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Reca Selda stood in her playroom watching her young son and new foster son play. After her friends, Sono and Kugi Windu, had died tragically in the Jungle that surrounded their small town, the korun had taken in their young son. She didn’t think the human boy fully understood what had happened. Mace was only 18 months old, a year younger than her son, Zur.
Mace worried her. He had always been a bit odd, even when his parents were around. He never looked at anyone, never smiled, didn’t seem to recognize his name. He never made any noise and his mother had been upset that he had never said “mama”. But according to the doctors, he was perfectly healthy and was probably just a little behind his peers.
And now he was crying. Reca rushed over to him, where he was screaming and Zur was looking on confused holding- ah that was it. “Zur! We don’t take people's things without asking.”
Her son frowned. “But I just wanted to play with him! He never plays with me.” He said, holding onto the small blue and yellow knit tooka doll. This doll, which Kugi had knitted for Mace when he had been three months old and named Nibbs, was the only thing the boy would play with. He would sit for hours, staring at it, squeezing its limbs, and stroking the soft cloth.
“Give it back Zur.” Reca said sternly as Mace only got louding, sobbing as he reached his chubby baby hands towards the toy. “Give it back and apologize.”
Her son scowled and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything the Tooka doll was pulled from his hands and flew through the air into the waiting arms of Mace, where he promptly stopped crying and dragged himself away from the pair (Scooching along the floor, as he couldn’t walk yet) to happily go back to running his hands along Nibbs’ fabric.
Zur started crying and Reca stared at the baby, unable to process what she just saw. Her wife was still at work, but she knew that she had to call her. She scooped Zur up, leaving Mace to play as they only ever picked him up if it was necessary since he would scream bloody murder if anyone touched him.
She ran to the kitchen, which was right next to the playroom and could see Mace from where she stood. She picked up her com and called Sissa, who answered after two rings.
“Yes love?” Sissa said, distracted.
“Something weird just happened with Mace.” Reca said, panicked, trying to calm her son down.
“Is everything all right?” Sissa said, now more focused on her wife.
“You just need to come home. Zur won’t stop crying.”
“Woah, woah. Calm down. Everything will be fine.” Her wife said and Reca could hear her getting up from her desk. “Just tell me what happened.”
Zur was starting to calm down, hiccuping. “Mace made Nibbs fly!” He said, his voice teary.
Reca wiped her son's nose with a tissue and said, “I don’t know what to do Sissa. One moment Zur had the doll in his hands and the next it was flying through the air to Mace.”
“Don’t worry.” Sissa said. “I’m on my way. I’ll be home in five minutes.”
Reca went back to the playroom and put Zur back down when he was completely calm. He went back to scribbling on a sheet of flimsi with crayons. She paced around the room, glancing at the two boys, hoping to spot something that would explain what had happened. It couldn’t have been the wind, as it was a still day with not even a breeze. She had no idea what could have caused it, she had never seen anything like it.
When Sissa arrived home, she immediately rushed to the playroom and gave a relieved sigh when she saw that both boys were okay.
“I see that everyone’s okay now.” She said, giving her wife a kiss on the forehead. “Maybe we should call Doctor Gisnen?” She suggested. “They might know what to do?”
They called the doctor and were scheduled to see them the next day. They told them they had an idea of what was going on, but they’d need to do a blood test to check. Sissa took the day off the day of the appointment. She worked as an accountant, making records of all the sales done to other towns, at the town hall.
The doctor’s office was small, since there was only one doctor in their tiny town of a thousand people. There was only one other person in the clinic, old Mr. Vomtu, who had owned the little restaurant/bar in the town for decades. They sat in the small children’s area, where Doctor Gisnen kept some toys for the little ones. They had left Zur with their neighbor for the afternoon who had been happy to watch him.
They sat in the waiting room, Mace sitting in a chair with his stuffed Tooka. They had been there for twenty minutes when Lisia Vonfen, the young lady who worked as a nurse and receptionist and apprentice for the doctor, called them into one of the two exam rooms. They entered the room, picking up Mace even though he attempted to squirm out of Reca’s arms. She set him down on the exam table, where he went back to playing with Nibbs.
Doctor Gisnen entered the room and softly closed the door behind themself. “Hello.” They said, shaking the women’s hands. “So, I want to do a blood test.” They were never one for pleasantries and always got straight down to business.
“Why?” Reca asked.
“I want to test young Mace’s mitochondria levels.” They said. “I believe he may be Force sensitive.”
Sissa worried at her lip. “What’s that mean?” She asked.
“It means he would be able to do things like move a stuffed Tooka without touching it.” They answered. “If I’m right and he is Force sensitive then there are several resources I can connect you with. But we’ll worry about it after we do that test.” The two women quickly gave their consent.
They went up to Mace and said, in a much more animated voice, “Okay little one! I just need to take a tiny bit of blood. I know you don’t like being touched so I’ll be really, really quick.” Mace didn’t look up. He was wearing a sleeveless top, as was common on Haruun Kal since it was so hot, so Doctor Gisnen didn’t even need to roll up a sleeve. They quickly poked the boy’s arm, taking a small blood sample and he promptly burst into tears. Reca rushed to the boy, attempting to calm him down with one of the toys she had packed in case of just this event.
The test was finished before Mace had finished crying. Doctor Gisnen let out a low whistle, looking up from the screen. “It looks like I was right.” They said. “Mace seems to have a midichlorian count of 17,000. It’s the highest I’ve ever seen.”
“What’s a normal level?” Sissa asked.
“You and I,” they said, “we’ve got about a count of 500 to maybe 1,000.” They gestured to Mace, who had calmed down. “Mace here is extremely Force sensitive.”
“So what do we do?” Reca asked from her place sitting on the exam table next to Mace.
“Well,” Doctor Gisnen said. “The first thing you should do is contact the Jedi, they take in Force sensitive children like Mace and if you don’t want to give him up, then they will give you advice on raising a Force sensitive child.” They pulled something up on the small holotable in the exam room. “I’m friendly with a Jedi Healer that worked on Haruun Kal a few years ago. She’s a kiffar woman called Sah Vozox. She’ll send a Jedi to come help.”
“Thank you so much Doctor.” Sissa said as she picked up Mace, the little boy still fussing. “Please tell the Jedi thank you for us.”
Knight Ruli Ges arrived on Haruun Kal three days after the Order had gotten a missive about a Force sensitive child. She had been a seeker for almost five years and she loved it. She had been a loth cat’s jump from the planet, talking to a family on Naboo. The parents were planning on keeping their child until he was two, but someone was sent ever three months to make sure the baby was okay, since infanticide of Force sensitives was so high.
The baby that she was meeting today was only eighteen months old. He was human and had a very high Midoclorian count, apparently pulling a toy from another child using the Force. His parents had died a month ago in an accident and he was living with two foster mothers. She really hoped the women would allow her to take the child back to the Temple. She liked spending the eight or nine days with the kids to go back to the Temple.
She walked through the town with a skip in her step, greeting the people that she saw. Ruli liked Haruun Kal. There were so many trees! It reminded her of Kashyyyk, even if the tree were a lot smaller. A part of her wanted to take an hour and go climbing. Her Master had always scolded her for climbing too high but she was very tempted. But no. She had a mission.
The town she was in was small, more of a village really. The buildings were made of stone, with wooden roofs. There were plants everywhere, with almost all the houses having beautiful and lush gardens out front.
“Hello!” The Lasat said, stopping one of the locals, a tall, older human woman with dark skin and gray hair in long braids. “My name is Knight Ges, can you tell me where I’d find a baby by the name of Mace Windu.”
The woman nodded. “Of course.” She said. “That poor boy.” She led Ruli through town. “His parents were such nice people, Sono and Kugi. And they were so young.” They moved down what seemed to be the main street. “I’m Nilli by the way.” She introduced. “Everyone's heard that Sissa and Reca called the Jedi.” Nilla looked at her with suspicion. “You are a Jedi right?”
“Yes.” Ruli said.
“Good, good.” She said. “I assumed with your outfit, but you never know. I’ve never seen a Jedi before but Doctor Gisnen has and I trust that kid.” They stopped in front of a house that had purple vines curling up its sides. “This is it. Nice meeting you Jedi.” She said before she walked back to the center of the town.
Ruli knocked on the door and it was almost immediately opened by a younger woman with dark skin and an afro. She seemed frazzled and had an older toddler on her hip, maybe two or three (Ruli had trouble with human ages).
“You’re the Jedi?” She asked. Ruli barely had time to nod before the women pulled her into the small home. “Thank the mother that you’re here. Since the doll, he’s been moving more things.” She paused. “I’m Reka by the way and this is my son Zur.”
The little boy in her arms looked a lot like Reka. He had the same eyes and colored hair. He stared up at the lasat. “You look like a cat.” He said bluntly.
“Zur!” Reka reprimanded but Ruli just laughed.
“I’m a lasat.” She said to the boy, smiling. “Well met Zur.”
He smiled back at her and waved happily.
They entered a small playroom, filled with toys and Zur squirmed out of his mother’s arms. There were two other people in the room, a dark haired woman with space buns and a baby with a Tooka doll.
“This is my wife Sissa and our foster son, Mace Windu.” Reka said. The baby was small and seemed perfectly content with the tooka doll he had. He wasn’t smiling but Ruli could feel his happiness in the Force.
Ruli crouched down in front of Mace. He didn’t look up from what he was doing, very happy with his doll. “Hiya, Mace.” She said, sending her joy to him through the Force. While he didn’t physically react, he sent back a mixture of confusion and a greeting. Ruli stood back up and turned back to the two adults in the room. “Well, he’s definitely Force sensitive.” She said.
“What are we going to do?” Sissa asked, staring at the small boy.
“Well,” Ruli said, “We’re going to go into the kitchen and discuss your options.” She led the couple into the kitchen, the two children left playing within eyesight.
“So,” She started. “You have three options. One,” She held up one finger. “You can give Mace up to the Jedi Order while I’m here, today, where he will be cared for and become a Jedi. Two,” She held up a second finger. “You can keep Mace up until his third birthday, when we’ll take him to the Temple. I’ll come back to Haruun Kal every three months or so to check on him. Or three,” She held up a third finger. “You keep Mace. I’ll give you tips on how to raise a Force sensitive child, but eventually he will lose that sensitivity. You can change your mind and give him to the Order until he’s four.”
“If we give Mace up to the Jedi Order, what will happen to him?” Reka asked, looking over her shoulder at the toddler.
“He’ll be raised at the Temple at Coruscant in a Clan of five to eight other children of all different species and genders under the care of a Jedi Crechemaster. Between the ages of 10 to 16 he will be chosen by a Jedi Master or Knight as their padawan or student in Basic. After he’s 12, he can choose to leave the Order and come back to Haruun Kal or go to a school on Coruscant. He will be financially supported by the Order until he reaches majority.”
“Does that happen often?” Sissa asked.
“No.” Ruli said. “It’s extremely rare. Most people that leave the Order leave as senior padawans - older than 16 - or as knights.” The two wives nodded. “If he completes his training, he will become a knight and most likely will go into some sort of speciality.”
“What are the different specialities?”
Ruli paused trying to remember them all. “There’s a lot.” She laughed slightly. “There’re Jedi like me - Finders - who look for Force sensitive children, there are Crechemasters, diplomats, councilors - Jedi that sit on our Council and help make decisions -, Temple Guards, Battlemasters who train Jedi with lightsabers and are in charge of the Temple Guard, Quartermaster who are in charge of all the supplies like clothing and furniture we all need, Jedi Guardians who are call to different planets to assist in all different kinds of situations, Jedi Healer, and Archivist which contains all of our scientists, librianens, historians, mathematicians, teachers, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I do not remember at all.”
“So he’ll have a lot of choices. That’s good.” Sissa said.
“I know that you two aren’t his legal or biological parents, but you can still request for him to come back to participate in the culture here if it’s important.” Ruli informed them. “It’s very common. I went back to Lasan for several important cultural milestones.”
Reka paused and looked over to her wife. “We aren’t his parents. He had no family to take him in and most of our culture centers around family.”
