By the Light of a Dying Star

Chapter 1: At the Beginning

Disclaimer: Star Wars is not mine

The first time she met him she was eighteen.

She was accompanying Dr Ranil on his monthly trip to the Temple. It was a miserable morning on Coruscant. The sky was an overcast shade of grey and the rain that horrible fine stuff that clings to your skin. The sun, still low in the sky, shone hazily through the formidable cloud cover making its rays cold and ultimately useless.

Isharia shivered and drew her coat closer around herself. The damp air sinking into her chest and chilling her throat with each breath. Although the weather on Coruscant was controlled by the mechanical minds of the WeatherNet droids, it still felt to her as if some ancient god was intent on making this morning as dull and uninviting as possible.

Turning her mind away from the weather she gazed at their destination from the open top university speeder. Upon a massive half-pyramid base five soaring spires towered above the surrounding landscape, their height dominating the horizon and casting long shadows on the district below. It was quite a sight, an enduring stone symbol of the sanctity of the hallowed order within its walls.

The Jedi Temple.

The whole complex was built upon one of Coruscant's highest natural mountains and was thousands of years old. The sprawling ziggurat base provided a maze of expansive empty halls, gardens and labyrinthine passages. Each level of the structure containing a new array of forgotten secrets and whispered knowledge and, at its heart, the mountain's peak and the base of Tranquillity Spire. It was a massive thing, stretching a kilometre into the sky and housing some of the most sacred objects of the Order: texts and artefacts documenting the history of the Jedi, countless works of art and thousands of priceless tomes.

Within the walls of the Temple was held a greater store of knowledge than anywhere else in the galaxy, collected and preserved by millennia worth of scholars. It was enough to make her salivate at the thought of accessing even a small portion of that information.

But alas, that was not the purpose of this visit.

Looking on the Temple, Isharia couldn't help but compare it to buildings of similar purpose back home. Brionian Force Academies might as well have been shacks compared to this towering behemoth. Even Homestead, the heart of the lauded Hunters Guild was nothing to the Temple's might.

'Jedi,' her grandmother had said, 'never in the galaxy will you find a people more unaware of their own sense of self-importance.'

Looking at the Temple Isharia couldn't help but agree. While awe-inspiring (especially for a first-time visitor such as herself) it did seem a tad unnecessarily large. Truly, only beings with a rather healthy perception of their own grandeur would need a building quite this big, one only had to look at the Senate rotunda as proof.

As they sped across the Temple district Dr Ranil inclined his head toward her, "Impressive, isn't it?"

Turning her head to face him Isharia took a moment to contemplate the question, "It depends on what you mean by that. But yes, I suppose it is." She looked back over to the Temple, "If you're into that sort of thing anyway," she said with a shrug.

The doctor raised an incredulous eyebrow before sighing, "Only you, Miss Ashaki, only you."

They carried on in silence as Dr Ranil skilfully piloted the speeder around the various stragglers and maintenance droids hurtling through early morning gloom, the Temple growing larger with each passing minute. Temple District was almost empty this time of day, being several hours too early for the regular commuters and several too late for returning party-goers.

"It's a great privilege, you know," Dr Ranil began, not taking his eyes off the skylane, "being able to work with the Jedi as we do. Not many scientists and medics have had the honour of working with the Medical Corps, let alone being able to access their labs." His eyes lit up and his face became more animated as he continued, "Just think of the discoveries we could make! With the Jedi's unique perception of the body through the Force and the university's cutting-edge research techniques we could save millions!"

Internally Isharia sighed. She admired his optimism, she really did, but if there was one thing she had learnt over the years about Force sensitives it was that most were notoriously secretive when it came to their abilities. For all his good intentions about this project, Ranil would be lucky to get more than the bare minimum of cooperation from the Jedi. Back on Brion, the scholars and researchers at the academies worked with no one but each other and hoarded their results like a Hutt did slaves. From her years offworld Isharia had learnt the Jedi were the same, if not worse, concerning their practises. Isharia felt bad for Ranil, as one of the younger professors at the First Republic Medical Academy of Coruscant he had yet to suffer the disappointment many of his elder colleagues had felt regarding projects gone wrong.

As they grew closer to the Temple she decided to voice what had been burning on her mind since she had found out she was accompanying him two days ago. "I still don't understand what I'm doing here, Doctor. I'm not even fully trained yet, I doubt I'll be much help or garner much respect from the Jedi," she said, focusing intently on their destination.

Ranil head snapped to her, shocked. "No one told you? Really?"

"Obviouslynot," she replied, her tone sarcastic as she continued to stare at the Temple.

Ranil turned back to the skylane and hummed, "You remember we did your blood work when you entered the university?" he asked, at her hum of recognition he continued, "Well, one of the usual tests is a midichlorian count, just for reference purposes you understand. When the department ran yours they were shocked, your blood came back with a count of around some 14,000! I'm not sure you know this, but even amongst the Jedi that's unusually high. With you being born in the Core, you should have been picked up by the Order."

Oh. That.

"I just thought that you of all people deserve to see the Temple, and since the Board has been pestering me for a while now about taking a student with me my mind naturally turned to you. It doesn't hurt that you are one the more promising members of my class." He looked to her and grinned, "also the idea of having a Force sensitive's perspective of the place was simply too fascinating to pass up."

