Disclaimer: Obligatory witty statement here.

I stared down at the datapad in my hands, trying to piece together what it meant.

You've shown great promise. Come to the dueling room directly after curfew tonight. -B

It had been three days since my duel with Aayla. Darra had taken me to the Halls afterwards and I had gotten an earful from Vokara about being reckless and how I should have never dueled someone 5 years my senior. However, to my immense surprise, after her long rant, I heard a very quiet, "I'm proud of you though." It had been a while since I'd heard that from someone, and, even though I complain about her often, I couldn't really think of anyone I respected more than her. The comment filled me with so much pride that, before I could come to my senses, I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her. There was an 'Oh!' of surprise, before I felt a quick pat on my head and she pulled away to walk to the back of the medbay. I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Darra's face when I looked over at her. I asked her if she had a bruise on her jaw from it hitting the ground so hard.

Anyways, the next two days were quite uneventful. However, the third day, after saber class, as I was putting my training lightsaber back in my locker and grabbing my dummy saber — the Order required Initiates to carry one around, kind of like police trainees at the academy — I noticed a datapad in my locker that I definitely had not placed there.

So, here I am, outside the dueling room, wondering what I was walking into. It could be some kind of ruse that would lead to hazing from older Initiates who didn't appreciate the young upstart embarrassing everyone. Even if this was the case, regardless of being unarmed, I felt confident I could handle any other initiate in the temple without to much trouble.

It being past curfew, I had to dodge several Padawans that were tasked with patrolling the halls, so it was pointless to turn back now after all that trouble. I took a deep breath and stepped up to the door to enter. I pressed the button to open the door…. And nothing happened. I tried several more times, but it appeared that the door was locked. I couldn't believe it. It must have been a prank, some other initiates probably were hoping that my curiosity would get the better of me and I'd be caught by one of the Padawan patrols. Well, damn, got all excited for…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I nearly jumped out of my robes when the beeping started. Once I got my pulse back under control, I realized that the incessant noise was coming from the datapad that I had found in my locker. It wasn't stopping, but it was slowing down as I took a couple of steps down the hallway… away from the dueling room!

I quickly turned around and ran back to the door, this time holding the datapad up to the control console. I heard a dull thunk and then the datapad became quiet again. I smiled to myself and eagerly tried to open the door once more.

Whoosh

I wasted no time in stepping into the room, the door automatically closing behind me. The lights were on in the room, but were significantly dimmer than they were when I was here for class. I then noticed two others in the room. One was either another initiate or an unfortunately short adult, of a species that I could not recognize, though looked quite reptilian in nature. The other was a Twi'lek, with skin a shade of blue so bright it was almost whi…. Oh shit! It's Master Bondara!

I stood rooted to the spot, trying to come to grips with what I was looking at. The freaking Battlemaster of the Order had called me to a late night rendezvous. This was either really awesome, or very, very bad.

"Initiate Kelborn, unless you plan on allowing a hawkbat to come and roost in your jaw, please, come join us," Bondara said, motioning to a spot next to himself and the second figure.
I finally snap out of my shock and proceed to join them in the center of the room.

"Thank you for arriving, I was worried that my faith was misplaced and that you had been discovered by one of the patrols. Kelborn, this is Initiate Zavrekk Tac," he gestured to the reptilian looking humanoid. Tac nodded at me and I responded with an eloquent "Sup."

"Tac is two years your senior, and also the only Noghri member of the Jedi at the moment."

That caught my attention immediately. From what I remember, the Noghri were complete badasses that were very effective against the Yuuzhan Vong. A warrior culture that wasn't all that different from the Mandalorians. It also puzzled me, because if non-Force-sensitive Noghri could still kick all kinds of ass, than I'm sure there would have been stories about Tac during the Clone Wars. Something must have happened to him before the war broke out. I'll have to keep an eye out.

After giving me a background on Tac, Bondara turned and provided the same for him.

"Kelborn is a very young initiate that has shown incredible prowess with both the blade and close quarters hand-to-hand combat. And, despite his unusual size, he has yet to reach his seventh day-of-birth."

Tac seemed to give me a quick once over, but if he was surprised by how large I was, he didn't show it on his face— or, at least I think he didn't. Not quite sure what surprise would look like on a Noghri.

"To be frank, Master Bondara, why have you called us here? I'm sure I speak for Initiate Tac as well when I say I'm rather anxious to learn the purpose of all the secrecy?" I asked, wanting to get the show on the road.