Sissa nodded. “It would only hurt him to come back here and know that he wasn’t complete in the eyes of many people.” She quickly added. “But he has to keep his name. Naming a child is very important on Haruun Kal, it’s a gift from a parent to their child.”
“Of course.” Ruli reassured. “We never change a child’s name. We only name a child if they come to us without one, like one of our more recent arrivals.”
“Can we discuss this between ourselves for a bit, Master Jedi?” Sissa asked.
“Of course.” Ruli said, standing and bowing to the two women. “I’ll mind the children.” The two women went into a room off the kitchen that Ruli assumed was the bedroom and the Jedi went back into the playroom. Neither child had gotten into any trouble while the adults had been talking, both happily distracted by their toys.
“Look! Look, miss!” Vur said, rushing over to her holding a sheet of flimsi with a childish drawing on it. “Since Mace is leaving you need to take this with you.” Children were strangely perspective of what was going on and were never afraid to announce what they thought about it.
“Thank you Zur.” She said, sitting down on the floor in front of him. “But we don’t know if Mace will be coming with me yet.”
“Oh.” The boy pouted. “I hope he does. I want my room back. He’s so young, I’m a big boy and should have my own room like Agi.”
The Jedi laughed. “And how old are you Zur?”
“I’m five!” He said, proudly holding up five fingers. Ah so she was wrong about his age, she really needed to get better with human ages.
“Wow!” She said. “That’s impressive!”
“How old are you?”
“Hmm.” She pretended to think. “How old do you think I am?”
“A thousand!” Zur guessed excitedly.
She laughed. “No but close. I’m twenty-seven.”
For the next hour, Ruli played trains with Zur and talked with both him and Mace, chattering about her day and asking both of them questions. Zur answered them loudly and with a lot of excitement, but Mace answered her with an emotion sent over the fledgling bond between them, but hadn’t reacted outworldly. The bond forming between them was the one that formed between all Finder and their children and Ruli really hoped that his guardians would let her take Mace back to the Temple.
When Sissa and Reka reentered the playroom, Ruli knew they had made their decision. Reka picked up Mace, who was very happy to inform Ruli over their bond that he didn't like to be picked up. “We’ve come to a decision.” She said, cradling the boy in her arms. “We think that it would be best if you took Mace to be raised in your Temple.”
“Just-just, please,” Sissa asked. “Tell us that he will be loved.”
“Of course.” Ruli said soothingly. “We love all our children.” Reka sighed and handed her the small boy, who immediately held his stuffed Tooka to his face and chewed on one of its ears.
“He loves that doll.” Reka said. “His name is Nibbs and it's the only thing that Mace’ll play with. He doesn’t talk yet but the doctor said he was just a little behind. We have his records with his birth certificate and medical record.” Sissa handed her a blue folder containing a bunch of filmsi.
“Okay.” Ruli said. “Now you just need to sign the forms that state you are giving up guardianship to the Jedi Order.” She pulled out a piece of flimsiwork that she kept in her satchel and a pen. She handed it to the two women, who both quickly signed. She bowed, mindful of the little one in her arms. “Thank you.”
She made a sling out of her outer tunic, the style that many Crechemasters and Finders wore, and placed mace comfortably inside. Now that he wasn’t touching any skin and was barely pressed against her, he was much happier. Now her only problem was finding the right clan for the boy.
It took eight days to get back to the Temple. Ruli had alerted the Council that she had a child and she would find a clan for him. There were only two clans with Mace’s age group right now, which made this easier.
The creche of the Temple was always amazing to visit. It was close to the center of the Temple, towards the higher levels, in order to protect their children from any threats. There were no windows but the windows were covered in skylights, allowing the kids to see the night sky as they fell asleep. The youngest were in the center and the oldest on the outside of the Creche, so they could get to classes faster.
Ruli had considered being a Crechemaster after she was knighted, but she realized that she wouldn’t be able to stay Temple bound for that long. So she took another job that let her work with children and she loved it. She had traveled to basically every planet in the galaxy in her five years as a Finder.
She arrived at the two doors of the Creche rooms for the second youngest age group, eighteen months to three years. Mace just made the cut for the age group and Ruli already knew which he would go to. The Kybuck clan was led by Master Geell Crob, an older Corellian man, who had just taken in a fifteen year old kel dorian padawan by the name of Dru Posze. There were only four children in the Clan, with Mace bringing the total up to five, so each child would receive a lot of one-on-one care.
Ruli knocked on the door and it was quickly opened by the young padawan. “Knight Ges! It’s good to see you.” She said bowing. She then noticed the baby in Ruli’s arms. “Do you have another little one for us?”
Ruli bowed back in greeting. “Of course Padawan Posze. Delivering younglings is my specialty.”
The padawan bent down to be level with the small child. “Oh aren’t you just adorable!” She cooed. “I think you’ll fit in well in our little group.”
The two Jedi entered the Creche, where four children sat around a table, drawing with crayons. There were two kiffar boys, most likely siblings with how similar they looked, a pau’an girl, and a togruta girl. Master Crob stood up from his spot at the low, brightly colored table, and walked up to the two.
“Knight Ges has brought us another youngling, Master!” The teen said.
The Jedi Master turned his gaze towards Ruli and the baby in her arms. “I can see that.” He said dryly. “And what’s the younglings name?”
Ruli blushed, she always forgot to give the basic introductions when she brought a new child to the Creche. “Mace Windu is an eighteen month old human from Haruun Kal. He has a Midoclorian count of 17,000 and is very healthy and happy, other than the fact he is a bit behind on social development.”
“Hmm.” Master Crob mused. “It was good of you to bring him to our small group. He’ll need more care than others and we’ll be able to provide that here.” He held out his arms. “Can I see the child?”
Ruli handed Mace over with a warning that he didn’t like touch very much and as soon as Mace was in the Master’s arms, he projected his displeasure across the Force. “It’s okay baby.” The Creche Master said gently, setting Mace down on the soft floor near the Table the other children were working on. “You’ll be okay.” He sat down next to the boy, about 15 cm away from him, taking care not to touch him. Mace still had the small stuffed Tooka in his hands and did not look up from it.
