So many gone. So many lives cut short, sent to the Sea of Souls long before their time. A gap — a void — sits within the Temple, vacant of mind and body.

You and your friends are gathered within the Initiates’ common area. Hundreds of Younglings like you sit silent as the Masters bear the news, stoic on the outside but broken in the heart. Two-hundred-and-twelve Jedi left for Geonosis and only thirty-odd returned. The Temple feels the loss. You all do.

Master Shima, your teacher for many years, always so enthusiastic about the Galaxy and its numerous people, is gone. You’d spoken with him not too long ago. You’d seen him just last week in your lessons. He was cut down early, slain by the first wave of droids in the arena where Master Kenobi, his Padawan, and the Senator were to be executed.

Jedi Knight Parti Lan, not as close Master Masbau, but still a face you’d seen regularly. She and Master Masbau were the first two people to lay eyes on you when you’d shown up at the Temple. She, too, is gone; missing in action after leading a charge through a cave system.

These are but two of the many Jedi lost. You’d known many more, but these two hit you the hardest. The three Masters standing at the head of the room read out names one by one, noting where they were last seen. It’s a brutal affair, for the Masters and Initiates both. However, someone has made the decision to tear off the bacta-patch quickly, and you can’t fault them for it. These people are gone, and the sooner you all come to terms with it, the better.

But, it hurts. It hurts in so many ways. You’ve lost people, everyone’s lost people, and you can see the grief piling up throughout the room — no, the Temple — as the Masters speak.

It’s just so hard to stay detached. How can they do it? How can the Masters have such self-possession at a time like this?

They don’t get choked up. They don’t cry. They finish their briefing then start moving around the room, doing their best to comfort the Younglings that have fallen prey to such emotions. At that moment, a dozen more Jedi come in to assist with their efforts.

It’s exhausting to watch. It’s not just your own emotions you must keep in check after all. As you look around, you have to keep your mind as tightly closed as possible lest you sweep up the remnants of others’ anguish into your own self. Even your friends, sitting right next to you, are a threat to your emotional stability.

All of them were close with at least a few of the lost Jedi. Some were friends. Some were teachers and mentors. Some, even if they would be loath to admit it, could have been described to be more like surrogate parents than anything — a similar relationship to yours and Master Masbau’s.

Perhaps it is a good thing he wasn’t there. Even with his strength and skill, he may not have survived. Jedi with more experience than him were lost. Who can say if he would or would not have been lost too?

So many are gone, and you can only be glad that it wasn’t more. May they all be one with the Force.

You reach out to both sides of you, grabbing Tera and Mick and holding them tightly. They in turn do the same to the others around them, and soon you and your clan are all bundled together, doing your best to keep the sadness at bay. All around, Younglings gather together as well, comforting one another or bawling all at once. It’s an ugly sight, darkening the room with ever-growing sorrow.

A war has begun. Who knows how many more times this will happen?

The Chancellor has been given emergency powers by the Senate and has formed a new Grand Army of the Republic. Soon, the Republic will strike back out, fighting to bring the Galaxy back together. You’d best be ready for that time.

The Emperor protects.

≡][≡ ⬦⬦⬦ ≡][≡

What are you going to do now?

You’d met briefly with Master Nu earlier. Unfortunately, she’ll no longer be able to regularly give you lessons on Force Cleanse, but she’s said you should be able to practice on your own from now on. Your understanding of it has advanced enough such that all you need to do is practice. If you need help, the text she has given you should be enough to provide guidance. If not, then she has agreed to give you some time on occasion, given that you make an appointment.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

She, as the Chief Archivist, is now extremely busy. Actually, all the Masters are busy, and you’re not sure what that means for any of your future lessons whether they be the typical lessons given to all Younglings or the extra ones you’ve set up.

The Jedi are apparently supposed to be commanders in the new Republic military. You suppose that would make sense given the Order’s history, but you know for a fact that much of that knowledge has been lost. How can the Jedi of the Order lead when they have no experience nor training in military matters?

You’d heard the battle on Geonosis went poorly, despite the “victory.” Why else would there have been such a high attrition rate? But, whose fault is it? The fresh troopers, or the worse-than-novice commanders suddenly thrust into such a position?

You unhook your lightsaber from your belt and roll it around in your palm. Such an elegant weapon. As they say, it’s a weapon of a civilized age.

Is this the time for it? What use is this thing in a time when a battleship can drop ordinance on your head from orbit? What use is it when tens of thousands of bolts fly across a battlefield at any second? Is this why so many Jedi fell?

Were those dreams meant to prepare you? A conflict has begun and you need knowledge and strength as soon as possible. Those dreams showed deadlier scenes than you could ever have imagined. So much death, so much horror. Is that why you were able to hold back the tears earlier?

You hook the weapon back on your belt, then knock on the door in front of you. After a second of silence, you slip inside and close it behind you.

Master Corr sits at her desk, typing furiously away at the workstation ahead of her. You’re surprised she’s so adept at it considering the thick webbing between her fingers. Then again, you can’t actually see what she’s typing so you have no idea how many mistakes she’s making. Hopefully it’s little.

Master Corr looks exhausted both mentally and physically. Soon, Master Windu’s strike team will return. With them will be hundreds, maybe thousands of casualties. Jedi… and clones.

“Master Corr?”

She keeps typing, apparently having not heard you. You walk up and around her desk, then speak again.

“Master Corr?”

“Huh? Oh, Xena. What are you doing here?”

“I… If you’re busy, I can come back later.”

“It’s… ah. I see. Sorry, Xena. We’ll have to continue your lessons later. I have a lot to prepare.”

“The casualties…?”

“Yes. The Halls will be very busy, very soon. The medics aboard their transports are doing the best they can, but they don’t have the same facilities we do, nor do they have Force healing. Several of the Jedi there do have some training, but there’s only so much they can do. There’s just too many wounded.”

“The clones?”

“Yes. I suppose treating them might be…” she trails off, looking down at her screen. “It probably wouldn’t be easier, but… I don’t know. They’re clones, so they have nearly identical physiology. That might help with the treatment of several clones at once.”

“Where did they come from?”

“Apparently, there’s a cloning facility on the planet Kamino. They’ve been grown for the Republic at the request of a Jedi, Master Sifo-Dyas. I have no idea how he predicted they would be needed.”

Kamino. That’s the planet that Master Kenobi was looking for. You suppose that’s how Master Yoda was able to suddenly show up with reinforcements.

“Can we ask him?”

“Unfortunately, he passed away not too long ago. Hrm. It’s convenient. A massive army created for the Republic happens to be ready just at the right time, and the only man who knows why is dead.”

She’s right. It’s perhaps too convenient. There’s so much mystery surrounding the creation of this army, and no one has a clue about why it was made.

You shuffle your feet, suddenly remembering that Master Corr really is busy. You’ll have to talk more with her later regarding your lessons, and you should probably see if she wants to talk things out. Right now, you can see disturbances in her emotions. She’s upset, but she’s holding her feelings back by busying herself with her work.

No matter how much your Masters speak about self-control and letting go of your feelings, they’re still people. They still feel things, and they still need time to figure it all out.

“Sorry for interrupting your work. I’ll get going now.”

“Don’t worry about it, Xena. I’ll see you later.”

As you turn to leave, you have one more thought. You’re trained in some healing techniques now, so why not put them to use?