Three years had passed since I arrived at the Jedi Temple.
It felt like both an eternity and an instant.
I stood on one of the temple's upper meditation balconies, watching the endless stream of speeders weave through Coruscant's twilight sky.
The city-planet glowed beneath me, billions of lights, billions of lives, all moving in their own orbits, unaware of the storm gathering on the horizon.
I was nine years old now. Still small, still a child by any reasonable measure. But the weight I carried had only grown heavier.
My reflection in the transparisteel showed a boy who looked older than his years. My white hair had grown longer, falling past my ears in loose waves that I usually kept tied back during training.
My golden eyes, still unsettling to some of the younger initiates, had developed a sharpness that came from too much knowledge, too much awareness.
I have spent what little free time I had being more productive. I started writing some novels, well writing is a lose term for plagiarizing books from my old life. One books was finished and released, with the second about to released later this year.
I technically wrote six novels all from my memories. I recreated Frank Herbert's Dune series from with a few adjustments. Giving certain characters in the story more agency, while focusing on the themes Frank talked about. Over what his son wrote
On my datapad, I submitted a synopsis with the first ten chapters to the holonet. I submitted under the name Dawnstar. And a few months later a Coruscant publishing company reached out to me through messages.
They are asking me to meet with them to discuss officially publishing my book. But I told them I would only do meetings through messages, and that I wanted them to send a contract before signing with them.
Once I reviewed and negotiate the terms for my payment, royalties, and merchandising. I will send them the rest of the first book, with the mentions five more books in the work. With possible spin offs also mentioned.
The publisher seemed to be interested in what I was doing, because soon after that I received a email with the contract. Once I made adjustments to the contract, we went back and forth with negotiations. But I was fortunate to come out on top with a good deal. I signed the contract and sent them the full novel for book one.
Within six months, the holobook sold millions of copies throughout the Core, Mid and Outer rims. With Coruscant and Mandalore, especially being the planet's with most sales.
From what I heard Tatooine has bought a few hundred copies as well. My publisher says it gives the people, especially the children some hope or dreams of being Paul Atreides. Leading their people against the Hutt's and other crime organizations and creating a thriving planet.
Through my publisher, I set up a financial account and place all my earnings. Over the years, I plan on releasing the other books with a good amount of time apart from each other. I knew this will helped build my assets significantly with people wanting the books more and more.
But it felt exhausting. I was doing so much in so little time. I made sure to keep to a strict routine of being a talented jedi youngling. I helped others and stayed at the top of my classes, while holding myself back. Then writing on top of that was exhausting.
I looked like a Jedi youngling, but felt like something else entirely. I heard Behind me, the door hissed open. I didn't need to turn to know who it was, her presence in the Force had become as familiar to me as my own heartbeat.
"You're brooding again," Seris said, stepping up beside me. Her platinum hair caught the fading light, and her silver eyes studied me with that mixture of concern and exasperation I'd come to recognize.
"I prefer 'contemplating,'" I said, offering a small smile.
"You prefer avoiding sleep," she corrected. "It's past midnight, Cain."
I glanced at her. She'd grown too, though not as dramatically as I had. At ten, she was taller, more graceful, her features sharpening from childhood softness into something striking.
The arrogance that had defined her three years ago had mellowed into confidence, real confidence, not the brittle kind that needed constant validation.
"I don't need to sleep," I admitted. "Hibernation Trance."
She was quiet for a moment, then: "Those techniques are meant for extreme situations. Not to stay ahead of your training or writing."
I nodded slowly. She was right and I couldn't argue with her about that. She was one of the few who knew about my... extracurricular activities. Not everything, I couldn't burden her with all of it, but enough.
"My books are basically done" I said carefully.
"The third book just hit the markets last week. I will say I am over using the technique to get ahead of my training though."
"I still can't believe you're writing novels in your spare time. Most nine-year-olds are struggling with basic literacy. Well unless your a Jedi youngling."
" And most of them aren't me."
"Clearly." She leaned against the railing, her shoulder brushing mine. "Are they at least profitable?"
"They make me enough for now," I said. "Enough to fund what needs funding. In the future I will use that money for a great purpose."
"I'm choosing to believe you Cain," Seris said flatly.
"Plus your book series is actually good, even though you won't let me read ahead." She said in a almost pouting tone.
I turned to face her fully. " I know you want to read ahead Seris. And I appreciate you not telling the council or the others about this. I promise the wait will be worth it. I promise when the special limited edition physical copies come out. You will get the first copy."
