and they told it no. They cut Darth Sidious's essence into nothingness, not even permitting him to return to the force. It was a cruel fate done only a handful of times in Jedi history. 

Was it right? 

Was this what balance looked like? 

These were dangerous thoughts. Doubt led to fear, and fear and anger led to the dark side. There could be no regrets. Kosh let out a heavy sigh and pushed these wicked thoughts aside. He was a Jedi Master in control of his emotions. 

Everything was fine. The Jedi Temple was restored. Jedi Knights had returned from their hiding places throughout the galaxy. Thousands of younglings had enrolled in classes to learn the ways of the force. Even the red carpets and drapery that decorated these halls during his youth had been restored. 

It was like nothing had changed.

Through the force, Kosh could feel footsteps approaching him. A Jed Knight named Tuvan was coming to him with anxiety and fear. He was drenched in it like a fish in the ocean. 

"Knight Tuvan, what concerns you?" asked Master Kosh.

Tuvan made his way in front of Kosh. He was human in his late twenties. He was taller than Kosh but at 4 foot 8, much shorter than the typical member of his race. He had brown robes and kept his hair short and simple. His voice was hoarse but steady. 

Tuvan had spent most of his time during the Galactic Civil War in an imperial spice mine as an enslaved worker. His connection to the force was probably the only reason he had survived. He was now training at the temple well past the ideal age of tutelage, and with that came certain temptations. 

He bowed. "Greetings, master. I wanted to ask for your advice?" Tuvan said in a level monotone. 

"You are nervous. Something has filled you with worry. What help do you require?" 

"I have have been having feelings, Master. There was a miner I served with during the war." 

Kosh could see the miner in Tuvan's mind. He was an emerald green Twi'lek with a warm smile. "He has contacted you," spoke Kosh. 

He could feel this man's pain, his lust. He wanted to contact him, and worse, be given permission to do so.  Kosh gently grabbed hold of Tuvan's hands, preparing to deliver this information delicately. "Want is natural, but as Jedi, we must cast aside these desires. Feel these thoughts, and set them aside."

"Of course, master." Tuvan showed no outward sign of disapproval, but his heart dropped. This was not the advice that he had wanted to hear. 

Kosh staggered back from the Knights' sadness. The room spiraled around him, and everything became so incredibly heavy. It felt like wearing a weighted coat on a humid day. The depression was too much. Kosh's defenses fell, and everything came rushing in as a flooded jumble of images.

He saw Tuvan's childhood home burned by actors in the Galactic Civil War. The wooden hut of his parents was in tatters. His father was lying on the ground, unconscious. His mother dumped him into a decommissioned power converter to hide from storm troopers destroying everything in his village. He was alone and sad, and then the doors opened, and white gloves reached inside. 

He then saw Tuvans Twi'lek friend in the spice mines. His name was Omap. Tuvan had fallen onto the floor, and Omap held out his hand to help. Tuvan was hesitant to take it, and against his better judgment, he accepted. He felt Omap's firm grip pull him up off the cold ramp. They briefly embraced in a hug that felt like it lasted a lifetime. 

Tuvan's cheeks flushed red, and even though everything was terrible, he couldn't help but smile. The happiness ended moments later. The two were jolted apart as their shock collars buzzed violently.  

The scene around Kosh shifted once more to his own memory. He was hiding in the outer rim in a deteriorating Jedi Temple during the war. He scraped mushrooms off the walls of a murky cave. Kosh collected water that dripped from stalagmites. His search for subsistence interrupted only by sleep and training. 

Day after day, he waited for the force to call him to action, but it never came. The war waged and won as he waited for voices that never spoke to him, and it made him so angry and resentful. His green hands scratched marks into the wall as he counted another dull day on this nowhere world. He wanted to make someone hurt for abandoning him here. He wanted them to suffer. 

"I see so much sadness," said Master Kosh softly, as he pulled himself away from Tuvan. The bond between them had been severed, and his control returned.

"Master, are you alright?" the Jedi Knight said with concern. 

"Yes, even I can be susceptible to emotion," Kosh said, devoid of feeling. "I can see that fear and anger over the past weigh on you deeply, but you are not alone. The Order is here for you."

"That does make me feel better," Tuvan said. The man let out a deep breath and thought of his future as a Jedi Master in control of his emotions. He smiled at this image and his depression started to break.  "I will try to push them aside."

"Do or do not. There is no try," Kosh responded.

"Of course, master." Tuvan bowed and walked away. Kosh sensed that he seemed lighter and more sure of himself. 

Kosh then turned his attention towards the archive doors. There were younglings who were training just outside of them, and through the force, he could feel that they were consumed by the same kind of fear as Tuvan. 

Kosh smiled. 

He knew exactly how to help them.