Song: "Trust Goes Both Ways" from Rogue One OST

After a time of walking, they entered the main Temple halls. The guards at the entrance, holding double-bladed lightsabers the color of Iminec, paid them no heed. What were they? Renowned warriors, rejected for not being Force-sensitive enough? Jedi who'd chosen to don a different name and face and serve the Temple forever?

As they entered the hall, she immediately felt out of place. Jedi of various species spoke to one another in hushed voices, looking out the windows or walking down the halls. They all wore long robes, and the younger Jedi bore strange little braids trailing down their backs or chests.

She quietly ducked her head and shoved her gloved hands into her pockets, grateful that nobody could see her face. There were no Kaleesh here, which only served to make her look even stranger amidst humans, Togrutas, Twi'leks, and scads of other aliens she'd only read about.

"Arna!" a deep voice intoned from behind him, and both of them turned around. A scarred, bald man, whose complexion reminded Ronderu of a daelfruit, waved to them from a few meters away. He walked slowly toward them, bowing once he was near, and Arna returned it with a shy smile.

The man, who was slightly chubby but friendly-looking, shook Arna's hand jubilantly. "It has been too long. I was unaware you'd picked up a Padawan!"

Ronderu's face blossomed with heat, and Arna chuckled. "She's a foreigner. Bound to my service until she can pay off her debts for—"

Ronderu cleared her throat loudly. "I'm Ru. Ru san Jinn."

The man smiled. "I am the Jedi Master T'Chooka D'oon. Arna was my protégé a year ago."

"Your...." she searched for the word. "Padawan?"

"Exactly!" he said. "I'm beyond proud of him for having passed the trials and ascended to Knighthood." Ronderu didn't understand what most of this meant, so she just nodded along and smiled sheepishly in response.

"You two will dine with us?"

Arna nodded. "If the Jedi will entertain a visitor."

"I will make it so," D'oon said. "Come inside."

✺✺✺

As they walked down the halls, Ronderu kept her eyes to the ground. D'oon spoke to her after a time. "Your accent sounds Mandalorian, my young friend."

"I'm not your friend."

Ignoring her, he continued. "But underneath I hear traces of something the Republic has not heard since I was a young Padawan learner."

"I'm Kaleesh. But I've also practically become a Mandalorian citizen," she added bitterly.

"Arna treats you well?"

"Why wouldn't I?" his old Padawan said from beside them. "Ru likes me. She just doesn't want to admit it."

She supposed that was fair enough. "I must get home as soon as possible," she murmured, almost to herself. "I've already been away for too long."

Arna was notably silent at this, but D'oon picked up her response. "Anyone you're homesick for? A friend? Business partner? Spouse?"

My love. Strange emotions rolled off of Arna's aura, but she steeled herself and spoke. "I'm sure you've heard of the Kalee conflict, since you will be judging it today."

D'oon nodded somberly. "But you wish to return to that war zone?"

Thank the gods he's planning to side with us. She gazed toward the ground. "My loyalty is to my people, and one person there whom...." Whom I've gone sick with longing for.

"As well it should be," D'oon said. "You have the look of one who fought in the time of the Bitthævrian War, when the Republic and Kaleesh were one and the same."

"And what look is that?"

"The look of one who hides everything," he said simply, turning to the door. She pressed her lips together, for that was exactly what her life had been about from the start. "We will eat briefly with a few members of the Jedi. Then we'll move to the Senate chambers."

"May I eat alone?" she asked, imagining taking off her veil in front of a community of Jedi.

Arna piped in. "It's okay, Ru. These are good people. They won't make fun of you."

It'd be great to see that. "I'm not very nice to look at."

"I don't think that's true," D'oon said, pressing the code to unlock the door.

"I know that's not true," his former protégé declared passionately. "Even so, passing judgment is forbidden. We do not care about species here."

She lowered her gaze. "So be it, then." Hands shaking, she pulled her facial veil downward so it hung beneath her chin.

The dining room, like the rest of the Temple, was large but sparsely decorated. Dim lights illuminated a large round disk, and crisp sunlight from Coruscant's sky poured through a sky-window. Somewhere between ten and twenty seats surrounded this table, and a large podium resided at the back part of the room.

All of this decór was strange to her. Even on Mandalore, she and Arna had eaten on the floor at a squat table, just like back home. The idea of sitting propped up was a new experience.

Well, no harm in trying, she thought with a rueful smile. She would tell Qymaen all about her adventures once she saw him again. She could almost hear his voice, quiet and deep, in her ears—his hands tracing the outline of her spine....