“Ah, I get it.” Master Crob said, talking to Mace. “Not a big fan of people. That’s okay, I’ll let you in on a secret.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I don’t like adults that much either.” While Mace didn’t respond in any way externally, he projected happiness at being talked to through the Force.
Ruli and Dru stood off to the side, watching the Creche Master talk to the boy. “Now we’ve got to introduce you to everyone here.” The other children had been watching curiously for the last few minutes with one of the kiffar boys seeming very excited at the new kid. “That’s Maldi Ney,” He said, pointing at the Togruta girl. “She’s about a year older than you, but she's only been here for two months.” The girl waved shyly at Mace and greeted him with the Force. He pointed at the pau'an girl. “That’s Lih Tum.” The girl bowed respectfully and went back to her art. “She’s the oldest. You’ll like her.” He pointed at the kiffar boys, one very excitedly waving and the other barely paying attention. “And these are Pul and Cos Zelxan.” Pul jumped up and toddled over to Mace and started babbling at him, with very few of the words being understandable, sending images and feeling over in the Force. Mace responded rarely but didn’t seem overwhelmed.
The two adults talked, while the padawan watched the children and made sure nothing ended up on fire.
“I think I picked well.” Ruli said, smiling at Mace.
Master Crob nodded. “We’ll be able to give him a lot of attention. He’s quite behind on development but he’s happy and healthy and that’s all we can ask Her for.”
Dru still didn’t know why they had to go to a park outside of the Temple in the Finance district. There were plenty of wonderful gardens in the Temple, some of the best on the planet. And in the Temple they didn’t have to worry about rude Senators or rich people. If they were going to leave the Temple, they could at least go to the CoCo district or someplace fun like she did with her friends, but nope, her Master said that the Finance district was safer for the children. With a group of six to eight year olds, you really had to make sure they didn’t wander off.
So off they went, the children both nervous and excited to be leaving the Temple for one of the first times. Jedi children were kept in the Temple for the first five or so years of their life, since there were so many of Coruscant who would attempt to hurt them. Especially now with the rise of attacks against Jedi by Mandalorians or their supporters. Mandalorians and Jedi had never gotten along, but in the past three years, tensions had been rising.
Her and her Master herded the younglings onto the public stuttlebus, making sure they stayed together, especially since Pul had a habit of wandering off and when they found him, he always just told them he was following the Force’s will. Well if She could lay off telling seven year olds to wander into the most hard to find place in the Temple, that would be nice.
The kids sat down, staying together, chattering about what they were going to do at the park or what they were going to eat for dinner. They were a small Clan, only six children in total, with human Vocia Homir being the last to join and the youngest of the children. The only child that wasn’t talking with his friends was Mace though. Mace worried her and her Master a bit. He still hadn’t started talking at six years old, only communicating via the Force and even then he rarely told them anything. He had been the last of the Clan to walk and to be able to catch things, but was the best with the training sabers. It took him a while to get things, but when he did, he was as good, if not better, than his peers.
They arrived at the park and most of the children ran off towards the playground, where about ten other children were playing, none of them Jedi. This would be the first time the kids would be playing with non-Jedi children and it was making her nervous. She had no idea how her Master was so calm but he always seemed to manage to be. He followed after the kids, reminding them to be careful.
Mace didn’t follow after his peers, he stayed hanging onto her robes, his version of holding her hand.
“It’s okay Mace.” She said, hoping to get him to follow his Crechemates. “You can go on and play.”
He responded with a feeling of don’t want , don’t make me , and please , with an image of the Temple attached.
“Oh.” She sighed. “We can’t go home yet Mace.”
He responded with another image of the Temple, only stronger this time.
“Is it too loud?” Dru asked, reaching into her satchel for his headphones, but Mace only shook his head and tugged on her robes. So it was something about the park he didn’t like, maybe all the people without shields or the smells. She was at a loss of what to do until an idea struck her. “Okay little one. I have an idea of where we can go.”
Dru walked through the park after sending her Master a message telling him what she was doing through their bond. She led Mace towards a building in the center of the park, where one of her friends worked.
“I think you’ll like it here.” She said, looking down at the boy clutching her robes. “It doesn’t have as many people and it smells a little like the Archives.” Mace nodded and she opened the door to the Theater. She walked up to the front counter. “Hey is Sasha in today?” She asked. “I’m a friend of hers.”
The teenage boy at the ticket counter looked her up and down and said, “Yeah, she’s in the dressing room. You’re the Jedi?”
Dru raised her brow, even though it was hard to see through her eye masks. “Ya think?” She said, motioning to her padawan beads. The boy blushed and let her backstage.
“This is the Coruscant Theater Troupe’s building. My friend Sasha works as a costume and makeup artist for the actors. That means that she designs the clothes they wear and puts on their makeup.” Dru led Mace through the theater, telling him about her friend. He still had a death grip on robes and was holding Nibbs up to his face. “They’re most likely in rehearsal so we have to be really quiet, okay?”
Mace nodded and looked around with awe. There was a Jedi Theater and the youngling always did a play during the Convergence, but it was nothing big. He had never felt a place like this. The walls were steeped in so many emotions, in old imprints of applause and wonder. They arrived at a stage, with thick velvet curtains. Dru led him to a young Mirialian woman, who must have been Sasha.
She waved them over and squatted down to look at Mace. “Hello.” She whispered. “I’m Sasha. What’s your name?”
When he didn’t answer, Dru told the woman, “This is Mace, one of my younglings. He doesn’t talk, he only communicates through the Force.” And why shouldn’t he. Almost everyone he had ever met could understand what he was telling them anyway. It was easier too. Coming up with words didn’t make sense.
The two women started talking and Mace glanced around the curtain. There was a tall human man standing on an empty stage, reciting some sort of speech.
“‘- those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now- ’”
“No! No!” A man sitting in the audience yelled. There were only two other people there, sitting on either side of him. “Remember Corleg, this scene starts as comedy. Again, from the top!”
Mace stood transfixed by the scene before him and he turned back to Dru and tugged on her robe.
“Yes? What is it, Mace?” She asked, glancing down at him.
He pointed towards the man on stage, sending her feelings of awe.
