Song: "Jedi Master Luminara" from Star Wars: The Clone Wars OST

Ronderu walked back into the foyer, where Arna was hastily stuffing the last of the dishware into the trash hatch. He sighed. "Ready to head over to the Senate Hall?"

She stuffed her hands into her pockets and nodded slowly, and they walked out of the Temple to a speeder. She still longed to pore over the library books, but that would have to wait for another time.

As they boarded the speeder, she swallowed hard. "How young do you have to be to join the Jedi Order?"

"Usually we take infants only," Arna said. "We could run a midi-chlorian test on your blood after the hearing, but I doubt that—"

"I'm sure I'm not," she interrupted. All the power in the world could not tear her from Qymaen's embrace....but at the same time, being a Jedi was not about power. It was about using your knowledge and gifts to help the galaxy. Why would she logically turn such a proposition down? It would be the time of her life—flying around with Arna, making the galaxy a safer and more prosperous place.

But she loved Qymaen too much. Every moment away from him hurt her.

"Not everyone has what it takes to be a Jedi," Arna said. "Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness."

"I know that," she said quietly, envisioning the kindness of her friends.

He cleared his throat and continued. "If you're wondering about Anakin, he was taken in when he was nine. Master Qui-Gon believed him to be the Chosen One, so the Council made an exception."

She breathed out. "He was the only one?"

A shrug. "Attachments get in the way. Imagine what would happen if someone seized the power of the Force to save someone they love—they might use it for evil in the process. Emotions cloud people's judgement."

"But that's not always true," she pointed out. "My fiancé—he's very emotional. He uses it for good, not for evil. And without attachments, how can he love me?"

"It'll come back to bite him," Arna said, his hand tightening around the wheel as they docked at the Senate port. His eyes glittered with sadness and—jealousy? "It always does."

✺✺✺

He helped her out of the speeder, and they walked to the entrance. She stared at her hands as he spoke to the Senate security guards, assuring them that she was with him.

She let out a regulated breath through her mouth. When she had her gloves on, she could almost fool herself into believing she was not married to metal. But the numbness was routine, no matter how she tried to stifle or cover it.

She pushed the idea out of her head as she and Arna passed a few Jedi Masters and senators. He punched a code into the door, and they walked out onto a balcony along the rim of the Senate Hall.

She studied the landscape as the senators began filing in, representatives from all different species groups and communicating in different dialects of Basic, moving to their pods as the lights came on. Her lungs contracted, and she swallowed, searching for Qymaen.

How perfect it would be when his warm lips locked against hers, his breath fluttered against her face, and his dark hands entwined with hers—no matter how many times they'd done it before.

But so much had changed in the past year that she was unsure if they were still compatible—her Mandalorian accent and modifications were scary indicators that he had been swallowed whole by the Republic.

He'll make it work—he's never cared about people's oddities.

The comment that Arna had made about the Yam'rii rumors that Qymaen had married and delivered his first child on Abbaji Minor repeated in her head. Blinking away the hated tears that had sprung forth from her eyes, she focused on the central podium as it was raised.

"Ru," Arna said. "Come here." She obeyed, and he bent to her height. "You're not okay."

"Don't worry about me."

He pressed a hand to her veiled cheek. "I'm a bad Jedi sometimes." The peaceful feeling from his hands tingled, and she closed her eyes at the release of tension. Her hands worked to clasp themselves within Arna's in a gesture of pure friendship. And for a brief moment, he squeezed them back.

✺✺✺

The central podium came to a halt. Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, surrounded by his advisors, smiled at the senators wearily as they cheered. A cold feeling jutted up her bones as she was strangely reminded of how the piety of the Kaleesh often went too far in such regards.

She studied the figures in the podium further. Besides Palpatine and his advisors, she caught the distinctive form of T'Chooka D'oon and another master, of whom she couldn't pinpoint the species. They murmured softly to each other briefly before the Chancellor stepped forward and spoke to the crowd.

"My most humble greetings, senators," he said. "The chair recognizes the senator from Huk."

Snappy and to the point. Thank the gods.

The mantis-like creature spoke in a strident tone of Basic. "We are here," she shouted, "to present our case and vindicate our people!" An accolade rang out from the sedentary pods, and she spoke again. "I charge the khagan of Kalee, Qymaen jai Sheelal, with offensive warmongering and attack on our home system."

Ronderu splayed out her perception to find Qymaen. Reach beyond the physical, Arna had told her. Finding him, she tried to get his attention, but his eyes were downcast. Were there other people in the pod with him?

"Focus," Arna whispered sharply from beside her.

"—we saw him come to Abbaji Minor on this useless crusade not two months ago," the senator from Huk was saying. "He burned our capital city to the ground. He instituted Kaleesh rule over the whole planet. And to top it all off, he married there and bore a child on our holy grounds! Hilaha! Disgraceful."

She scoffed. "And then," the senator continued, "his associates went after Elke and Tovarskl too! Even though that place is so barren there would be nothing of worth to them, they sacked both planets and took our burning carcasses as their meals."

Now Ronderu was certain the senator was lying—followers of Amidral considered eating sentient beings to be blasphemous—and brimmed with joy. That must mean he's lying about Qymaen's marriage.

From beside her, Arna smiled softly, and she was sure he would allow it. Just a few more hours....

The senator clicked her pincers and stared directly at the Chancellor and jury with beady eyes. "I rest my case." She floated her pod back to its resting place.

Chancellor Palpatine typed a few notes into his computer. "The chair recognizes the representative of Kalee, Qymaen jai Sheelal."

Qymaen's voice boomed around the room, deeper than she'd remembered it. "My gratefulness at your permission to plead my case cannot be overstated. I am quite aware of these allegations against Kalee. They are true."

Gasps and cursing filled the auditorium. Qymaen cleared his throat and continued. "I did go after the Huk system. But Senator Kitik has lied to your faces and has a crime of perjury on her hands. This war may have ended with my 'offensive warmongering' upon the Huk system. But what they failed to mention was that these planets were taken from the Kaleesh, who owned them."

Ronderu frowned as he hesitated a bit. He was still not well-versed in Basic, which was to his disadvantage with appearing as a civilized being. "Additionally, this attack was planned in response to generations of offensive warmongering upon Kalee, in an attempt to turn us into their slaves. I rest my case."

She swallowed. Now. Please. Arna nodded begrudgingly, and she made for the door.

Mas Amedda stepped forward. "The Senate will allow a brief period of rest before it reconvenes."

◈◈◈

Did you know....

● Jmmaar is actually a Viraanntesse, a species of crustacean-looking aliens. He was one of the many Legends EU kills that Grievous had.

Tell me what you think....

● Without knowing about Qymaen's point-of-view, who do you think delivered the most compelling case?

● Is Qymaen in his right mind? Why or why not?

Waiting for updates? Don't miss this dystopian allegory novelette....