"Very well, let's begin. Initiates, what I'm about to tell you must not leave this room, under any circumstances. If I find out that any information shared here is somehow released, I won't even investigate who it was. You both will be expelled from the Order and conscripted into the AgriCorps, until such a time that you are old enough to be charged as an adult, at which point you will be found guilty of high treason against the Republic and the Jedi Order. At the very best you would receive life in a maximum security prison. This is your one and only chance to leave this room and say no."

He paused for a moment, and I don't know about Tac, but I could feel the perspiration gathering at my forehead. But neither of us moved or said anything.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Bondara took a deep breath and continued. "Very well. Over the last decade, the Force has become incredibly clouded. Even Master Yoda struggles to pierce the veil of the Dark Side. Reports have started reaching the Council's ears of magical items that bring ruin on those who handle them, of people performing feats only possible through the use of the Dark Side, and even of a claim of a hitman using a red lightsaber."

Well, three guesses who that is, and the first two don't count.

Tac finally spoke for the first time. "I understand that this is a very urgent matter, Master, but what does it have to do with us?" His voice was very gruff, almost like a human would sound if they had smoked a pack a day for a few years. It was a little unsettling considering how young he was supposed to be.

"Well, Tac, it pertains to you because I have been given permission to revive a very old black ops group that existed within the order thousands of years ago. This group's mission was the capture and destruction of any artifacts left behind by the Sith Empire and to root out any remnants of the Sith wherever they are found. The missions they went on were incredibly dangerous and often lasted months, if not years at a time with high probability of encountering the Dark Side. Naturally, these individuals had to be very powerful in the Force, as well as finely attuned to the Light in order to resist the temptations that would present themselves when handling the tainted relics. This group was known as the Jedi Shadows."

It took all my self control to keep my jaw from dropping when he said that. The Shadows? They were basically what the Spectre's were in the Mass Effect universe, trained to take on solo missions and work behind the scenes, the unsung heroes of the Republic. And I mean literally unsung, when the Shadows were active it was not uncommon for them to fake their deaths and basically cease to exist to more effectively hunt the Dark Side. I still couldn't figure one thing out though.

"Why us? Since it is just Tac and I there must be some very specific prerequisites that we had to meet or there would be more of us," I said, trying to figure out what made us special.

"Very astute, Kelborn. Yes, you are the only two that fit the bill for what I was looking for. The most obvious is that neither of you are apprenticed yet. This gives us more time to develop a strong base since you'll only be splitting time between here and your classes, rather than classes as well as training with a master."

Makes sense, but one thing was still bothering me. However, as I opened my mouth to voice my concern, Bondara lifted his hand to stall me. "I am also unconcerned with either of you not being chosen by a master to continue training based on the promise you've both shown, so no worry of you using this training against the Order after washing out," he said, answering my unasked question.

Well, that was quite the confidence booster.

"Second, both of you spent time in very harsh environments before coming to the Temple, giving you very valuable skills to help fend for yourself. Kelborn, you survived the streets of Nar Shaddaa far longer than any child at that age would be expected to. And Tac, you had to survive a harsh winter on Honoghr by yourself at the age of four. When you are out in the field as a Shadow, it's just you. No Order, no master, no apprentice. Just the Force, your saber, and, most importantly, your wits."

Huh, so it sounded like that the only reason that Aayla wasn't standing here with us was that she happened to have already been apprenticed.

"And lastly, the benefit that the two of you haven't spent your whole lives in the Temple is twofold. Firstly, for the reason I just stated; valuable skills gained while fending for yourselves. The second is why the Shadows are so controversial. The Shadows are expected to root out the darkness no matter where it resides, even if that means using… unconventional methods. A Jedi who has been sheltered from the harshness of the outside world would have a much harder time making that call while in the field. The two of you have knowledge of how the galaxy truly works, and are far more likely to make the correct judgement call to complete the mission."

It made sense, we were more desensitized to the horrors of the galaxy than any Jedi who had grown up in the Temple, and therefore wouldn't allow them to affect our state of mind. It was fine for most Jedi since a majority of the missions undertaken from the temple were of the peaceful and diplomatic sort, combat being highly unlikely. The missions Shadows would be sent on wouldn't only likely contain combat, but a high possibility of encountering a Dark Side user or artifact. Artifacts that, if some of the more obscure Star Wars stories I had read were to be believed, could cause destruction on a galactic scale if they were to fall into the wrong hands.