Isharia internally cursed, she had forgotten about that blood test. The last thing she wanted to do was attract the attention of the Order and therefore attract their attention to Brion. She had simply been far too preoccupied with the thought of the university discovering that her records had been falsified and having her arrested to care too much about the test. She knew it was a risk attending a university so close to the heart of the Jedi Order but she had been so desperate to get as far away as possible from Brion and the expectations of her family to give more than a passing thought to it. It was now evident that that had been a bad idea.

Brion was not a member of the Republic. In fact, it practised a strict isolationist policy and, as a result, had faded into obscurity, a mere footnote in the history of the galaxy. Brion did not send data on children's midichlorian counts to the Order and Brionian Force sensitives never became Jedi. Instead, they trained at one of Brion's few Force Academies to control their abilities and gain an education before joining the rest of the population in one of many various professions. A small number of Academy graduates went on to professions specific to Force sensitives while the lucky minority were selected to become Hunters and join the Guild. That was one of the highest honours on Brion, one that every child dreamed of.

'The Guild,' thought Isharia nastily, 'even more presumptuous than the Jedi.'

"Well, we're here!" Dr Ranil's voice snapped her out of the unpleasant direction her thoughts had been taking. She was so deeply entrenched within her own mind that she had failed to notice that they had pulled up outside the northern entrance to the Temple. Giving it a once over she noticed that unlike the main entrance, the northern entrance was fairly plain with only a few bronze statues and some Temple Guards posted by the doors.

Gathering herself up, Isharia leapt deftly over the edge of the speeder onto the stone paving slabs below. They had been arranged into an artful spiral pattern, circling outwards from the centre of the entrance courtyard towards a pair of fine wooden doors. A rare site on Coruscant-what with the lack of trees and most other flora.

'Some austere, semi-monastic order they are, they even have decorative paving stones,' she thought wryly.

Isharia bent over and stretched her legs before reaching upwards and yawning widely, the sleeves of her coat falling to rest around her elbows. She relished the chance to be out of the speeder, the trip had been some three and a half hours from the Fobosi District to the Temple and it had meant she'd had to wake long before dawn to make it here for the time the Jedi were expecting them. The Jedi, it seemed, kept far more punishing hours than most of Coruscant.

Dr Ranil exited and locked the speeder before motioning for her to follow. She jogged around to fall in step with him as they made their way towards the doors. Thinking about the doctor's comment on Force sensitivity, Isharia took the opportunity to stretch out with her mind and almost stumbled as the most complete wave of serenity she had ever felt crashed over her.

'So this is why the Temple is so special.'

Through the Force the Temple was even more impressive; a thick aura of calm hung over it like a shroud, radiating peace in every direction. Isharia wanted to simply stand and bask in it as feeling more at ease than she had done in what felt like a lifetime. It was like its own entity within the Force, a great benevolent being stretching tendrils of Light out into the chaotic swirl of the city planet. An island of timeless stillness within an ocean of constantly fluctuating life. If she wasn't awed before, she definitely was now. Nowhere on Brion felt like this- she was pretty sure nowhere anywhere felt like this. The all-encompassing serenity was a product of thousands of years of Jedi habitation and served as a reminder as to why the Jedi had endured as long as they had. The feeling here was just so...so eternal! As if it could weather anything.

But Isharia couldn't help but feel as though there was an edge to the Temple's presence, that in some way it felt...cold.

Isharia shoved the thought away to ponder on later.

Having noticed her slight misstep, Ranil came to a stop in the centre of the court and turned to her, a concerned frown on his face. "Are you alright?" he queried, eyes darting over her face to scan for any signs of unrest.

"Perfectly fine," she assured with a lazy shrug "it's just a bit...much."

"Much?" he queried his frown deepening and his eyes sharpening as he studied her more intently, "Much of what?"

"You know, the feeling, of all of this," she said, sweeping her arm in a large arc to encompass the massive form of the Temple.

Ranil's face shone with excitement as he latched on to that piece of information. "You sense something?" he asked in a rush, stepping closer to her in his eagerness for an answer. "Through the Force?" His hands flexed briefly at his sides as if to forcibly drag the response out of her while he leaned in closer, his rapt gaze drilling into her.

Isharia blinked at his rapid emotional U-turn; she pulled her eyebrows together in confusion and answered slowly, "Yes?"

At this he promptly straightened up, placing his hands on his hips he positively beamed at her, "Marvellous!" he exclaimed, eyes dancing. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you! You must write everything down in your report when we return to the university! Spare no detail, I want to know all about it!" He quickly glanced down at his chrono before abruptly turning and striding off toward the Temple doors, "Come along, Miss Ashaki, we don't want be late!" he called over his shoulder.

Isharia raised a bemused eyebrow at his retreating figure before quickly jogging after him, coat flapping in the wind.

Approaching the doors, Isharia took the opportunity to study them in greater detail. Each one was covered in gloriously intricate carvings documenting scenes from the Order's illustrious past, though much of it had been lost to the ravages of time.