Her ears started to twitch slightly, as her expression softened. " Your making limited edition physical copies? When?"
"It won't be for a while. I told them I want to wait until the fourth book is released. But I will make it a great surprise, just continue to trust me like normal." I said with a small smile forming on my face.
She held my gaze for a long moment, and something passed between us, something warm and complicated and unspoken. Then she looked away, her ears twitching slightly.
"The others are waiting," she said. "Derren wanted to run through the new Soresu sequence before morning meditation."
"At midnight?"
"He said he knew you be up this late anyway. And if he can brood at midnight, he can train at midnight." She paused. "His words, not mine."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright. Let's go."
The private training chamber we'd claimed as our own had become a second home over the past three years.
It was tucked away in one of the temple's older wings, a space that had once been used for advanced Padawan training but had fallen into disuse. The lighting was softer here, the walls lined with ancient training equipment that hummed with the residual Force energy of thousands of past students.
When we arrived, Derren and Barriss were already there.
Derren had grown into his frame, still lean, but with the kind of wiry strength that came from endless hours of practice. His messy brown hair was longer now, tied back in a small tail, and his deep blue eyes sparkled with their usual warmth.
Barriss, at eight, had developed a quiet intensity that reminded me of a still pond, calm on the surface, but with depths that went far deeper than most realized.
Her green skin seemed to glow faintly in the dim light, and the geometric tattoos on her face had been added just last year, marking her growing connection to her Mirialan heritage.
"Finally," Derren said, grinning. "I was starting to think you two got lost."
"Or distracted," Barriss added, and there was the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.
Seris's ears twitched. "We were discussing something import."
"Oh, is that what we're calling it now?" Derren asked innocently.
I grabbed a training saber from the rack and ignited it, the blue blade humming to life.
"Less talking, more training. Show me what you've been working on."
What followed was a demonstration that would have impressed most Knights.
Derren moved through the Soresu forms with a precision that bordered on meditative.
Every movement was economical, every block perfectly angled to redirect rather than absorb. He'd taken Cin Drallig's lessons to heart, and it showed. Where he'd once been aggressive and wild, he was now patient and controlled.
Well in his own special way. From my point of view, it seemed like he preferred to go with the flow, and his saber form reflected it more naturally then before.
"Better," I said, watching him flow through the sequence. "Your footwork is great. But you're still telegraphing your transitions. See, right there. You shift your weight a fraction too early."
Derren paused, frowning. " Really? I don't feel it."
"That's because you're thinking about the next move instead of being present in this one," Barriss said, stepping forward. "You're anticipating instead of responding."
She demonstrated, moving through the same sequence with a fluidity that made it look effortless. Her connection to the living Force had always been strong, but over the past three years, it had deepened into something remarkable. When she moved, it was like watching water flow, natural, inevitable, perfectly in tune with the moment.
"See?" she said, finishing the sequence. "No anticipation. Just... be in the moment."
Derren tried again, and this time, the difference was visible. His movements smoothed out, and became more natural. The Force flowed through him rather than being directed by him.
"There," I said, nodding. "That's it."
Seris stepped into the center of the room, igniting both of her training sabers. "My turn."
What she showed us was nothing short of breathtaking.
Jar'kai hadn't always been her preferred style, more like a back up, but she'd refined it over the years into something uniquely her own. She moved like a dancer, her twin blades weaving patterns of light that seemed to exist in multiple places at once. She'd incorporated elements of Ataru, the acrobatic leaps and spins, but tempered them with the precision of Makashi.
She was fast. Faster than she'd been three years ago. Faster than most Padawans twice her age. She was even faster then me.
"Impressive," I said when she finished, slightly breathless. "You've been practicing."
"Every day," she said, deactivating her sabers. "I won't be left behind."
There was no arrogance in her voice, just determination. The kind that came from knowing exactly what she wanted and being willing to work for it.
"None of us will be left behind," Derren said, and his tone was serious now. "We're in this together."
Barriss nodded. "The five of us."
Derren and Seris blinked. "Five?"
"You, me, Seris, Derren," Barriss said, counting on her fingers. "And the one who's coming."
The room went very still.
"What do you mean?" Derren asked carefully.
Barriss's dark blue eyes met mine, and there was something ancient in her gaze, something that spoke of visions and prophecy and the deep currents of the Force.
"Cain said he had another vision," she said softly. "Of a bright star. It's eyes were sky blue, it's aura silver-white, it's power radiated like lightning. Cain said he's coming soon. And when he arrives, everything will change. The true Chosen."