"Now," continued Bondara, "since you are both still here, and haven't voiced any concerns to what I've told you, I take that as your acceptance to becoming Shadows and to all the responsibilities therein lies. We will begin immediately. For the foreseeable future, the two of you will meet here with me every night at exactly ten minutes after curfew. Should you show up late, regardless of the reason, there will be consequences. Should you not show up at all because you were caught by a patrol on the way here, you will spend a week cleaning all of the Temple's refectory disposal units. Once one or both of you are chosen by a master, we will restructure our meetings. That being said, I advise you both to become very efficient at using meditation as a substitute for sleep, because you won't be getting much of it for a very long time."

This sounded like hell. School work, meditation, trying to catch the eye of a master, and training to become a one man army? Throw in what little sleep I could find and trying to maintain the relationships I'd been building, it seemed like an incredibly daunting task.

But, in for a penny, in for a pound, right? I smirked. Might as well get the full Star Wars experience.

Line break

The next couple of months were a whirlwind of activity. When I wasn't studying Force theory or Galactic History with Darra or going to my other classes, I was either meditating or training with Bondara and Tac. And man, training really kicked the shit out of us. It was unreal physical exercises that absolutely shredded our muscles punctuated by brutal duels between Tac and I, and on special occasions where Tac and I would square off against Bondara. After those sessions, it was a miracle that we could even drag ourselves back to our rooms.

Bondara did not pull punches, a lot of the time literally. Bondara didn't fight like a normal duelist. He used whatever he had to in order to gain an advantage, whether that meant back handing me into the far wall or headbutting Tac during a saber lock. He even went so far one time as to pull a capsule from his belt, crush it in his hand, and throw the powder in my eyes, causing me to become temporarily blind so that he could put me flat on my back and deliver a killing blow. And that's how every duel had to end. No tap outs, no concessions, no submissions. We didn't stop until one side had received a blow that would be considered fatal in actual combat.

He still held true to the Code, however, telling us to use our discretion on whether we could end a conflict without the loss of life or not. But what he was trying to instill in us was that many times the missions we would undertake would often involve dark side artifacts or individuals who could cause death on a large scale. Should ending the life of one or two, or even a group, of individuals prevent that outcome, it was the responsibility of the Shadow to make that tough decision and carry that weight with them. Sort of a 'the ends justify the means' mentality, something considered unsavory by the more idealistic Jedi of the majority of the Order, but a much more realistic view of how things sometimes work.

Training was exhausting and painful, but Bondara made sure to mix things up so we didn't get stagnant. We would duel with our sabers, brawl with our hands, both with and without the use of the Force, and he even would take us to the shooting range in the training grounds and have us train with various firearms. His reasoning was that lightsabers are very high profile weapons, and no one would mistake the sight or sound of one. Sometimes our missions would call for discretion and anonymity which would mean using more subtle weaponry.

I mentioned my father's S-5 in an offhand remark to Tac one time and Bondara overheard. He instructed me to start bringing it to every training session to familiarize myself with the weapon and become proficient in using sidearms. In his words, "A Jedi who focuses solely on lightsaber combat could easily be cut down on an open field by a fireteam. Do not limit yourself, always have options."

I enjoyed my training most of the time. In fact, the extra training had made me so skilled with my lightsaber and hand to hand combat, I had been moved ahead two more years in my combat classes, until Master Bondara finally had to step in and inform the instructors that he would be handling my lightsaber training himself since I was no longer receiving any benefit from wiping the floor with my peers. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but the combination of my size, natural combat prowess due to my lineage, and the mind of a near thirty-year-old made it almost unfair for the rest of the initiates. This almost doubled the amount of time I spent training with Bondara, though there was no complaint from me.

However, training wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Though I more than held my own against Tac in straight lightsaber and hand-to-hand matches, I was continually embarrassed whenever Bondara deemed to include Force powers in our duels. Though I could make myself incredibly fast and durable, and never really got tired, not being able to manipulate the environment around me at an acceptable level kept proving to be my downfall. Tac, not having this same issue, was able to use thrown benches and chairs, and Force pushes and pulls to maneuver me around the room basically at will, preventing me from backing him into a corner or using my greater speed to flank him.