She pressed the memory of his face aside, for she dared not get sidetracked. Several other robed beings walked out of the other doors into the dining area. Some came over and patted D'oon on the back, or shook Arna's hand and complimented him on what a wise young man he was becoming.

For the first time in her life, Ronderu got the invisibility she craved. But that lasted only a moment before Arna spoke to her. "You look like a statue."

She didn't know how to respond, but then he chuckled quietly. "Come, sit."

"Is there room?"

"There's always room," he said, sitting down and beckoning her. She sat down; her small feet did not touch the floor.

"I feel your anxiety," Arna said.

"Get out of my head."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?"

Her eyes snapped to his. "Would you shut the huk up?"

He had no visible reaction. "See those people?" He pointed to two humans lingering in the entrance. One was a man in his thirties with shoulder-length hair and a scruffy beard. The other was a boy, barely an adult, with shorter and darker hair. One of those odd braids hung down his shoulder.

She nodded, and Arna continued. "Those people are Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan killed a Sith Lord on Naboo nine years ago."

"A Sith Lord?"

"Don't you know what a Sith is?" he asked with a wry smile. "Your own people had a few, back in the days of the Old Republic—Saes Rrogon is the best-known."

She stared blankly at him, but he recognized that trying to educate her now was futile. He pointed to the younger man. "That's his Padawan. He's the Chosen One, destined to bring balance to the Force."

"How do you know?"

"He's got the highest connection to the Force we know of, even higher than the Grand Master."

She gave a wry smile. "And how do you know that?"

"The gods blessed Anakin."

She tilted her head. "You Jedi believe in the gods?"

"No, but I just thought I'd put it in terms easier for you to grasp."

She rolled her eyes. "What do the Jedi call destiny?"

"The will of the Force."

A chuckle. "Is it the will of the Force for Anakin to bring balance?"

He nodded. "Exactly."

"So....you're guessing."

Arna, frustrated, turned away as the men took their seats. She studied the younger boy. Skywalker. Sky-blue eyes. Skywalker.

To her shock, Skywalker spoke to her. "I haven't seen you before. Who are you?"

She spoke softly."Ru." He was handsome and carried the same innocent look in his eyes as Qymaen. His voice was quiet, somewhat monotone. Why was he the only one here who used flatness when he spoke?

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"Not important," she said, shutting down the conversation.

"Don't be a heel," Arna chided, and she rolled her eyes. To the Jedi sitting at the table, he spoke. "Public Service Announcement. This is my associate for the time being—Ru san Jinn."

Several waves and smiles passed to Ronderu. The same Temple associates she'd seen at the gate filed in, setting food on the table—various food concoctions and drinks, but a notable absence of meat. Who would forego eating meat? Too easy to catch.

The food was passed around, and a somber air descended over the Jedi as they took small amounts, being careful to spare enough for everyone else.

Her eyes went to Arna's plate, where he'd placed even less food than normal, and he passed it to her. "Zereg eggs," he said. "I bet you'll love them." She placed an amount the same size as his on the plate and passed the serving platter onward, but did not touch the meal.

The meal was eaten in a quiet void. It was strange to her, as she'd grown up used to noise. From the time she'd been young, she'd listened to the singing of Kaleesh dancing around the fire, of great bards telling tales of victory, and eventually the bloodied screams of the Qymaili as they perished.

✺✺✺

The meal ended, and she'd still only eaten a small portion. But she couldn't stay here any longer. Arna's voice called to her— "Come back!" But she was already walking away.

As she stepped into the bustling hallway, Anakin's voice reached her ears. "You left your escort behind."

"Just as you've left yours."

"Are you a Jedi?"

"No. But I've...." she sighed, admitting the truth to one she barely knew. "I've buried my feelings."

"You're too old to train. It's a shame—you're a better Jedi than I'll ever be."

And without another word, he rushed away and rejoined his master.

◈◈◈

Did you know....

● Yes, I'll admit it. Anakin's cameo was pure fanservice. But what's a Star Wars fanfiction without the Chosen One?

● T'Chooka D'oon is actually one of my favorite Jedi in the Legends EU. He's a jolly fellow who made a few appearances in the Legends EU, the most well-known being the 2005 Grievous comics. 

Tell me what you think....

● Is Anakin right about Ronderu? Would she make a good Jedi?

● Do you think that the "no attachments" and "compassion" teachings of the Jedi are contradictory? Why or why not?