There were exquisite depictions of battles, where the violence and fury was almost real, and peaceful scenes of learning and teaching, of thousands of species coming together to serve the greater galaxy. The faces were so detailed that she could almost feel the presences of these ancient Jedi, their wisdom and power echoing out of their still forms and casting knowing, gentle eyes over modern Coruscant.

Every segment was a work of art, carved into the wood with such loving care and precise detail. Isharia let her eyes still on one particularly dramatic relief of an early battle with the Sith. Even through a carving the darkness evident in the Sith sent a chill down her spine. The madness inherent in him was almost tangible through the wood as the small figure opened his mouth in a silent scream of victory before moving to strike down an opposing Jedi. It was brutal and dark. A fitting reminder of the power of the Force and the danger of its misuse. Isharia shuddered and tore her gaze away from the frames.

They were just about to enter the Temple when the clipped coruscanti tones of one of the guards caught their attention. "Halt!" he called, his voice distorted though his white mask, "What is the purpose of your visit today?" He stood calm and serene, his posture balanced in parade rest.

"Oh! Greetings to you, Master Jedi! We're just here for our appointment today with Master K'Tari so if you could let us pass that would be splendid!" Ranil replied, grinning broadly at the impassive mask.

The guard looked unmoved by Ranil's enthusiasm, which wasn't really surprising, but she'd bet underneath that mask of his he was taken aback. Ranil had garnered a reputation back at the university for eccentricity. While quite a charming young doctor, his tendency towards particularly difficult projects and strange teaching methods had made the other academics reasonably wary. His lectures tended to be a confusing mix of odd facts and wildly irrelevant anecdotes that somehow ended with you knowing exactly what he was trying to teach in the first place. Although bizarre, his proclivity towards success in both his projects and his classes had earned him respect amongst the university staff.

It also helped that he was considered one of the most attractive of the academics, with his dark intelligent eyes and sculpted aristocratic features. Isharia knew many a student would be seething with jealousy about her trip out with him this morning.

'They're welcome to it,' she mused, 'I'd much rather still be in bed and as far away from the Jedi as I can get.'

The guard nodded in ascent and they were quickly admitted into the Temple. Once inside, they were directed through a series of sweeping public annexes filled with grand arched ceilings and ornate marble columns. Their path was complex, and they twisted and turned through immense stone halls until coming to a stop in a smaller, but no less imposing, hall to wait for Master K'Tari. The very same overwhelming sense of peace was even stronger inside the Temple, the feeling seemingly seeping out the walls.

The hall they had stopped in was a vast open space with broad transparisteel windows and pale marble walls, the sheer size made every footstep echo. The mixture of light and the stone was both humbling and invigorating in the same way a cathedral or ancient hall of learning was.

"Well, what do you think?" questioned Ranil gazing up at the ceiling, "Pretty spectacular, eh?"

"Indeed, Doctor," Isharia agreed faintly, her dark eyes wide and roving. 'By the Force, this place is amazing! I've never seen anything quite like it!' The Force was thick in the air here, bathing everything in soft radiance. It was a wondrous feeling, one unique to the Temple. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply to savour it.

Ranil chuckled, "Well you seem suitably impressed. I'll ask Master K'Tari if they can spare a padawan to give you a tour." He shook his head, "Some of the rooms here...well, you've got to see them," he said, awe evident in his voice.

Isharia opened her eyes and nodded slowly in agreement, "I think I'd like that," she replied.

Inside she was reeling, what an opportunity! A personal tour of the Temple, by a Jedi no less! Not many could boast such an experience and as much as she wished to avoid Jedi attention this was not something Isharia could pass up. 'No wonder the Jedi are so highly regarded! Living in a place like this,' she thought in wonder, 'if joining the Order wasn't required, I could just stay here forever.'

"It's decided then," Ranil said nodding decisively, "when we've finished talking to Master K'Tari you can have a tour while I look over the labs." He smiled at her and shrugged, "It's not as though you really need to see them anyway, a lab's a lab wherever you go. The only difference here is that the scientists wear robes."

They waited in silence for a little until the sound of footsteps reverberating through the hall heralded the arrival of someone else. Through the entrance opposite the one they had come from appeared an aging female pantoran whose walk could only be described as a glide. She wore a floor sweeping beige dress under a long tan tunic with a dark bantha-hide tabard thrown over her shoulders. Around her narrow waist sat a series of cloth and bantha-hide belts in schemes of brown and crème holding the ensemble together. She was tall and lithe and moved with the unconscious grace of a trained dancer, her every step a perfect precursor to the next. Her lavender hair, lined with the faintest sheen of silver was pulled back in an elaborate series of braids which were secured at the base of her head in a tight, no-nonsense bun.

Upon noticing her, Ranil's face stretched into a wide grin, "Ah, Master K'Tari! How nice to see you again!" he exclaimed as he walked over to her and clasped her hands in his.

"It is good to see also, Dr Ranil," she replied smiling, the crow's feet around her eyes crinkling slightly as she did so.

Dr Ranil turned back to Isharia and beckoned her over with his hand, "May I introduce to you my student, Isharia Ashaki. She'll be joining us today," he said gesturing to her.

Stepping forward Isharia gave a slight bow, "It's an honour to meet you Master Jedi, my sincere thanks for allowing me to visit today."