I didn't realize how much the frustration was affecting me until one day Darra commented that somebody shouldn't brood so hard on their birthday.

Huh, guess I totally forgot. I turned 8 today. It had been a year and a couple of months since I'd started training with Master Bondara and Tac. I was turning 8, but I looked more like a pre-teen. I'd grown to nearly 4 foot 10 inches, and though my body was still to young to start showing the benefits of all the physical training I'd been doing, I was a lot more solid than any 8-year-old ought to be. I guess I'd really just thrown myself into training and had lost track of time. But, oh boy, was I sure in for a wake up call.

Line Break

I was walking down one of the halls of the Temple, heading to one of the refectories to grab some food and meet with Darra to review some things for our Force Theory class before our final next week. School work was school work was school work, apparently. Didn't matter what universe you were in, or how interesting said topic was, studying sucked across the board, as my lack of enthusiasm surely conveyed.

As I was passing one of the turbolifts that lead to one of the hangars of the temple, I nearly ran headlong into a figure that seemed to be hurrying to take the elevator. I began to apologize, but stopped the words from leaving my mouth when I realized who it was.

"Obi-wan? What's the rush, man? I was close to ending up with your boot mark on my face after you trampled over me!" I said, though with a clear tone of teasing in my voice.

The flustered Padawan spared me a glance and an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ty, I'm just in a bit of a rush. Master Qui-Gon and I were just assigned a priority 1 mission."

My jovial mood immediately left me. The Council assigned missions based on a rating system, from 5 to 0. A priority 5 was a very mundane task, usually something along the lines of delivering aid to impoverished planets such as food or water. In contrast, priority 0's indicated the assignment was taking place in an active warzone. For them to have been deployed to a priority 1 meant…

Naboo!

Everything in me went cold.

The events of Episode 1 were starting, and I'd been so caught up in training and studying, I let it sneak up on me. Rationally, I knew there was nothing I was going to be able to do at this point. I was a Master-less apprentice, let alone only 8 years old. That didn't change the feeling of foreboding in the pit of my stomach as I processed that I was now stepping into the prequel era. I glanced at Obi-Wan, thinking at a thousand miles a minute. I knew I had to try something.

It wasn't until I felt the weight of Obi-Wan's hand on my shoulder that I realized I'd been staring at him with a look of anxiety plastered on my face.

"Tyris, do not worry. Even though it's a high risk mission, Master Qui-Gon and I have been in many tough scraps. Trust in us, and in the Force. We will return, and I expect to hear that you've done well with your academics and are fully prepared for the initiate trials."

I glanced at him, swallowed, and said, "Promise me that the two of you will use the utmost caution. Something about this mission is giving me a bad feeling."

"You have my word, Ty. Now, please, go focus on your studies, I must meet Master Qui-Gon."

"May the Force be with you," I said weakly as he turned and entered the turbolift. After standing there for a minute, I realized I was holding my breath. I exhaled, forcing myself to calm down, finding comfort in the warmth my connection with the force offered. When I looked up and continued on to the refectory, it wasn't a look of stress and indecision that i wore, but one of determination.

I may not be able to do much as I currently was, but doing nothing guaranteed that nothing would change. I don't know the timeline of when they would return from Tatooine with Anakin, but I was going to use every second that I had to ensure I could do something. It was time to make use of the knowledge that I had.

AN: I would like to sincerely apologize for the length of time its been since I updated. The only excuse I have is that I lost interest in this part of the story. I have so many grand Ideas for when Episode 2 starts and on into the Clone Wars, but know that I can't simply just skip over this part of the story. That being said, next chapter will contain several timeskips. I fully expect for it to not flow very well, but the only way I can rekindle my interest in the story is to get to the meat of it as quickly as possible. We'll see the events of Episode 1 from Ty's perspective, as well as the initiate trials and him being chosen as a padawan, most likely with a very brief excerpt of him acquiring his lightsaber/kyber crystal. After that, I'm skipping straight to Episode 2. Down the line, I may consider the idea of an anthology series detailing the adventures he and his master get up to during those ten years, if there is enough interest. Once again, I apologize for my tardiness with the update. I won't make promises to be more consistent, but getting through this part of the story will help me get to the part that I am most excited to write. Also, I'd be remiss in not mentioning that A New Player In the Force by USSExplorer helped remind me how exciting star wars fiction can be. Seriously, check that fic out.

TeeJay out