Everyone looked at me in shock
"How soon?"
"I don't know. Could be days or weeks, it's hard to tell with Force visions" I said. I haven't kept track of the events of Naboo to closely, I just know the blockades are currently in place. So Anakin will arrive soon enough.
Seris looked at me, her expression sharp. "How do you know its the Chosen One Cain?"
"I just know," I said quietly. "The Force told me so."
Everyone looked at me deeply.
"But I thought you were the chosen one Cain.' Derren said." We all did."
"Actually I never said that." Seris said crossing her arms behind her back.
That caused me to start laughing.
The message came three days later. I was in the archives, ostensibly studying ancient Jedi texts but actually reviewing encrypted messages on a datapad I'd hidden inside a hollowed-out book.
The publishing operation was running smoothly, Children of Dune had exceeded all sale projections, and the advance orders for God Emperor of Dune were already flooding in.
The credits were piling up in accounts scattered across a dozen systems. Enough to buy ships, weapons, supplies. Enough to fund a small army if it came to that.
Enough to give us options.
I was reviewing a particularly interesting message from a contact on Mandalore when I felt it, a ripple in the Force so powerful it made me gasp.
The datapad clattered to the floor. Around me, other students looked up, startled. But I barely noticed them. My awareness had turned inward, reaching for that place beyond place where the Force revealed its deeper truths.
The void opened before me like a curtain being pulled back. And there, blazing like a newborn sun, was the star I'd been waiting for.
A blue, silver-white light, so bright it almost hurt to perceive. But within that light, I could see the storm of power, the fear and love so fierce it could create and destroy in balance.
Anakin Skywalker had arrived.
I came back to myself with a jolt, my hands shaking. Around me, the archives seemed too bright, too loud, too real after the infinite depths of the void.
"Cain?" Jocasta Nu's voice cut through my disorientation. "Are you alright?"
I looked up at her, trying to compose myself. "I'm fine, Master Nu. Just... a vision. I need to go."
I didn't wait for permission. I grabbed my things, carefully pocketing the datapad, and ran.
The temple's main entrance hall was crowded when I arrived. Masters and Padawans had gathered, drawn by the same disturbance in the Force that I'd felt. At the center of the crowd stood three figures.
Qui-Gon Jinn was exactly as I remembered from the films, tall, with long brown hair streaked with gray, and a presence that radiated calm authority. His blue eyes were kind but sharp, missing nothing.
Beside him stood Obi-Wan Kenobi, younger than I'd ever seen him. He couldn't have been more than twenty-five, his reddish-brown hair cut short, his expression a mixture of pride and concern as he watched his Master.
And between them, small and uncertain and burning with barely contained energy, was Anakin Skywalker.
He was just what expected, nine years old, with sandy blond hair that stuck up in every direction and bright sky blue eyes. He wore simple clothes, the same ones from him being a slave. He kept glancing around the temple with a mixture of awe and fear.
I pushed through the crowd, my heart pounding.
Master Yoda was there, speaking with Qui-Gon in low tones. Master Windu stood nearby, his expression unreadable. Other Council members had gathered, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, Yaddle.
But I only had eyes for the boy.
Anakin's gaze swept across the crowd, and for just a moment, our eyes met.
The recognition was instant and mutual. In the void, we'd seen each other before, two stars orbiting in the darkness, drawn together by forces neither of us fully understood. His eyes widened, and I saw the same shock of recognition reflected back at me.
Then the moment passed, and the crowd shifted, blocking my view.
"Cain."
I turned to find Seris beside me, with Derren and Barriss close behind. They'd felt it too, the disturbance, the arrival, the weight of destiny settling over the temple like a shroud.
"That's him," Barriss whispered. "The bright star."
"Anakin Skywalker," I said quietly. "The Chosen One."
Derren's expression was troubled. "Him really he's seam's young just like us."
"We're all young," Seris said, but her voice was soft. "That's the point, isn't it? We're all just children, trying to grow up. But him, if he is the chosen one he has a lot more pressure on him then just being a Jedi. Considering he looks to old, they might not accept him. "
I wanted to respond, but Master Yoda's voice cut through the murmur of the crowd. "Welcome to the temple, young Skywalker. Much to learn, you have. But learn it, you will."
The formal greeting continued, but I barely heard it. My attention was fixed on Qui-Gon Jinn, and the terrible knowledge burning in my chest.
He was going to die soon on Naboo, cut down by Darth Maul while Obi-Wan watched helplessly. And there was nothing I could do to stop it. I found Qui-Gon later that evening, alone in one of the meditation gardens.
He sat beneath a ancient tree, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and even. The Force moved around him like a gentle current, and I could feel the depth of his connection, not the rigid, controlled connection the Council favored, but something more fluid, more alive.
"Master Jinn," I said softly.
His eyes opened, and he studied me with that penetrating gaze. "Youngling Cain. I've heard much about you."
"Nothing good, I hope," I said, trying for levity and failing.
He smiled slightly. "On the contrary. Master Yoda speaks highly of your potential. As does Master Fay."
He gestured to the ground beside him. "Sit. You look troubled."
I sat, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. For a long moment, I couldn't speak. How did you tell someone they were going to die? How did you explain that you'd seen their death in visions, that you knew the exact circumstances, but couldn't change them?
"I need to tell you something," I finally said. "And you're not going to believe me."
"Try me," Qui-Gon said gently.
I took a deep breath. " You're going to Naboo soon. To deal with the Trade Federation blockade. You'll take Obi-Wan and Anakin with you."
His expression didn't change, but I felt his attention sharpen. "Go on."
"On Naboo, you'll encounter a Sith Lord. A Zabrak named Darth Maul. He's fast, aggressive, and he fights with a double-bladed lightsaber." I met his eyes. "He's going to kill you."
The silence that followed was absolute. Qui-Gon studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he said, "You've seen this? In a vision?"
"Yes," I said. "I've seen it dozens of times. You fight him in a power generator complex.
You're separated from Obi-Wan by energy barriers. Maul strikes you down, and Obi-Wan..." I swallowed hard. "Obi-Wan avenges you. But by then, it's too late."
"And you're telling me this because...?"
"Because I have to," I said, and my voice cracked. "Because maybe, maybe, if you know, you can change it. You can be more careful, more prepared. You can...."
"I can live in fear of a future that may never come?" Qui-Gon interrupted gently. "Cain, the future is always in motion. What you've seen is one possibility among many."
" Master you should know more then anyone. A Force vision is not just a possibility," I said desperately. "It's what will happen. I've seen too much, Master Jinn. I know how this story goes. And I can't...." My voice broke. "I can't just stand by and watch it happen."
Qui-Gon was quiet for a long moment. Then he reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You carry a heavy burden, young one. Heavier than any child should bear."
"I'm not really a child," I said quietly. "No," he agreed. "I don't think you are. Not entirely."
He squeezed my shoulder gently. "But that doesn't mean you have to carry this alone."
"I don't know how to share it, the council doesn't listen to the Force like they should. They definitely don't take head of Force visions." I admitted.
"How do you tell people that everything they know, everything they believe in, is going to fall apart? That the Republic will become an Empire, that the Jedi will be hunted to extinction, that the Chosen One will become the greatest monster the galaxy has ever known?"
Qui-Gon's expression grew grave. "You've seen all of this?"
"And more," I said. "So much more. I've seen the next hundred years of galactic history, Master Jinn. And almost all of it is preventable tragedy."
He was silent for a long time, processing.
Then: " Your not wrong about Council, I and my old master tend to see it the same way. They're too rigid, too set in their ways. They'll dismiss it as the fantasies of a gifted child. Or they will do next to nothing and it will be to late."
"Just like Protobranch. Just like the Padawan Massacre of Taris." I said.
But you..." I met his eyes. "You're different. You listen to the living Force. You trust your instincts. I thought maybe you'd understand. You need to live, because Anakin needs you to live."
"I do understand," Qui-Gon said softly. "More than you know. But Cain, even if everything you've said is true, even if I die on Naboo, that doesn't mean the future is fixed. The Force shows us possibilities, not certainties."
"Then why does it feel so certain?" I asked, and I hated how young my voice sounded. "Why does it feel like I'm watching a holo-recording that I can't pause or change?"
"Because you're afraid," Qui-Gon said simply. "Fear makes the future seem inevitable. It robs us of our agency, our ability to choose." He leaned forward, his blue eyes intense. "But we always have a choice, Cain. Always. Even in the face of death, even in the darkest moment, we can choose how we respond."
"So what do I do?" I asked. "How do I live with this knowledge?"
"You do what you're already doing," he said. "You prepare. You train. You build connections with those around you. You plant seeds that may not bear fruit for years or decades.
" He smiled slightly. "And you trust that the Force has brought you here for a reason."
"Even if that reason is to watch you die?"
"Even then," he said quietly. "Death is not the end, remember Cain. It's a transformation. A return to the Force. If I die on Naboo, it will be because the Force wills it. And if that's my path, then I'll walk it without fear."
I wanted to argue, to rage against the unfairness of it all. But looking at him, at the peace in his eyes, the acceptance, I couldn't find the words.
"I'll remember your warning," Qui-Gon said. "When the time comes, I'll be more careful. More aware. But I won't let fear of death prevent me from doing what must be done."
"That's what I'm afraid of," I said quietly.
He smiled, sad and understanding. "I know. But Cain, some things are worth dying for. And if my death means Anakin finds his way to the light, if it means Obi-Wan becomes the Jedi he's meant to be, if it means you have the knowledge and motivation to change the future..." He shrugged. "Then perhaps it's a death worth having."
I couldn't speak. My throat was too tight, my eyes burning.
Qui-Gon pulled me into a gentle embrace, and I let myself be held, let myself be the child I was supposed to be, if only for a moment.
"You're going to do great things, Cain," he murmured. "I can feel it. The Force is so strong with you, stronger than perhaps even you realize. Trust in that strength. Trust in your friends. And trust that even in the darkest times, the light will find a way."
When he released me, I wiped my eyes quickly, embarrassed.
"Thank you," I managed. "For listening. For believing me."
"Thank you for trusting me with this," he said. "It takes courage to speak truth to power, even when you know it won't change anything."
"It has to change something," I said. "It has to."
"Perhaps it already has," Qui-Gon said, and there was something knowing in his smile. "After all, we're having this conversation, aren't we? That's already different from your vision."
I nodded slowly, feeling a tiny spark of hope kindle in my chest. Maybe he was right. Maybe the future wasn't as fixed as I feared.
"One last thing Master Jin"
"Yes."
"Believe in Anakin as you believe in the Force. And may the Force be with you."
Qui-Gon smiled. " Well said Cain. May the Force be with you as well."
Maybe there was still time. I found Anakin the next morning in one of the smaller training halls. He was alone, practicing basic lightsaber form with a training saber that looked too large for his small hands.
His movements were raw, unrefined, but there was a natural grace to them, an instinctive understanding of balance and momentum that most younglings took years to develop. I watched from the doorway for a moment, studying him.
In person, he was so much more than I'd expected. The films could never have captured the sheer intensity of his presence, the way the Force seemed to orbit around him like a living thing, responding to his emotions, his desires, his fears.
He was so powerful. Dangerously so, and he was terrified.
I could feel it radiating off him, the fear of leaving behind his mother, of losing everything he'd just gained.
The fear of disappointing Qui-Gon, of never seeing his mother again. It was the fear that would eventually consume him, unless someone helped him learn to face it.
"Not bad, but you're holding the saber too tightly," I said, stepping into the room.
Anakin spun around, his eyes wide. Up close, they were even more striking, a blue so bright it seemed almost unnatural.
"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't know anyone was here. I can leave if...."
"You don't have to leave," I said, moving closer. "This is a training hall. It's meant to be used." I gestured to his saber. "May I?"
He hesitated, then handed it over. I ignited the blade, feeling its weight, its balance.
"The saber is an extension of yourself," I said, moving through a basic Form I sequence.
"If you grip it too tightly, you restrict its movement. You fight against it instead of flowing with it." I deactivated the blade and handed it back.
"Try again. But this time, hold it like you're holding a bird. Firm enough that it won't fly away, but gentle enough that you won't crush it."
Anakin took the saber, adjusting his grip. He ignited it and moved through the same sequence I'd demonstrated.
The difference was immediate. His movements smoothed out immediately, becoming more fluid.
"Better," I said, nodding. "Much better."
He deactivated the saber, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Thanks. I'm Anakin. Anakin Skywalker."
"I know," I said. "I'm Cain."
"I know," he echoed, and his smile widened. " I hear how everyone's been talking about you. They say you're the smartest and strongest youngling in the temple. That you can do things with the Force that even some Masters can't."
I felt my cheeks heat. "People exaggerate."
"Do they?" Anakin asked, and there was something challenging in his tone. "Master Qui-Gon even said you were talented and I should look to you for help."
I studied him carefully. " Qui-Gon actually said that?" I paused for a moment. " Anakin, how much do you know about the Force?"
"Not much," Anakin admitted. "Master Qui-Gon's been teaching me, but it's all so new. On Tatooine, I could just... do things. I didn't understand why or how. I just knew I could."
"That's instinct," I said. "It's powerful, but it's also dangerous. The Force responds to emotion, to desire, to fear, to anger. If you don't learn to control those emotions, they'll control you."
Anakin's expression darkened. "The Council said the same thing. They said I'm too old, too afraid. That they won't train me to be a Jedi."
"Well the Council is wrong," I said flatly.
He blinked, surprised. "What?"
" I said they're wrong," I repeated. "Fear isn't the problem Anakin. Everyone feels fear, anger sadness and more. The problem is what you do with all those emotions. Do you let them control you, or do you acknowledge it and move forward anyway?"
"That's not what Master Yoda said."
"Master Yoda is nine hundred years old," I said. "He's wise, but he's also set in his ways. The Jedi Order as a whole has become rigid, Anakin. They've forgotten that emotions aren't the enemy, losing control of them is. Among other things."
Anakin stared at me, and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. "You really believe that? Won't you get in trouble for saying that type of stuff."
"I don't care if I get in trouble," I said with a smirk. "I've seen what happens when the Jedi try to suppress emotions instead of understanding them. It doesn't end well for them or the people around. Sometimes the galaxy as a whole."
"Mind you I can see the future sometimes or have visions in the Force. So I have seen the past , the future about certain people and the Jedi."
"What did you see about me?"
The question hung in the air between us, heavy with implications.
I could tell him. I could lay it all out, the fall, the darkness, the evil he commits, and the redemption. I could show him the path he was walking and hope it would be enough to change his course. But looking at him, at this small, frightened boy who'd just lost everything he'd ever known, I couldn't do it.
No, not yet.
"I saw your potential," I said carefully. "I someone who could change the galaxy. For better or worse, you're going to be important, Anakin. More important than you can imagine."
"That's what Master Qui-Gon said too," Anakin murmured. "He said I'm the Chosen One. That I'm supposed to bring balance to the Force." He looked at me, and his eyes were haunted. "But what if I'm not? What if I'm just... me? Just a slave kid from Tatooine who got lucky?"
"Anakin your you and that's all you will ever be. Force destiny or not." I said. "If your special is because you chose to be and the people who love you see you that way. Destiny is just another word for possibility, Anakin. What you do with that possibility, that's up to you."
Anakin was quiet for a long moment, processing. Then: "Will you help me? Teach me?"
"I'm not a Master," I said. "I'm just a youngling, like you."
"But you know things a lot more things then I do," Anakin insisted. "You understand things. Please. I don't want to fail. I don't want to disappoint Master Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan or..." He swallowed hard. "Or my mom. She gave up everything so I could be here. I have to make it worth it."
Looking at him, at the desperation and determination in his eyes, I felt something shift in my chest. This was why I was here. This was the mission. Not to save the galaxy single-handedly, but to be there for the people who would save it. To offer guidance, support, friendship. To be the anchor that kept them from drifting into darkness.
"Alright," I said. "I'll help you. But on one condition."
"Anything," Anakin said immediately.
"You have to promise me that you'll always be honest. With me, with yourself, with everyone. No hiding your feelings, no pretending to be something you're not. If you're angry, say so. If you're afraid, admit it. If you're struggling, ask for help." I held his gaze. "Can you do that?"
Anakin hesitated, then nodded. "I promise."
"Good," I said, offering my hand. "Then welcome to the group."
He took my hand, his grip firm despite his small size. "Group?"
"You'll meet them soon," I said, smiling. " My friends and some of the brightest younglings in the order. Seris, Derren, and Barriss. We train together, study together, and generally drive the Masters crazy together. You'll fit right in."
For the first time since I'd entered the room, Anakin's expression lightened. "Really?"
"Really," I said. "You're not alone anymore, Anakin. None of us are."
That night, I returned to the meditation balcony.
The city glowed beneath me, endless and eternal. Somewhere out there, Palpatine was plotting. The Sith were moving, Qui-Gon will either die or live. But I will be there for Anakin regardless.
Tonight in this moment, I'd taken the first step.
I'd met Anakin. I'd warned Qui-Gon Jinn. I'd begun building the connections that might, just might be enough to change the future.
I closed my eyes and reached for the Force. The void opened before me, vast and infinite. The stars were there, as always, thousands of them, scattered across the darkness. Green and blue and purple and yellow.
And there, burning brighter than all the others, was Anakin's blue silver-white light. But now, orbiting close to it, were four other stars. Golden-yellow. Silver-white with gold. Jade green. Deep sapphire blue.
The five of us together are together. I opened my eyes, and for the first time in three years, I felt something like hope settle in my chest.
The future wasn't fixed. It couldn't be. Because we were going to change it together.