“Oh, that’s Hamlet .” Sasha said, smiling at him, amused by his interest. “It’s one of the most well known plays in the galaxy and one of the best.” She pointed to the man on stage. “That’s Corleg, he plays Prince Hamlet and he’s rehearsing one of the most famous scenes in the play.” She reached behind her and held out a book and flipped through it until she reached the page she wanted. “Here’s the lines for this scene.” She said, handing him the script before she paused and turned to Dru. “He can read right?”
Mace rolled his eyes, something he had learned from the junior padawans that would visit them for Creche duty. Thankfully neither woman saw him and Dru answered, “Oh yes. He’s the best reader of our little Clan.” She looked down at Mace. “Do you promise to be careful with the book?” He nodded vigorously and bowed to Sasha after she gave him the book, thanking her.
He wandered towards one of the chairs that were backstage, where other actors were sitting and talking softly. No one paid him any attention as he sat down in one of the chairs and started to read the lines. As he read, he realized how right the yelling man was, Corleg had gotten the entire tone of the scene wrong!
He was just about to read the lines a tenth time when he heard the yelling man tell Corleg to stop again. Why couldn’t he just get it right! It would be so easy.
Mace stood up and marched up to the actor, shoving him lightly with the Force. He heard Dru gasp from behind him, rushing up to apologize for him but stopped when he opened his mouth.
“‘ Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come; make her laugh at that. ’”
As he spoke, he projected the emotions he knew Prince Hamlet would have feeling, as well as the emotions the audience should be feeling. He gripped Nibbs’ ear tightly. When he finished speaking he turned to Corleg, glared and said, outloud, “You were doing it wrong.”
The man stared down at him in shock and Dru came rushing up. “Mace!” She scolded. “That was extremely rude and a misuse of the Force.” She bowed to Corleg and said, “I am so sorry. He doesn’t have any social skills yet and sometimes forgets what he can and cannot do.” She then turned back to Mace. “I’m proud that you spoke out loud and expressed your emotion, but the way you did it was very rude and not a good way to do it. Do you understand?”
He nodded and bowed to the actor in apology, projecting his remorse through the Force.
Dru sighed. “Mace, he can’t understand that.” She turned back to the actor. “He’s telling you he’s sorry, but he’s never spoken aloud before now, so he usually only communicates through the Force.”
“It’s-it’s totally fine.” The man was in shock. “I have a brother about his age, kids don’t understand this shi- stuff.” He bent down to Mace’s level. “That was really impressive buddy. I’ll do it like you did next time. And I forgive you, I’ve never been pushed by Jedi powers before, it was pretty cool.”
In that moment Mace decided this was the best place in the galaxy, second only to the Temple.
“How dare you?”
Mace leveled his lightsaber at the heretic before him. The man cowered in his purple, silk robes, a bastardization of the traditional robes that Mace and his family wore. For a man that had been mocking him seconds before for being weak, he looked rather pathetic.
“You will not go unpunished Drooz.” Mace snarled at the man. “You have warped the Faith that I follow. You have taken advantage of these people using Her name!”
He brought his saber up, purple light filling the corridor, reflecting off the smoke filling the air, ready to strike the pathetic fool down, when-
“Padawan! Stop!”
His Master was running towards him, hands reached towards him. “What have I told you! This is not the way!”
Mace turned towards Master Myr, purple saber still leveled at the imposter in front of him. “He has taken everything that we cherish, everything that we are, and spun it into a web of lies and deceit. He must atone for this!” He said, rage the only thing he could feel.
“And he will!” His Master said, her voice strong and commanding. “But not by your hands. Not like this.” She softened her voice. “I understand your frustrations, but we have to be better than our adversaries. There will be times when we are called to violence. This is not one of them.” She sent him calming emotions through their bond, drowning out the anger. “We will make him tell us what he knows about Master Velaz’s disappearance. We will bring him before a court of law to decide his fate!”
Mace turned back to the scum at his feet and lowered his lightsaber. “Of course, Master.” He said, bowing his head, shame rushing through him. His Master arrested Drooz, but Mace couldn’t focus. He had let his anger get the better of him again!
They walked back to the ship, leading Drooz behind them in handcuffs, to be brought to Coruscant to face trial. The streets were lined with people, watching them go past. A few meters from the ship, the woman from before, with the young baby rushed towards them, grabbing Mace’s wrist.
“Please! You can’t take him away! He was the only hope to save my baby!” She pleaded, tears streaming down her face, her baby bawling in her arms.
“I’m-I’m sorry.” Mace said. “He can’t save your baby. He was tricking you. The Force does not need anything from you.” He swept his eyes down the street. “She does not ask for money or prayers, but She does not control what happens to us. She may know what is going to happen or help you when you ask, but she can not change what is happening, she can only help you change it.” He was shocked when he felt a tear slide down his cheek. “I’m sorry Ma’am, I’m so so sorry.” And he turned and walked back to the ship, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
He led Drooz down to the small holding cell on their ship, ignoring the man’s pleading. He would be tried before a jury of his peers and Force wills he would be found guilty and the poor people he tricked would get their money back.
He walked back to the cockpit and sat down next to his Master. “I’m sorry Master.”
“Don’t apologize, Mace.” She said, the ship began to take off. “You must learn to control your anger. Remember Padawan, there is no passion -”
“- there is serenity .” He finished. That was the part of the mantra that he had always had trouble with. “I know Master. I just get so angry.” He clenched his hands. “Drooz. He perverted our culture, our traditions.” He looked over to Master Myr. “I don’t know how you were so calm.”
His Master smiled. “I wasn’t. I was angry and sad, just like you were, but-” And she paused here. “-I didn’t let it control me. Our emotions are important, we’re allowed to feel them, we just can’t let them control our actions.”
Mace sighed and rested his chin on his hand. He had struggled to control his feelings for his entire life, especially his anger. If everyone just acted like they were supposed to, then he wouldn’t get angry! But, as his Master constantly reminded him, he couldn’t control everyone around him, he could only control his own actions.
The two stood when they entered hyperspace, getting ready for a twelve day flight back to Coruscant. They walked down to the hold, where Drooz was being kept. The man was sitting on the narrow cot, staring at his hands.