The Jedi smiled and inclined her head in response, "It is no problem, child. We always enjoy new faces around the Temple, these are troubled times and many would appreciate the distraction."

Ranil nodded sagely, "Ah yes, the Naboo Crisis, tragic that. Although the young queen was very brave to speak out like that in the Senate, and call for a Vote of No Confidence too!" Pursing his lips and tapping them in thought Ranil questioned, "I heard the whole thing was being overseen by two Jedi, I trust they have managed to make progress?"

K'Tari sighed with weariness, "Unfortunately not, the Trade Federation do not seem to want to negotiate, it was all Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi could do to help the Queen escape with her life."

"Really? Terrible! Terrible all of it! Corporations and capitalists blockading planets! What next? A droid rebellion?"

The corners of K'Tari's mouth quirked up with amusement and her eyes glittered with mirth, "I should hope not, Doctor, the damage that would do would be immense."

"Yes, of course. Anyway, on to better and brighter things!" Ranil turned to Isharia and beamed, "What, my dear student, you are about to learn is the culmination of two years' worth of collaborative work between myself and Master K'Tari. Blood, sweat and tears have gone into it along with many late nights and hundreds of credits worth of caf."

Isharia returned his smile, "I eagerly await your instruction, Doctor."

"Splendid!"

Master K'Tari watched their exchange with humour shining in her bright gold eyes. "It's nice to see the young taking an interest our work, most of our initiates and padawans are more interested in lightsaber forms than anything that happens in the labs." She sighed, "Enough of my rambling, if you'd like to follow me, we'll head to my office first."

She led them through another series of grand corridors and halls, pointing out various points of interest as she went: statues of famous Jedi, routes to various gardens and meditation rooms, interesting architectural features and places where notable events occurred. As they continued onwards Isharia found it increasingly difficult to keep her jaw from scraping the floor. She had known already that the Temple was big, but knowing and experiencing are two different things and the Temple was kriffing huge!

'How in Malachor do they navigate this place? It's like its own city!'

"We live in the Temple from a very early age and for the most part we rarely stray from the more commonly used areas. There are whole regions of the Temple that no-one's visited in years," informed Master K'Tari from where she walked in front of them.

Isharia started, her eyes growing wide and then narrowing in suspicion, 'Did she just…'

"No, I merely received the general impression of your thoughts through the Force, it's a rather common reaction for visitors," she said turning back to address Isharia. "Are you Force sensitive by any chance? Your Force signature is quite impressive," she enquired, a slight frown on her face.

Isharia immediately slammed up her shields and muted her Force presence until it was no more than a whisper. She flinched imperceptibly at the sudden loss of awareness.

'Kriff, kriff, kriff! Forgot my shields, forgot my shields! Of all the karking things!' she thought, focusing on keeping her face as artfully blank as possible while her mind ran around in panicked circles.

"Why yes, she is," interjected Ranil, intrigued, "you can sense other Force sensitives?"

"Not always, it's more like there's a different intensity to the presence of Force sensitive that makes them easier to identify. They're….brighter, for want of a better word. The more potential you have for manipulating the Force, the brighter your signature."

Ranil rubbed his jaw in thought, "How fascinating. You know that's actually why I brought Miss Ashaki here today, we ran a midichlorian test upon her entry and found that her levels are around….."

'Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it!'

"…..14,000! We were amazed, let me tell you!"

'No no no no no no NO! You karking son of a bantha! It was none of her business you, you you….Poodoo Head!'

K'Tari stopped walking and her eyebrows rose in shock, deepening the lines in the blue skin of her forehead before her gold eyes sharpened and fastened onto Isharia's. "Fourteen…thousand. Are you sure, Doctor?" she asked frowning. Isharia could feel the light mental probe tiptoeing around the edge of her shielding and K'Tari's eyes narrowed further.

"Quite sure, we ran the test multiple times to check."

"Where are you from, child?" K'Tari asked, her tone booking no room evasion.

'This is it, time to see how well my story holds up to Jedi.' Isharia took a mental deep breath and remembered the planet she had put on those falsified records. "Alderaan. I was born on Alderaan, in the Juran Mountains."

K'Tari frowned and looked troubled, "Alderaan is a Core World, as far as I know all children are tested at birth for Force sensitivity. With a count as high as yours, we should have found you."

'Well the best lies are the truth, so here goes nothing.' Resting all her faith in her carefully prepared backstory Isharia replied, "My family is made up of rather isolated traditionalists and my grandmother sees doesn't really like Jedi. There was no way they were going to have me tested, their idea of a fulfilling life is staying at home and conforming to their expectations," the bitterness in her voice was evident as she said this, she laughed hollowly, "I had to run away to be able to study what I wanted."

'Judgemental idiots, the lot of them,' she thought with scorn.

K'Tari looked taken aback before sorrow graced her features, "I am terribly sorry for bringing up such a painful subject, Miss Ashaki. I can't imagine what that must be like, I'm sure your parents understand why you chose this path and I have faith that such things are the Will of the Force."

Isharia looked away and fixed her eyes on the swirl of blues and greens in the marble column next to her, studying the waves and eddies in their pattern. "Yeah well, hard for them to be understanding and stuff seeing as they've been dead ten years," she commented darkly.

