The Jedi Purge: The Terror in a Padawan's Eyes

The Begining of a New Journey

Her "I heard that the Queen of Naboo was harboring Jedi, I don't know if this information is true, but still, its worth a shot," Xero said, looking at the controls that flashed many colors. His hands were flying all over the keys, pressing many of them simultaneously, making the board flash many different colors. Then, a male robotic voice anounced, "We will be arriving in the Naboo system in aproxamitly 2 hours and 15 minutes." Then Xero leaned back in his chair and smiled, folding his lanky arms behind his head. "What do you think? I rigged it up myself, my Master taught me how to do it," he said, his smile slowly fading from his face.

"Well, I think that's pretty cool," Kloji said, trying to ease the tension that she had sensed building up inside of Xero. "So, why were you on the ship in the first place?" Kloji continued, seeing that her first attempt to try to make Xero forget about his Master had failed. She looked at him, really wondering why he was on the ship in the first place.

"Ya, tell us!" Wyla exclaimed, seeming to completly miss what had just happened a moment before. Her eyes glowed as she looked at him. When Kloji looked at her she looked sort of funny, her long dark brown hair waving in her face. Wyla looked so innocent right then, so young and precious that Kloji couldn't even imagine that she had just fought through the Purge and lived.

"Uh, well, the reason that I was on here was because, well, this was the ship that my Master and I had been on when we returned to the Temple," Xero started. "Then, he ran off of the ship and into the Temple, telling me to stay here, and that if he didn't return, to leave to Naboo. Just before he left he also told me to hide in the ship's scrap room and stay hidden," Xero said with a vacant look in his eyes. "He never came back, I could have gone with him, I could've helped! Do you know what he left behind? Do you?" He said, tears forming in his eyes and his voice filling with rage. "He left his family! He had people to go back to, he had people that loved him! But of course, he had to just go and fight," Xero said, his face turning red while his body shook from the tears that were flowing in a stream down hi face. He started mumbling to himself, then said aloud,"Why? Why'd he have to do it? It makes no sense, none at all!"

Kloji looks at Xero, thinking of what he had said. "You know," she said, "if your Master hadn't left, another person would've died. He sacraficed his life for another person!" She continued.

"Well, I don't care if another person died! You know what? I don't even care if I died, I would rather have him still alive! He meant so much to me! You don't know what I would do if that person had died and my Master was still alive! I'd be so relieved! At least I could see him and tell hime how much he means to me! He was like my father," Xero said, breathing heavily.

"So, you wouldn't care if the person your Master had saved was dead, only if your Master was still alive?" Kloji said, swallowing back tears.

"Yes, if my Master was still here I wouldn't be like this, all of us, including you and Wyla, we would've made it off planet safely," Xero said, his face clearing up a little.

"That's nice to know," Kloji said, tears starting to roll from her eyes.

"Kloji, why are you crying? We would all still be safe!" Xero exclaimed.

"No, we wouldn't all be safe!" Kloji answered. "Do you know why, Xero? Well?" Kloji said, her eyes swelling from the teras that she tried to control.

"I don't understand Kloji, what are you saying?" Xero asked with questioning in his voice.

"Because," Kloji started, her voice cracking,"I was the one! I was the one that Master Collon saved! He saved me, alright? You and Wyla and him might have been safe, but I wouldn't have! If you Master hadn't run in whe he did, I would've died back there! He saved me!" Kloji yelled, the salty tears that she couldn't hold back covering her face. Her whole frail body shook as she sobbed, thinking of what Xero had been saying, about if Master Collon hadn't came she would have died.

"Kloji, I, I didn't know! I'm sorry, I never would have said that if, if ... " Xero started, but Kloji inerupts.

"If you knew? Or if I wasn't here?" Kloji finished, sobbing harder that she had been before.

"No!" He exclaimed, getting out of the chair that he had been sitting in. "I'm so sorry, I was just so upset that he died, I didn't even get to say goodbye, he just ran off," he said looking at Kloji who had slowly slumped to the ground because of all of her sobbing.

"Do you think any of us did? Anakin had just rushed into our traing room, whipped out his lightsaber, and killed my Master! She didn't even have time to grab hers off her belt, he just killed her. Your Master saved me, and I don't know why in the galaxy he would do that! You know what? Right now, I would rather be dead then have to deal with you!" Kloji said, more tears streaming her face.

At that remark Xero ran across the room to kneel beside her, wraping his arms around her shoulders, holding her saying,"Shhhh, its okay Kloji, don't say anything like that again, that scares me!"

Kloji put her face into his shoulder, crying even harder now. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, its just that, I, I feel so alone, that I just, don't know what to do!" She said, her voice muffled by her head on his shoulder.

"Just know this from now on, me nad Wyla, we'll always be here for you, whenever you need us, right Wyla?" Xero said, looking over to Wyla who had kept quiet the whole time.

"Yeah, we'll always be there for you," Wyla says sympathetically, looking down towards Kloji.

Now, as the three Padawans near Naboo, Kloji, Wyla, and Xero sit back in there seats, relieved that what was the worst thing that has happened to them in their short friendship, is over.