“Hello.” Master Myr greeted coldly. Drooz jumped, not having heard the two Jedi enter. “We’d like to ask you some questions.”
He sneered at them. “I’m not telling you Jedi scum jack shit!”
Mace took a step further up to the ray shielded cell. “Yeah well maybe-” He started to say before his Master shot him a look.
Master Myr walked up to the cell. “We’d like to know what happened to Master Kez Velaz.”
He stared at them smuggly. “You don’t know? I thought you Jedi were better at this.” Drooz leaned his head back against the wall. “When we get to Coruscant, I’ll tell some normal person.” He said scathingly.
Mace crossed his arms and glared, but his Master only said, “Okay, we’ll arrive in Coruscant in twelve days.”
The two Jedi went back to the small living space on their ship and Mace threw himself down onto the sofa. “I can’t believe we’re just going to wait until we get to Coruscant! What if Master Velaz is still alive and we lose time getting back home?”
“Then the council will send the closest Jedi to help him and we will stay at the Temple until our next assignment.” His Master said calmly. “You need to catch up on some class work anyways, so it will be good to spend a few months at home.” She looked at him knowingly. “We have twelve days of hyperspace travel, you should take this time to meditate on your emotions, Padawan.”
And so he did. Anger helped no one in the long run.
Mace sat in the small waiting room of the medical office the rescued children of Guattako’s army had been brought to. He rolled his lightsaber between his hands, sinking into meditation to the tune of the song his crystal sang.
Oosalan was an unstable planet following the death of the Warlord Guattako. The Republic had set up hospitals and medical centers, as well as assistance with agricultural efforts. They had saved a lot of lives, not just the 26 children Guattako had kidnapped.
But still, Mace felt they had failed. Quia and the other soldiers were just children. They had been taken in by a man who thought their only worth was to die for him and his cause. But now they were arrested and going to be imprisoned for the crimes of the man who had abused them.
Mace sighed and straightened back up, unable to continue meditating. Not a very good example for a Master of the High Council.
Depa had already returned home and was working on a research paper for a senior padawan class on economics. She was on her way to be knighted soon. She was 25, which was a perfectly reasonable age to be knighted at, with a 12 years apprenticeship. He wasn’t sure he would take on another padawan for a long while after her though.
Mace hadn’t followed his padawan back home. He had told her that he had business with the local government but Depa had known he was lying. Even without their bond, she would have known. Mace was a notoriously bad liar.
The real reason was the children. Quia didn’t deserve what had happened to her and Mace couldn’t get the expression of the boy who had shot Guattako out of his head.
They were children who had been forced to fight an adult’s war. All Jedi feared that the Senate would order them and their young padawans into a warzone. The Council tried to get the youngest of their padawans out of situations like that as much as possible, but with the Senate breathing down their necks, it wasn’t always possible.
He stood up from the chair he was in and started to pace. He would have to leave later that day, but he needed to see Quia before he left.
He was just about to go storming in when a doctor exited the exam room and told him he could talk to the girl. When he entered the room, he saw Quia lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV with the other wrist handcuffing her to the bed.
When she saw him, she sneered. “What? Here to gloat, Jedi?” She said with venom in her words.
“No.” Mace said, sitting in the hard, plastic chair next to the bed. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Quia snorted. “That’s rich, coming from some coreworlder. Everyone knows what you Jedi are like, so high and mighty.” She looked so much smaller now, out of her armor, in a flimsi hospital gown. He could see her bones sticking out of her from years of malnutrition.
“Okay.” He said, knowing there was no point in arguing. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. No thanks to you.” She growled, turning on her side away from him.
“I’m glad.” He said, genuine in his words. “I’ll be leaving in a few hours but I asked the prosecutor to not be harsh with you and the other children.”
“That's such a big help.” She said sarcastically. “And I’m not a child. I’m a commander.”
“No matter your title, you’re still very much a child.” Mace said, being careful not to let any pity slip into his tone. “And I am so very sorry that your childhood was stolen from you.”
“My childhood was long gone before Guattako took me in.” She snarled at him, sitting up and turning to look at him. “Without him I would have starved to death a long time ago.”
Mace bowed his head. “And how many of your fellows didn’t survive.” He said bluntly.
“They died for the cause!” She yelled, looking murderous.
“What would happen if they didn’t want to fight?” Mace asked, raising an eyebrow at Quia. “Could they leave at any time?”
Quia glared at him and laid back down, turning away from him and ignoring him, refusing to respond.
“You still have a life to live, Quia.” Mace said, standing up and walking away from her. “Do not throw away your chance for that life.”
The Sith were back.
They were back and they had already killed a Jedi. Not just any Jedi, an extremely skilled Jedi Master who had raised three padawans to knighthood, who had been offered a seat on the council.
And poor Obi-Wan, his Master dying and then being knighted and taking on a padawan. Several other Masters had offered to take in young Skywalker and Yoda had suggested that he be placed in the Creche for a few more years, but Knight Kenobi had stood firm. It was the last promise he had made with his Master and he would see it out until the end. Mace cursed Qui-Gon for putting so much pressure on his padawan.
The council had traveled to Naboo for the funeral, making sure that Qui-Gon was given the rites all Jedi received. Mace had been sure that Dooku would show up to his former padawan’s funeral, but the former Jedi hadn’t shown up.
When the Council, Obi-Wan, and his new padawan got back to the Temple, they tried to get Anakin settled in as well as possible. The very first thing they did was remove his slave chip, imbedded in the base of his spine. Then Master Che had done a full medical evaluation of the boy. Master Yoda had tried to support the two as much as he could, being the last remaining member of their direct lineage, but Anakin seemed to resent the small Master, as well as Mace.
The boy never should have been in the room while they discussed his fate. It wasn’t fair to him but Qui-Gon had insisted, in the manic way he got when he hadn’t slept in a few days.
After Naboo, the Temple was strangely quiet, filled with grief and fear. Jedi had died on missions before, but no one had seen a Sith in centuries. The Council was scrambling for a solution, any solution, when their problems only got worse.
“And he requested to speak to Padawan Skywalker alone?” Master Mundi asked, for what felt like the third time.
“Yes Master Mundi.” Mace replied.
“And he threatened you to see Skywalker.” Master Shaak Ti said, as shocked as the rest of the Council.
Mace smiled wryly. “It was very intentionally not a threat.”
The Chancellor had been very careful to make it technically not a threat. I didn’t know the Jedi held one of their children so far over the other . The other children. Palpatine could hurt the Jedi if he wanted to, including their children. He could cut funding or introduce new bills that limited their freedom. They had already lost their vote in the Senate about two centuries ago and anti Jedi sentiments were always high.
“What do we do?” Master Gallia asked. “We don’t have many options here. If we say yes, we’re putting Padawan Skywalker in danger and if we say no, we’re putting all the children in danger.”
“Say yes we must.” Master Yoda said sadly. “If hurt he is we can bring evidence forward and stop seeing the Chancellor he will.”
“But that won’t remove whatever Palpatine had already done to him.” Master Piell said gruffly.
“Yes, but we can stop it from ever happening again if something bad does happen.” Mace responded and the Council resigned themselves to the better option of two terrible options.
After the Council session ended, Mace went to his favorite place in the Temple. The control booth in the Theater. It was silent up there and had the musty, paint smell that theaters had behind the scenes.
He sat on the floor of the control booth, trying to meditate, but settled for praying, which was very similar to meditating. Like many of the other Jedi, Mace prayed at least once every ten day, greeting the Force like a bride with a song they had all learned in the Creche. Meditation was a daily event, but praying happened less often. She did not ask for worship, as they were Her children.
He had been wondering of late why She had not warned them of the darkness that seemed to surround them. She had cried with them for Her fallen children, but didn’t seem to know what would happen. The visions She gave were often misleading, but at least they were there.
Not only had She not warned them but Mace’s headaches because the shatterpoints that surrounded the Jedi were getting worse. He had had to go to the Hall of Healing three times in the last month alone.
But She worked in odd ways sometimes, but as Her children, it was their job to question the Force and Her workings. Mace had never understood religion that expected total obedience to their gods. If you didn’t question, then how would you ever learn? And no one had a single answer to any question. It had bothered Mace when he was younger, especially Master Yoda’s riddles, but as he matured he understood that She did not give simple answers. But he still hated Master Yoda’s riddles, they never made any sense.
Mace leaned back against the wall. “You know a little hint would be nice.” He said. Mace could feel the Force laughing at him as She so often did with her children. He sighed and wished, for not the first time, that he was still a youngling and his biggest worry was how long Nubbs would be in the laundry for.
He still had Nubbs. She was old and raggedy, and most of her stuffing had fallen out, but Mace still kept her in a wooden box in his quarters and would sometimes take her out to gently stroke his finger along her soft fabric. He had slept with her until he was knighted, when he stored her away in a box his Master made for him. Apparently he had had her since before he had come to the Temple.
His head hurt , the beginnings of a migraine hitting him. Mace knew that Master Che would want him to go down to the Halls of Healing immediately, but he didn’t think he could deal with all the people right now. He still had a lot of trouble with noise, especially when he was already overwhelmed.
Mace unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and ran it over his finger, finding the motion soothing. He could hear the kyber inside humming to him as it had since he was ten and had found his crystal on Ilum. Mace had had so much trouble assembling his saber and was the last in his Clan to finish, but his Crechemates had all been impressed by the amethyst colored blade. According to Professor Huyang, only fifteen Jedi had ever carried purple blades in the history of the Order.
The crystal had always sung to Mace, calming him no matter what surrounded him. He never understood how others could have more than one kyber in their life. He had never had to replace his crystal and he had never needed or wanted a second.
Mace shook himself out of his thoughts. He needed to deal with his headache and avoid any more shatterpoints.
Mace liked his Commander.
Even though he was angry and scared and filled with so much grief at the start of this war, one they never should have had to fight in in the first place and had already lost so many of their family, he liked the Clones. Many of the other Jedi agreed with him wholeheartedly. Obi-Wan, now on the Jedi council, seemed to flirt with his Commander, a man named Cody, relentlessly. Plo was attempting to adopt his troops and Shaak Ti had instantly fallen in love with the Cadets she was tasked with caring for.
Commander Ponds was a no nonsense kind of man. He had fought bravely in the Battle of Ryloth, freeing the Twi’lek people. He was kind, but took no shit. He had given his rations to the civilians they were protecting without hesitation and always watched over his men.
The rest of the Council had similar experiences with the Clones they worked with. A few of the Coruscant Guard had attached themselves to Master Yoda and spent their free time with him in the Temple. Ki-Adi was valiantly trying to adopt his Commander, who was notoriously aggressive with everyone.
They all spent a lot of time with their Commanders, since they often spent weeks on Venators together. Since the only other company were droids and Coruscant military officials, the Clones and the Jedi had bonded.
Now, Mace and his men were stuck on the Endurance for the next two weeks after the Chancellor had called him back to Coruscant when they had been just on the edges of Wild Space. There were no Natborns, as the Clones called them, on board so it was just Mace and the Clones. After 4 days, they were bored out of their minds.
“Okay, I’m done.” Razor said, throwing down his sabacc cards. “We’ve been playing sabacc for four days straight and I’m sick of it.”
“That’s because you’re terrible at it.” Stak replied, not looking up from his cards.
“No, no.” Mace said, throwing down his cards. “I’ve got to agree. This is getting boring.”
“Okay genius.” Ponds snapped. “Why don’t you come up with something if you’re so bored.” When he realized what he said, the blood drained from his face but Mace was already laughing before he could open his mouth to apologize.
“Good point, Commander.” Mace said, still laughing. “The only game we have on this ship is Sabacc and I am definitely not smart enough to come up with a new game that will keep us occupied for the next two weeks.”
“What games do you know?” One of the shinies, a kid named Fangs, asked.
“Well.” Mace said, trying to think of a game that didn’t require the Force, since those were the only games they played in the Creche. “We could spar?” He suggested, unable to come up with anything else.
Ponds sighed and stretched. “Well.” He said. “I challenge you, because I have nothing better to do.”
The rest of the Clones cheered and followed the Jedi and his commander to the gym to watch them spar.
