Jedi Temple, Coruscant, 39 BBY

As an unknown species, I was taken to the Halls of Healing once a year for a checkup to record any changes and developments in my body. I was also supposed to inform them whenever I discovered something new, and energy-resistant skin seemed important enough for a rapport. I suspected it had something to do with my supposed lightning immunity, which I hadn’t told the Healers about. Through scans, they discovered most of the features I had picked in my character creation. This was fine since I wasn’t trying to keep them secret, but I didn’t want anyone to know how I had gotten them. Their working theory was that I was a long-lost Rakata experiment.

Reaching the Halls of Healing we found someone we hadn’t expected: Master Dooku.

The old Master was speaking with a tired-looking middle-aged Knight I recognized as Ky Narec. Which meant…

I looked around the Halls and quickly found the young, but still easily recognizable form of Asajj Ventress being given a check-up by a Healer. She had no facial tattoos and her head was covered by short, brown hair, but her pale skin and sharp gray-blue eyes were quite distinctive.

“Master Dooku,” Komari called out in surprise when she saw him. “I didn’t know you were back.”

The Master in question turned to look at us and a warm smile spread across his face at the sight of his old Padawan.

“Komari.” He bowed in greeting. “Congratulations on becoming a Knight. I am sorry I could not be there to see it.”

“Thank you, Master.” She returned the bow with a smile of her own. “It’s alright. I understand your mission was time-sensitive.”

“Indeed.” He gestured to Narec. “This is Knight Ky Narec. He was stranded on a planet in the Outer Rim without any way to contact the Temple. Ky, this is my former Padawan, Komari Vosa. And this little one is Anika Skywalker, the Initiate responsible for me finding you. Padawan now, it seems.” He said as his gaze fell on my braid.

“Is that so?” Narec’s gaze fell upon me as well. “Then you have my thanks, Young Skywalker.”

“No thanks are needed, Knight Narec.” I felt a little flustered having two powerful Jedi focusing their attention on me and showering me with praises. “It was the will of the Force, I was simply the conduit through which it expressed itself,” I said with a bow. And I meant it. Yes, if I could I would have tried to help them regardless, but the Force sending me a Vision at an opportune moment made it clear what it wanted. “I’m just happy you and your Padawan are well.”

His eyebrows rose and I could sense impressed amusement from him as he spoke again. “Such wisdom and humility at such a young age. Your Master must be proud.” He glanced at Komari, who was smiling warmly down at me as she replied. “So far I think she has taught me more than I have taught her.”

“Excuse me?” It was strange to hear the voice of a six-year-old Asajj Ventress. “You’re the one who told Master Dooku where to find us?”

I turned to look at her. Beyond the curiosity of her words, I could feel her relief at being saved as well as uncertainty at what the future would bring. Beyond that, I could feel a deep dark pool of thoroughly suppressed fear and pain. Suppressed by necessity rather than will. I wasn’t even sure that she knew those feelings were inside her.

She might not be aware of them, but when I looked into her eyes they flooded into me and hit me like a cargo freighter. All I could manage was to pull her into an embrace and send feelings of safety and compassion into her mind.

For a few moments, she was surprised at the seemingly random embrace, before the barriers she had erected around her subconscious feelings were slowly broken down and all the fear and pain began flowing out through her - and me - into the force.

Unconsciously, she returned the embrace and we sank to the floor as light sobs turned into heart-wrenching cries. It was all I could do to hang on and slowly guide her feelings into the Force as she processed all the pain she had experienced in her short life.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Amazing.” I heard the voice of Ky Narec somewhere in the distance, muted by the powerful emotions flowing through me from Asajj. “I have been trying to help her process her feelings for months without success.”

----------------------------------------

I awoke with a slight headache but feeling lighter than I ever had. Next to me, Asajj was still sleeping, her hands attached to my robes with a steel grip. Whoever brought us here must have decided not to separate us for fear of breaking her fingers.

We were lying in a bed in one of the private rooms in the Halls of Healing, the bed more than enough to accommodate both of our small forms. There were no chronometers or windows in the room so I didn’t know what time it was or how long we had been asleep. I assumed we had been carried here by one of our Masters or a Healer, since the last thing I remember was trying to keep Asajj’s mind from fraying as she released her emotions.

I let my mind brush gently over hers to see how she was holding up. There was still some pain and fear left, but not even a fraction of the amount there had been, and it was no longer hidden away behind subconscious barriers. What she had left was just a memory of pain and fear, and with some guidance, she would be able to deal with that on her own.

Her eyes opened slowly as I gently moved my hand over her head and I smiled warmly as she looked up at me.

“What happened?” She asked sleepily as she used one hand to wipe the sand from her eyes. The other was still grasping my robes.

“I’m not entirely sure,” I replied. “I saw all the pain inside you and wanted it to go away, so I acted on instinct. I’m sorry.”

“No.” She shook her head as she sat up before looking at me. “I don’t know what all that was, but I feel so much better now. Thank you.”

She noticed her hand was still holding my robes and quickly let go. “Sorry,” She said, and I could feel some embarrassment from her as she noticed our position.

“No,” I said and took her hand as she was about to get up. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You must have been through so much. It’s okay. You can hold on to me whenever you want.”

She paused and looked me in the eyes before relaxing. Studying me, she suddenly got curious. “What was that?” She asked. “I mean, what did you do? I could feel you in my mind.”

“You had a lot of pain and fear hidden deep inside, but I have always been good at seeing things like that,” I answered. “I try not to look inside people’s minds, but it was like you were screaming at me. Screaming for help.” I looked down, a little ashamed as I continued. “I didn’t think and just acted. As Jedi, we learn to release our feelings into the Force so they don’t overwhelm us. You had so many bad feelings and your mind was asking for help so I tried to guide your feelings into the Force through me.”

I could feel the truth of the words as they came to me. In the moment, I had just acted on instinct, unaware of what I was doing, but in retrospect, I could feel that the Force had guided me. What I had done was really intrusive though, and a massive invasion of privacy.

“I pretty much forced you to deal with your buried feelings. I couldn’t stop myself, but I shouldn’t have done it without permission. I’m sorry.” I bowed my head in shame as the realization of what I had actually done came over me.

She responded by hugging me.

“Don’t be,” She whispered in my ear. “I didn’t even know I had all those feelings inside me, and I don’t think I could have dealt with them on my own.”

She drew back and I could sense confusion from her as she continued. “I feel like you saved my life, and I know that feeling is right, but I don’t know why.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at the perplexed look on her face. “That is probably the Force,” I said, and she focused on my eyes again as I explained. “The Force tends to guide us when we need it. You needed help, so it guided me to help you. Now you needed answers, so it guided you to find them. Just like it guided me to tell Master Dooku where to find you.”

“I see…” She looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. “But why didn’t it just guide Master Dooku then? Why go through you?”

I couldn’t tell her about my foreknowledge, but I was glad I could answer with the truth, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

“I have a really high midi-chlorian count, which means I am very sensitive to the Force,” I told her. “The Force isn’t all-powerful, so maybe the best it could do was guide Master Dooku to me so that I could point him in the right direction. Whatever the case, It’s the will of the Force that you are here now.” I finished with a smile.

Even with my physical body making me more childish, my reborn mind was still far more mature than my peers. Rather than an adult in a child’s body, I was a child far more mature than what my appearance would indicate. Because of this, there was always a sort of disconnect - a barrier - keeping me from being able to form friendships with others my age. Komari was my friend, but she was an actual adult; not just a mature child.

Asajj did not have the experience and knowledge of a previous life, but her life so far had forced her to grow up and mature quickly. This meant she was, like me, still a child, but very mature for her age. As we kept talking until we fell asleep again, I could feel the beginnings of a true friendship blossom.