Immediately fragments long supressed began to swirl in her mind: the cloying sweet stench of blood and the almost beautiful way it stains white skin. A man's frightened voice shouting ("Elyssi, take Isharia and run!") and the tearstained face of a woman with beautiful white hair falling over her shoulders like a shroud ("Stay here, sweetheart. Be good for Mummy, never forget that we love you."). The overwhelming sense of having something missing, of something vital being gone. The gaping absence in her mind that spoke of alone, all alone, alone in the house, alone in her mind. Where were her parents? She couldn't feel them. Why was the floor all red? It hadn't been this morning. What was that funny fleshy-looking object over by the door? And why did everything in her scream GONE GONE GONE GONE!

Isharia slapped those memories down.

'Now is not the time for this!' she reprimanded herself, 'Focus on the present.'

She took a moment to let the calming effect of the Temple ease her turbulent mind before turning her head back towards Ranil and K'Tari to find them both looking at her with equally worried eyes. Quickly checking her mental shields, she assessed them to make sure none of her inner turmoil had leaked through before working to even out her breathing and slow her racing heart.

"Are you alright, Miss Ashaki?" Ranil asked, the concern evident in his voice as he raised his hand to reach out to her, before thinking better of it and letting it fall limply back to his side.

"Yes, Doctor, quite alright," she answered, the smile she gave them not quite reaching her eyes. "Besides, weren't we going to discuss your new medical wonder?"

Ranil looked her over with a frown, his worry evident in the tight set of his jaw and the puckering of his brow. "If you say so…." he said carefully, sharing a glance with K'Tari. Folding her hands into the sleeves of her robes, the Jedi gave a small nod in reply to the unspoken question. Ranil heaved a great sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Alright then, let's continue."

They carried on the rest of the way to the turbolift in awkward silence, the air between the three of them was thick with unanswered questions, creating a tangible barrier to conversation. Isharia spent most of it cursing herself for being so careless, of all the places in the galaxy to lapse into an emotional meltdown it had to be the Jedi Temple. It was quite possibly the worst place: being as every single sentient in the Temple apart from Ranil and a few others would be able to feel the creeping tendrils of her distress as if they were their own. She had thought she was over this, that the mention of her deceased parents would no longer send her into an excruciating spiral of painfully realistic flashbacks, but no, apparently not. She didn't know if it was the palpable presence of the Force here at the Temple which had caused a stronger reaction than she'd had in years or something else, something darker.

Recently she had noticed a tainting in the Force, a sense of growing danger prowling through Coruscant like a hunting Krayt dragon. It was slowly sinking into all the dark places in the city, biding its time and stretching out its oily fingers. Unlike her grandmother, Isharia had no real precognition ability and was rarely gifted with visions, but even she could feel something was coming, waiting in the shadows until the right moment to strike. What surprised her however, was that the Jedi had given no indication that they felt it. From that she could only speculate that she could sense it because unlike the Jedi who had grown and trained in the beautifully Light atmosphere of the Temple; she had lived on Brion where the Dark was very real and its scars on Brion's past very visible.

After an exceedingly convoluted trek through a maze of cleanly minimalistic passages, they reached the turolift that would take them up to the Halls of Healing. The Halls of Healing and their subsidiaries were located just under the base of First Knowledge Spire in the south west corner of the Temple. They were home to the Jedi Medical Corps, one of the most highly trained and well stocked groups of medical practitioners in the galaxy.

During the turbolift ride, K'Tari finally broke the silence. "I would like to apologise for making you recall any distressing memories, Miss Ashaki," she said apologetically, her saffron eyes shining with compassion, "it was cruel of me."

Isharia sighed and gave the Jedi Master a small smile, "It's fine, you didn't know," she replied.

K'Tari returned her smile before looking her over with consideration, "If you don't mind me asking though…how did you come by such an unusual colouring?" she questioned.

Dr Ranil perked up then and turned to her to with curiosity on his face, "Yes I've wondered about that too, it is rather different."

That was one way of putting it, her colouring was one of the reasons why she had chosen Alderaan to be her home planet, because while rare, her features weren't unheard of. Brionians were a rather colourless race. They had little to no variation in the tint of their skin, the hue of their eyes or the shade of their hair; making them rather boring to look at really, a picture in greyscale. All Brionians possessed the same deathly pale skin with very little deviation between individuals and the same short, slender stature. Other than that, they all had one of two hair and eye colours- black or white. That was it. Any combination of the two was possible: white hair white eyes, black hair black eyes, black hair white eyes, so on and so forth. But the rich browns, vibrant greens and sunny blondes that the rest of the galaxy possessed in abundance? No. Because of their unique genetic heritage and isolationism, Brionians had never possessed the stunning variety of difference common in most species.

One of the first things that had struck Isharia after leaving Brion was the sheer amount of colour in her fellow sentients, the galaxy became a veritable rainbow once you travelled a few parsecs from Brion. They were beautiful, all of them. While it was true from the perspective of offworlders Brionians could be deemed an uncommonly attractive race, it was a cold beauty: impersonal, unnatural and removed.

Isharia herself had inherited a typical Brionian appearance: she was lissom and fey in stature, but not tall, with narrow, slanted black eyes and long white hair. While passably pretty, even by Brionian standards, she was hardly a great beauty. Elyssi, her mother, had been the beautiful one. She'd held a warmth in her features that other Brionians lacked, a light inside her that softened the hardness of her edges and dulled the ice shards in her white eyes.

Isharia looked down, eyes closed in remembrance, "From my mother, the hair anyway," she murmured in low, sad tones.

'You had such beautiful hair, Mum, like spun starlight,' she thought with grief, 'no one else could ever compare.'

She opened her eyes and smiled sadly, "The eyes are my father's," she added tilting her head upwards to look at K'Tari.

The pantoran's face softened with sympathy and she laid a tender hand on Isharia's shoulder, "You will only ever have to look in the mirror to see them then. Those who love us never truly leave," she replied quietly, her voice ringing with a certainty that sang true through the Force.

Just as Isharia was about to reply the doors of the turbolift opened to reveal yet another grand pillared hall. K'Tari then threaded her hands back into the voluminous sleeves of her robes and smiled down at her, "Well, just around the corner now," she said kindly before striding purposefully away.

Ranil stepped to Isharia's side and gave her a brisk pat on the shoulder, "Off we go again!" he smiled cheerily and jogged off to catch up with Master K'Tari.

Isharia followed them out of the turbolift but hung back at a slower pace, letting her eyes drift between the mammoth statues that were dotted around the pillars. She slowed to a stop in front of one on the left side of the hall. Stood between two rose coloured pillars, it depicted a tall robed human man with one arm outstretched toward the heavens with an open palm. In his other hand, he held an old flimsi book. It was the statue of a scholar. That much was obvious between his skyward reach and possession of such a prominent symbol of learning. Isharia took a moment to admire the craftsmanship of his stern marble form before thinking back on her earlier conversation with the Jedi.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! You are such a fool, Isharia!' she scolded herself, scrunching her eyes tightly closed, 'Letting yourself get so worked up and giving away more information about yourself'

If the Order took it upon themselves to find out why one Isharia Ashaki of Alderaan had never been tested for Force sensitivity they wouldn't get far. They'd soon come across proof that no such person existed, at least not from Alderaan anyway, and if that came out she'd be ruined. The university would find out she'd lied to them to gain admission and she'd be out faster than you could say Juran Mountains. Her thoughts raced by at hyperspeed, if that happened she'd be completely lost. She'd be alone in an unfamiliar world with nothing.

If the worst did occur though, she refused to go back to Brion though, no matter how bad things got. She would NOT slink back with her tail between her legs and failure on her back to meet the icy smug eyes of everyone she knew. She would face the challenges alone, at least with her Hunter training she could become a bounty hunter if worse came to worst.

She relaxed the muscles around her eyes and took a deep calming breath, letting crisp, cold Temple air fill her lungs. It was decided then. The moment she got even the slightest inkling that the Jedi were looking into her past she would disappear into the coruscanti underworld; it would be dangerous, true and could cost her life but it was a better alternative than the Jedi finding Brion.

Deep as she was in her own mind, she failed to notice a small form come barrelling down the hall until it crashed right into her and sent her tumbling to the floor, instinctively she wrapped herself around it and skilfully turned the fall into a roll. When she had come to a stop, she peered down to see what exactly she grabbed onto. The first thing she was greeted with was a pair of the clearest, brightest, bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were a truly magnificent colour; a crystalline shade akin to the colour of ice when it flash-freezes from seawater or the midday sky, just when the sun is at its highest. They were so singly stunning, she just sort of laid there staring at them for a few moments before the eyes blinked at her, calling her back to reality.

She swiftly turned her attention to the rest of the situation and was surprised to discover that what had come hurtling into her was in fact a small blond boy. They were both currently sprawled out rather gracelessly on the ground with him wrapped in the vice grip of her arms. Upon realising this, she hurriedly unlocked her arms from around his form and allowed him to quickly scramble upright. When he was fully stood up he promptly bent over in a tense bow.

"Imsosorrymissididntseeyouthereimreallyreallysorry!" he squeaked out in a single breath before looking up to stare straight at her with those big baby blues.

Isharia's first thought when she saw him was 'Ohmiforce, he's SO cute!' accompanied by an inner girlish squeal.

He really was adorable, stood up straight he probably only just reached above her hip height. This coupled with the wonderful sandy tone of his hair, the rich tan of his skin and the ridiculously earnest expression on his little face made him instantly irresistible to Isharia. He had the cutest little bowl cut hairstyle and was attired in a fashion similar to the Jedi, but the cloth was of noticeably lesser fabric and markedly more worn. This was certainly no Jedi youngling, she could tell that from his Force signature alone.

Now that, that was something.

His presence shone out like a bright blaze of glory in the Force, wonderfully emotive and gloriously alive. It awed her to some degree, the sheer depth of the power and potential contained within his diminutive body. His presence had warmth of feeling to it that tended to be absent in most trained Force sensitives and felt like the purest brightest sunlight as it touched her own presence.

Isharia gradually clambered to her feet and brushed the dust from their tumble off her legs, seeing that the boy was still bent over and waiting for a response, she slid seamlessly into a crouch and sat back on the balls of her feet. Now that she was level with him, she could see the faint traces of fear swimming in the liquid depths of his eyes.

'Why is he scared of my reaction?' she wondered with to assuage his fears somewhat, she smiled kindly at him and shrugged, "No harm, no foul,"

His eyes then roved rapidly back and forth over her face as though to make sure she was being truthful before, upon deciding she was being honest, his face split into big toothy grin that lit his features up like a Life Day tree. His Force signature too, got even brighter, if that were possible.

Isharia's heart practically melted.

'Can I squeeze his cheeks?' she deliberated, 'No, I don't think he'd like that.' She considered him for a moment, 'I don't think the Temple would like it if I took him home with me either.' She sighed 'Oh well, maybe the next adorable child I come across.'

"What's your name, kid?" she asked, keeping her voice light and friendly.

He opened his mouth to answer her, when from down the hall came…

"ANAKIN!"

The boy suddenly jolted upright like a strung bow and whirled around to face the voice. Isharia, still in her crouch leaned slightly to the side to gaze over his shoulder with interest. She was greeted by the sight of a much harried padawan striding toward them, his hurried steps causing his robe to flare out behind him and whip at his heels. Behind him was another Jedi, presumably his Master, following at a more sedate pace with his face set in an amused grin.

Isharia took the opportunity the brace her hands on her knees and rise slowly while still peering down the hall at the newcomers. Absently, she noted that Ranil and K'Tari were nowhere in sight; probably having turned off into another passage, leaving her in alone in the hall.

The padawan came to an abrupt stop in front of Anakin, placed his hands on his hips and looked down on the boy with his eyebrows drawn into a rather terrifying frown. In response, Anakin meekly lifted his chin to meet the padawan's stern gaze, wearing a sheepish smile as he shifted his weight anxiously from foot to foot. It was then the elder Jedi caught up to them and moved to stand beside his padawan, folding his arms into the sleeves of his long brown robe.

The elder was a tall man with a wiry strength in his frame and light eyes that twinkled with good humour. He had long, greying brown hair and a leonine feel to his presence, giving him the impression of an amiable ageing predator. The padawan, by contrast, was shorter but also slightly stockier with an endearingly boyish face and striking golden red hair. His eyes were the colour of summer storms and his skin was smooth with youth.

"Well, Ani, it looks like you didn't get too far," the tall Jedi said with some amusement, eyes glittering. Turning his head to face his padawan he raised one eyebrow and chuckled, "Although you did almost manage to give Obi-Wan a heart attack, running off like that."

Obi-Wan looked up from Anakin toward his Master and gave him a dry look with his own eyebrow raised in return, "And you were not worried too, Master?"

The Master simply gave an enigmatic smile and replied, "Ah, but I knew we would catch up with young Anakin, have a little faith, my young padawan."

Obi-Wan gave his Master an exasperated look which only caused the elder man's smile to widen. Isharia, who had been watching their exchange amused, discretely turned her laugh into a cough and hid it behind her hand. Upon noticing, the taller Jedi's smile turned into a full-blown grin and he looked down at Anakin.

"Why did you run off, Ani?" he enquired, peering at the boy who was nervously rocking backwards and forwards on his heels.

At this Anakin's eyes lit up with renewed enthusiasm, "Obi-Wan explained to me what a fountain was and then said that there's a room with a thousand of them here!" he exclaimed gesturing wildly. "I thought there's no way the Temple has that much water, especially not for something like fountains," he said, scrunching his little nose in slight derision, "but then some other Jedi agreed and said it was in this direction and I just had to see it!" he added excitedly.

'Cute, cute, cute, cute, cute, CUTE!' Isharia thought, her inner girly girl squealing over Anakin's adorable eagerness. 'The Jedi won't be that mad surely, if I kidnap him. Taking one child off their hands? I'd be doing them a favour.'

The Master's brow puckered in thought as he looked at Anakin in consideration, "Ah yes, the Room of a Thousand Fountains, being from a desert planet you would want to see that wouldn't you?" he said rubbing his chin. Raising his eyes to look at Isharia he added, "But that doesn't explain your new friend here."

Anakin looked down again and began playing with his sleeve, "Well ikindofranintoherandknockedherover," he exhaled in a rush. "But it's fine!" he quickly finished and then turned his head to look back at Isharia, blue eyes shining, "At least I think it is?"

Isharia really should have been a puddle of goo by now, the way she simply melted at that look, 'That face should be illegal,' she thought with a degree of awe, 'or bottled, at least.'

She smiled at him, "Hey, I said it was okay, didn't I?" she said with a wink.

He beamed back at her, his face shining like the rays of the sun.

It was now official, she was in love with that child.

Some of her thoughts must've been showing on her face as the Jedi Master shot her a knowing look, eyes bright with mirth. He then glanced round at all three of them before asking, "All settled then?" Obi-Wan sighed, Anakin nodded happily and Isharia inclined her head in agreement.

Directing his attention back toward Isharia he said, "Now that that's all done, allow me to introduce myself. I am Master Qui Gon Jinn, this is my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi," here he gestured toward the red haired man who gave a slight bow, "and this is Anakin Skywalker, of Tatooine," at this he placed both his hands on Anakin's shoulders, who looked up at her with another hundred-watt grin.

Instantly her mood plummeted and she took in Anakin's smiling face, 'Skywalker, that poor child,' she thought with some horror and a deep weariness. Suddenly his worn clothes made a lot more sense and Isharia could have cried for him. Skywalker was a slave name, an ancient one, but a slave name no less.

But the others, she recognised those names too and frowned, 'Where do I know those names from?' she turned them over in her mind a few times before: 'Of course! The Jedi form the Naboo Crisis!' She looked them over again, 'But when did they get the chance to pick up a slave boy from Tatooine?' Mentally shrugging, she discarded the thought as unimportant.

She stuck her hand out and smiled, "Isharia Ashaki, student at the First Republic Medical Academy."

It was Obi-Wan who reached over to shake her hand, but the moment he did, an indescribable jolt of….something shot down her spine like a lightning bolt. Her eyes flew to his as his grip suddenly tightened on her hand. Her eyes narrowed imperceptibly, 'I…I…know you…' There was something incredibly familiar about his presence, like a beloved dream she'd into his slate coloured eyes she wondered if he too felt the same strange sense of recognition. 'But where from? I've never met a Jedi before today…'

Apparently, she'd been staring at him far too intently for far too long as his face had started to flush pink under her scrutiny. She quickly let go off his hand and, feeling the blood rush to her own cheeks, turned her head to the side. 'He obviously doesn't have much experience with girls,' she thought with humour. She gave him a sidelong glance, 'Shame he's a Jedi really,' she sighed, 'he does have such nice eyes and the colour of his hair is quite lovely.'

In the meantime, Qui Gon had raised his eyebrows and was giving his padawan a rather bemused look which Obi-Wan returned with a scowl. Anakin, on the other hand, had evidently found the exchange quite amusing and was smirking mischievously, his cornflower-blue eyes darting between Obi-Wan and Isharia.

After a silent exchange between master and apprentice, Qui Gon sighed and turned back to Isharia, "So what brings you to the Temple today, Miss Ashaki?" he queried politely.

Isharia tilted her head up to meet Qui Gon's intelligent gaze and answered, "I'm here to talk to Master K'Tari about the joint research project between the Order and the university, the one about the usage of midichlorians in medicine," she paused to give a wry smile, "I did come with my professor-"

"Miss Ashaki!"

'Speak of the Sith.'

She looked through the gap between Qui Gon and Obi-Wan to see Dr Ranil jogging down the hall toward them with a vaguely disgruntled K'Tari at his heels. He stopped in front of her, braced himself on his knees panting and looked up to her, "We thought we'd lost you!"

Isharia gave the doctor an embarrassed smile and reached up to scratch the back of her head awkwardly, "I'm sorry, doctor, I got distracted by the statues and then bumped into Anakin, Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi here," she apologised while gesturing to Anakin and the Jedi in turn. "We were just about to discuss the project when-"

"Really?" he interrupted, standing abruptly up, "you're interested?" his eyes lit up with happiness.

Qui Gon gave a half shrug and smiled at Ranil, "Well, from what Miss Ashaki just said, it sounds fascinating."

"Wonderful! I'll tell you all about it!" he exclaimed animatedly, bringing his hands together, "It started out as just a thought between myself and one of my colleagues whilst we were in the field and I decided 'why not?' From there it's been a-"

"Dr Ranil!" Master K'Tari's frustrated tones cut him off mid-flow. The pantoran Jedi came and placed a hand on Ranil's shoulder and nodded toward Isharia, "Now that we've found Miss Ashaki, we really must be going," she said in a way a parent does when placating an energetic child.

'Seems her tolerance for the doctor's antics has been exceeded for the day,' Isharia thought drolly.

Ranil looked to K'Tari and upon seeing that her expression held no room for argument, sighed. "Another time then. Master Jinn, Padawan Kenobi, young Anakin," he said bowing to each of them. He caught Isharia's gaze and said, "Come along, Miss Ashaki, were wasting daylight here," and then strode off the way he came.

Master K'Tari gave Qui Gon an apologetic look before following Ranil, leaving Isharia alone with the two Jedi and Anakin once more. She gave each of them a smile and couldn't resist ruffling Anakin's hair before saying good-bye, "It was lovely to meet you all, but I should probably get going."

Qui Gon returned her smile, "Us too, Miss Ashaki, enjoy your time at the Temple," he said with a wave.

Isharia then jogged off to catch up with Ranil and K'Tari. Just as she was rounding the corner at the end of the hall she heard:

"She was nice, wasn't she, Mister Qui Gon?"

"Yes, Ani, quite friendly,"

Anakin hummed in agreement, "Mm hm, and pretty too,"

"Yes, pretty too. Obi-Wan, you thought so as well?"

"Her features were aesthetically pleasing, yes."

"It's okay, Obi-Wan, she thought you were pretty as well," Anakin chimed

There was the sound of embarrassed spluttering followed by joyous peals of laughter.

'Obi-Wan Kenobi, huh? I'll remember you," Isharia thought with a secretive smile as she walked away.