“Rules?” Mace asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No lightsaber, no Force.” Ponds listed as he stripped down to his blacks. When Mace gave him a questioning look, he merely said, “You don’t wear armor, now we’re even.” They stepped onto the mats in the center of the gym, the rest of the clones forming a circle around them. “First to tap out loses.”
As soon as they both signaled they were ready, Ponds charged towards Mace, attempting to knock him over. Mace moved to the left, narrowly avoiding being hit.
“You’ll have to be faster than that.” He teased and swug a fist at Ponds, who easily deflected.
“Oh I will be, General.” Ponds said, flashing his teeth.
They went back and forth for what felt like hours but what must have only been five minutes, trading punches and taunts. Mace was reminded of sparring with Pul when he was an Initiate.
As they sparred, Ponds’ blacks started to stick to his chest, highlighting the muscles under his shirt. And it was in that moment that Mace suffered the same fate as some many other Jedi, he completely lost concentration because of his commander’s abs.
And just like that, he was flat on his back on the gym floor, Ponds having managed to pin him with ease once Mace had gotten distracted.
“So, did I win?” Ponds asked, grinning down at him and Mace fell hopelessly in love.
“Yes.” He sighed, trying to keep his cool. “I yield.”
The rest of the Clones clapped and cheered as Ponds helped Mace to his feet.
“Nice job General.” Ponds said, grinning. The men were all slapping Ponds on the back, making sure not to hit Mace as they knew he wasn’t a huge fan of being touched.
“If I was going to lose to anyone,” Mace said. “I’m glad it was you.” The two of them both blushed, Ponds’ redness much more noticeable with his lighter skin. Mace looked away awkwardly, trying to think of something to distract from the two’s embarrassment. “Better you than Kenobi, if he beat me, none of the Council would let me forget.”
Ponds patted him on the back and Mace found he didn’t mind all that much. “Don’t worry General, I’m not going to let you forget anytime soon either.”
But Ponds didn’t get that time to remind him that he had beaten Mace, because he died barely a month later, murdered like so many of his brother.
And now Mace was falling, falling through the layers of Coruscant, body on fire from his missing hand and the lightning still dancing across his skin.
He wanted to say he couldn’t believe that Anakin had Fallen, but he’d be lying to himself. Skywalker had always had the signs. He had always been possessive of those he loved. But still, a part of Mace broke when one of his family cut off his hand and let him fall.
Mace might survive this, but part of him hoped he wouldn’t. He could feel his family dying and a part of him thought he was the only one left.
When he hit the concrete, something cushioned him. The Force had allowed him to survive the fall. Mace wanted to curse Her for letting him survive when the rest of his family died, but he couldn’t, because he could hear Her screaming in pain for Her children.
He tried to push himself up, clutching his arm to chest. Thankfully he wouldn’t bleed out, lightsaber wounds cauterized almost immediately. Mace managed to get to his feet, unsteady with his head spinning. Every bond he had, with his Padawan, Master, crechemates, everyone, had been ripped out at the roots.
And he couldn’t breathe.
Mace stumbled through the street, leaning against the walls, tripping over his own feet. In the distance he could smell smoke and a part of him knew it was his home burning.
“Hey! Hey!” A voice yelled at him. Mace turned sluggishly towards the noise and saw an elderly human woman standing on the stoop of one of the dilapidated houses. “What are you doing?” She hissed. “You look like death warmed over!” She shooed him into the house, barely keeping from falling unconscious. “Get inside!”
She shoved him down on one of her couches, an old, blue thing, soft and squishy. “Thank-thank you.” He stammered, his tongue feeling like it was made of lead.
She huffed. “Can’t have a dead body in my neighborhood, now can I?” She said, bustling around the kitchen. “And it’s my duty as a doctor to help people, no matter how much I want to go take a long hot bath and forget I ever saw you.”
She came back over to him, examining his stump and the electrical burns that ran up his body. Mace drifted in and out of consciousness as the woman attempted to treat his injuries, his dreams filled with fire and death.
When Mace woke up, his arm had been bandaged and clean and he had something over his right eye. He cast out into the Force to try to see if there was anyone there but just touching the Force hurt. His head screamed and the Force cried for Her children. Wailing and begging him for Her forgiveness.
“Shh, shh.” He muttered. “You have to be quiet, please be quiet.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking to, but it sure as hell better not be me!” Came a voice from the next room. An older woman walked in. Mace thought he knew her, but he wasn’t sure why.
“Who are you?” He asked, trying to sit up.
“You don’t need to know that.” The woman said, pushing him gently back down. “You just need to sit your ass down on that sofa and don’t move until I tell you to.”
He layed back down, trying to look around the room. “Where is my family?” Mace asked, trying to get up again. “I need to go back.”
“Oh honey.” The woman said, pushing him back down on the couch. “I’m pretty sure your family is gone.” She said the word gently, but didn’t sugarcoat them, as though she knew what she said was damning him.
Mace turned to look at her, trying to see her out of his good eye. “Why am I still alive?”
Mace spent a week at the old woman’s house. At least he thought he did. He was usually unconscious or not lucid. The small amount of time he was lucid, he had his eyes glued on the news, hoping to see any sign that someone, anyone, had survived, but there was nothing. It seemed like the galaxy was celebrating the death of his family and culture.
Palpatine had declared himself Emperor and had ended the Clone Wars, no one mentioning that it had been the Jedi and the Clones who had fought and died for peace. There was a livestream of a celebration on the steps of the Temple, where people were throwing the Jedi’s lightsabers and other holy items in a fire, cheering as they went up in smoke. He recognized so many of his family’s lightsabers, including Master Yoda’s.
If Master Yoda had been killed, there was no hope for any of them. He was the Grandmaster for a reason, no only for his skills with the Force and his lightsaber, but because of his knowledge of the traditions and religion.
Mace had snuck out of the home when the woman had been gone. He needed to get off world as soon as possible, Anakin and Sidious would be able to sense him.
A part of Mace told him to storm up to the Senate building and kill Sidious, but he knew that wasn’t possible. His lightsaber had cracked on impact, with his beloved kyber splitting down the center.
The only thing he could do now was survive.