Jedi Masters, Younglings, Initiates, and Padawans alike bustled in the business that was the Jedi Temple. In the heart of Coruscant's capital city, the stone temple and its five spires stood out across the sun setting, creating an orange aura that fled in through every window. Yet even as dusk approached, the temple was full of liveliness, people of all ages going about their day as it approached its end.
"Akya," called a voice. The person it was directed at did not seem to notice at all. In fact, Akya Sagral's face was buried in a book, studying for a test she was not the most prepared to take.
"Akya!" called the voice again, louder this time. Finally, the brunette looked up.
"What, Kei Lo?"
"What are you reading?"
Kei Lo was an eight-year-old Togruta who was all too curious for his own good. Akya shook her head at his nosiness and closed her book, knowing that at this time of day, she wouldn't get any chances to study for the test tomorrow. That's what I get, she thought.
"I was studying," she said, placing the book on her lap. "But I think I'm finished now."
"Can I show you what I can do with the lightsabers?" Kei Lo was very enthusiastic about lightsabers. He loved play fighting and his favorite things to do were play with the clones that guarded the youngling wing of the temple, showing them all the stances and tricks he could do. He kept a wooden sword in his bedroom for purposes he called "just in case."
"Alright," she said, standing up. Akya put her book down beside where she was sitting, noting in the back of her mind to come back to it later— sometime in the morning before her test.
Kei Lo smiled and took her hand, guiding her out of the library and down the long, wide hall that ran through the center of the temple.
"Where exactly are you leading me?" Akya inquired.
"The sparring room," he said, not looking back at her.
Akya raised her brows. "The sparring room, hmm? Are we going to spar?"
"No, silly," said the Togruta.
"Why not? I'd go easy on you." She smiled.
"I don't want you to go easy on me," he said glancing back at her. "I want to train until I can take you on my own."
With one more turn, they reached the doorway to the sparring room. "And what if I'm gone by then?" she asked him, holding the door open as they entered the room.
Kei Lo stopped before he entered, brows raised as he stared at the older student. "You won't be," he said.
"How reassuring."
The sparring room was a round area with stone pillars in four corners of the square design on the tile, where the actual sparring took place. The walls were made of stones stacked in a perfect pattern. On the wall, there were practice lightsabers of all sizes as well as wooden ones with metal handles for the younger kids. Kei Lo took one of the practice sabers off of the rack and took to the floor.
"Will this take long, Kei? I do have things to do."
"What, studying?" he asked with a scoff, walking toward the center of the room. "I thought you were finished."
"I was only finished because you wanted me to be," she explained.
Kei Lo rolled his eyes. Akya was quite sure that he thought she didn't see that, so she decided to just ignore it. "It shouldn't take long," he said. Finally, he stopped in the middle of the sparring floor.
Akya leaned against the wall and watched as he held the saber up straight, creating a line in front of his face that split it in half as he turned the saber on. The green light reflected off of his skin. He took a deep breath then swung at the air, his legs moving along symmetrically with his arms. He spun, then mirrored his first jab. The whir of the lightsaber as he swung was calming— it seemed to make him more focused.
Kei Lo then spun his saber and struck again at the air gracefully, his entire body moving as one, the saber an extension of his self. Akya smiled. The Togruta continued his routine, stepping in perfect, calculated circles and swinging the lightsaber as he went. Once he had finished, he brought his feet back together in the middle and held the saber just as he had when he was done. He bowed, then turned the saber off and brought it to the side of his body. Akya clapped, making him grin proudly.
"I did good?" he said, running over to her.
"You did beautifully, Kei," she said. "I think the masters would be impressed."
"You think so?" He was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Akya was very proud to have someone like Kei Lo who looked up to her so much that he was in shock about her every approval— she really did think he was doing well for his age.
"Absolutely," she assured him. He was beaming, which made her smile, too. "At my test tomorrow, I'll let the Master know you're nearly ready for a lightsaber. A real one."
"Like yours?" He put the training saber back up on the rack on the wall.
"Like mine." She patted the spot on her belt where her lightsaber rested.
"Yippee!" