Star Wars: The Trials of the Force (Part One)

by Admiral Producer

Chapter 5: Coruscant - Meet Katooni/The Jedi Temple Pt 2

SLASH!!!!!

The last training hologram dissipated as a light blue blade slashed through it with all the force of a knight slaying a dragon. A young Tholothian girl stood up, turning her lightsaber off and putting it back in her utility belt. The crowd of other younglings around her gave her a standing ovation, her friends in front of everyone else leading the cheer.

“Well done, Katooni.” said the tall and gray robotic droid who was instructing the class. His name was Professor Huyang, the protector and mentor to the Tiger Clan of younglings on Master Yoda’s behalf, “You’re ready.”

“You think so?” Katooni asked him, her curious jet blue eyes staring at him in excited anticipation. If Huyang said yes, then that would mean that it was finally time for she and her friends to get apprenticed to various Jedi Knights. She had watched all the other older younglings get sent off and she felt it was finally time for her to get a shot. She had always imagined that she would be apprenticed to Anakin Skywalker, the most powerful Jedi Knight within the Order. Such status would be unrivaled, and she would not let him down like Ahsoka did.

“You are.” Huyang confirmed. “You’ve mastered all the 6 trials of agility, determination, commitment, compassion, respect, and leadership a true Jedi. So have your friends. You should be very proud of yourself.”

“My friends too?” Katooni repeated, practically dancing in place with excitement. Huyang nodded to the positive. That was when Katooni wasted no time on jumping up and hugging the rusty old droid instructor, running to her friends afterwards who were waiting to congratulate her. Her friends consisted of 5 other younglings, each of a different species type: Petro, a human; Byph, an Ithorian; Ganodi, a Rodian; Zatt, a Nautolan; and Gunji, a Wookiee. Together, they had faced impossible odds during the earlier stages of the Clone Wars. They had conquered the rigorous tests of the Gathering, faced down the pirate Hondo and his crew, rescued Ahsoka Tano, and convinced them to join forces with them against General Grievous and the Separatists on Florrum.

“You were awesome, Katooni!” Petro told her, “I gotta tell ya. I did not see that final strike coming at all. That hologram guy had you cornered!”

“It was like blink and you miss!” Ganodi added enthusiastically, “I blinked and then all of a sudden that guy was down! Have you been practicing that?”

Katooni nodded. “I wanted to practice all I could before the final test. I felt it would’ve been….” she paused momentarily, searching for the right word, “…embarrassing to fail in front of every one of our fellow younglings watching me. It might’ve discouraged them. I didn’t want to do that.”

“Well you certainly succeeded!” Zatt told her, “So give yourself a pat on the back because it’s off to apprenticeship for us now! Who do you think you’ll be apprenticed to?”

“Master Skywalker!” Katooni was skipping steps now as she and her friends walked off the training arena, “He’s the most powerful Jedi ever and I’ve always imagined I’d be with him. I won’t let him down like…” she trailed off again as the thought of Ahsoka came up, “…like his previous Padawan did.”

Petro noticed the change in tone. A look of concern on his face, he turned to look at his crestfallen friend, “Hey, I know what you’re going through with missing Ahsoka. Half of us weren’t expecting it to turn out the way it did. When she was finally exonerated of all charges, I thought for sure things would go back to normal! Only…then the news came.”

“It came as a shock to all of us.” Zatt added. “Didn’t she care? What about her life and the relationships she built up here? What about Master Skywalker? What about us? It wasn’t fair. Why did she have to leave? We get it, Katooni.”

“I…I don’t want to talk about this,” Katooni shook her head, “Let’s just focus on her victory, okay? We’ll get our assignments hopefully soon.”

Petro nodded, a mischievous smile forming on his face, “You might want to secure your position with Master Skywalker quickly. Because you might have some competition.”

Katooni couldn’t help but laugh despite her shock. “You too, Petro? I thought you said you didn’t care either way yesterday.”

“Katooni,” Petro explained, “Those were the words of a boy. And that boy just became a man. Completely different thoughts now.”

“If you say so, Mr. Man.” Katooni nudged his arm playfully. All of them had a good laugh over this, including Petro himself. As the Jedi Temple main building became visible again, she saw Anakin Skywalker out of the corner of her eyes leading a pink hippogriff around. It was Silverstream, her old friend!

Breaking away from her friends, Katooni ran up to Silverstream, startling the living daylights out of her, “Silverstream! I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been? How’s being apprenticed to Master Yoda? Is it fun? Or does he push you too hard? I have so many questions just in case the upcoming assignment puts me with-“

“Hey, whoa whoa whoa,” Anakin laughed, “Katooni, give Silverstream some room to breathe, okay? I know you two haven’t seen each other since her assignment, but she’s had some sort of a problem starting with this morning.”

This caught Katooni off guard. “A problem?” she asked.

“She’s had some sort of memory problem,” Anakin explained to her, “Basically she woke up and she remembers nothing of her life here. I’ve tried to re-aquaint her with everything she used to love, but every attempt results in either a blank stare or she tells me she can’t remember. I was hoping you, being her childhood friend growing up in the Order, can do a better job than I could. You’re more patient than I am.”

Katooni nodded. “I’d be happy to.” Anakin walked back into the Temple, leaving the two of them alone outside, save for a couple Masters walking to and fro the Temple entrance in leisurely fashion. She faced Silverstream, who was looking at her with a mix of sadness and confusion. The look of utter hopelessness on the hippogriff’s face broke Katooni’s heart. What had the Council put her through?

“Anakin says we grew up together,” Silverstream said, “I’m sorry I don’t remember you….”

“It’s okay, Silverstream,” Katooni assured her, “I’m just really glad to see you after a whole year. I’ve really missed you. I’ll bring you over to my friends. See if they can help me help you.”

A simple nod was the only reply she got. As Silverstream followed her, Katooni wondered what had happened that caused Silver to lose her memory. Was it a concussion from an accident during training? She hoped not. Master Yoda wasn’t a reckless trainer by any means.

Unfortunately, by the time she arrived to the spot where she had ditched her friends, they were already gone. ‘They probably couldn’t wait for me.’ She thought to herself, ‘I’ll just do this by myself. Maybe I can get some information from Silverstream as to what happened. Not like she’ll remember, but you never know until you try, right?’

“They’re gone. Don’t worry. I can help you myself. Do you want the tour?” Katooni asked her. Silverstream nodded. “Is there anything you can tell me about your situation?” A shake of the head. “Silverstream, can you please talk to me?” Another shake of the head. “Please?”

“You wouldn’t believe me…” Silverstream replied, her voice barely audible.

‘She sounds so scared,’ Katooni realized mentally, ‘It must’ve gone so terrible in the Council Chambers. Oh, Silverstream. I’m so sorry…’ Tears threatened to come, but she blinked them back. She wouldn’t cry. Silverstream needed someone who was resolute if she was to get her memory back. She needed a friend.

“Silverstream,” Katooni said, “You can tell me everything, ok? You’d be quite surprised as to what I can believe at this point in my life. I’ll give you the grand tour of the area and you can ask me anything you want.”

“You won’t…think I’m crazy?” Silverstream asked.

Katooni shook her head, “Of course not. We’re friends. Or…we used to be. You don’t remember our friendship now, but…that’s not the point! Come on!” Silverstream followed her again.

For the next few hours, Katooni explained everything outside of the Jedi Temple, including the rich history of the locations and more.

“…Over there is the Galactic Senate.” Katooni pointed towards a circular shaped building in the distance, “That’s the legislative, executive, and judicial branch of the Republic. They make all the laws and stuff. The current Supreme Chancellor is Palpatine. The guy gives me the creeps though.” She shivered involuntarily, “Is any of this starting to come back?”

Silverstream shook her head, “It won’t….because it never happened for me. I don’t belong here.”

Katooni stopped, “You don’t belong here?”

Silverstream shook her head, “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“No, I won’t,” Katooni reassured her, “I promise. Just tell me. We’re alone, I think.”

Silverstream explained everything, from spending most of her life underwater, her studies in the School of Friendship, saving Equestria, and arriving in Coruscant after falling down during a field trip. To someone else, this may have sounded like the most outlandish and fantastical life story ever. But Katooni understood. She believed her. She had been on adventures with her friends that no other youngling could ever boast about being on. She had been on near death experiences more than once in her life. Everything made sense to her. But the part about Qui-Gon Jinn confused her.

“When you said that Master Qui-Gon entered your head,” Katooni tried to rationalize this, “How could he exactly? He’s been dead for a while. Since before I was born. Jedi can communicate telepathically sometimes. But that’s a power forbidden to every Master except for Master Windu and Master Yoda. How could Master Qui-Gon have that ability if he was never on the Council?”

“I don’t know,” Silverstream admitted, “But I was too foolish…I convinced Ocellus to break open that mirror and then…everything went to chaos. I want to find my way back home. But I don’t think I’m allowed to leave. Are we?”

Katooni shook her head sadly, “If it were my choice, I’d take a week off to try and find my parents…I’ve always been curious about them. But we’re not allowed to leave. Not until we become Masters, I think. Then we can do what we want as long as it’s within the confines of the Jedi Code. There’s really not much to it. We’re taught a different, more simplistic variation of the Code.”

“What is it?” Silverstream queried curiously.

“Which one? The standard version or the youngling version?” Katooni inquired of her.

“Both.”

Katooni nodded, “Alright, let’s see…I’ll need to know this for the ceremony anyway.” She took a deep breath and spoke:

”There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.”

Silverstream was amazed. “Cool! That’s the standard version?”

Katooni nodded enthusiastically, “As for the youngling version, this version is recited during the Initiate Trials. Believe me when I say I studied that for two weeks straight before Professor Huyang asked me in private. Alright. Here it goes.” She cleared her throat:

“Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge.
Passion, yet serenity.
Chaos, yet harmony.
Death, yet the Force.”

Silverstream was curious about the differences between the Codes, “The version you guys have to memorize is so….simple. Why don’t you just memorize the standard version?”

“We do,” Katooni explained, “Just not as often. You see, the Jedi created that system because our minds are only just developing when we’re little. We don’t have the mental capacity to memorize full strings of sentences that early. As we grow older, we’re subjected to more things, we learn more full sentences, you get the gist of it. So, they do that so that we may memorize the Code at an early age without having our minds boggled by so many words at the same time.”

Silverstream laughed, “I see. Well, I’m sure I might’ve taken the opportunity to learn the full Code when I was a filly. Mom always said I was not content to just learn the simple stuff.”

Katooni was happy that her friend was opening up more, actually laughing now. This was working! Oh, she would have the Silverstream she knew back in no time. Well, to a degree, “That’s true of your life here also. I remember you kept trying to get Master Yoda to teach you the full Code and he eventually did. You got access to it earlier than most because he could not resist you. To say that some of us were a little jealous would be an understatement.”

Silverstream sighed. “If there’s no real way to go home, then I’ll accept my life here. I want to be your friend again, Katooni. I’m sorry that I robbed you of that intended happy reunion you wanted. I know you said you haven’t seen me in over a year.”

“Silverstream, don’t worry about it,” Katooni comforted her, “Frankly, just being here with you now is enough. If we have to start over, then so be it. I already have the memories myself. I’m fine if you don’t remember. Like I always say, everyday is a new beginning. You’ll rebuild your image here in the Order no problem. Besides, if you need anything, I’m always there.”

“Really?” Silverstream asked.

“Of course,” Katooni answered, “Just because I’ll be a Padawan doesn’t mean I won’t have time for you and the others. We’ll play everyday after training and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.” She smiled and Silverstream smiled back. They were about to go their separate ways when someone came running up to them from a distance.

It was Mace Windu. He stopped in front of them. He regarded Silverstream sternly for a moment, then faced Katooni, “Katooni, go back to your friends. They’re waiting for you inside and wondering where you ran off to. Silverstream, come with me.”

“I heard you called Silverstream a liar in the Council Chambers.” Katooni was angry now after hearing what Silverstream mentioned of the Council meeting, wanting to chew Mace out for it, “Silverstream is one of the most trustworthy Jedi I have ever met. You had no right to make her feel even worse after she woke up in a place she didn’t recognize.”

“After reviewing the evidence,” Mace Windu stated matter-of-factly, “The Council has come to an agreement that Silverstream is in the right and I will apologize to her accordingly once she’s with me. But you watch your tone, young lady.”

Katooni stood her ground and did not apologize. Silverstream admired her firm resolve and her desire to stand up for her. Mace Windu ignored her and focused on Silverstream, “The Council has reassigned you.”

Silverstream was taken aback, “Reassigned? Wait, Master Yoda doesn’t want me to be his Padawan anymore?” Her eyes stung. Did her Master really ditch her just like that all because of a supposed memory loss problem?

“It goes a bit deeper than that,” Mace Windu continued, “I’ll let them explain. But to keep it as short as possible, upon the request of Master Kenobi, you are being reassigned to Anakin Skywalker.”

Author's Note:

We finally meet Katooni in this chapter! After some build-up in the present and some mentions last chapter, Katooni finally comes into the plot. I have to say, writing her was a lot of fun as I got to show some more aspects to her personality that were not explored in the Clone Wars series. Being my favorite of the younglings, she was the main reason that I decided to write this story, though my only regret is that her only role in the present is to be a damsel-in-distress. At least I can make her an actual character leading up to that plot point. My favorite part of this chapter was getting to write a more independent aspect to Katooni’s character, fleshing out her motivations and personal relationships a bit. I have plans to expand upon that, and this story is chalk-full of Star Wars lore, so keep an eye out for all the Easter Eggs.

And for the record, I know my comments are getting downvoted because for some reason, someone really hates me. I don’t know who, and frankly I don’t know what I did wrong. If you can tell me, I’d really appreciate it. Whatever I did, I promise I’ll fix it. But just for that, I will be making more comments every chapter and I will not be deleting them, so take that. The stories will continue whether you like them or not, so there you go. I’ve been trying to recover Starlight Nova’s comment because it is an actual good one (and the fact that I deleted it by accident), but I still don’t know how. I’d appreciate it if someone were to teach me how to recover the comments, thanks.

But other than that, the next chapter will have some questions answered. We will be seeing another character moment for Anakin, as well with Silverstream. It will be juicy and the chapter after that will be epic. Stay tuned, everycreature! The story shall continue!

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[Admiral Producer]

Stay tuned for the next chapter!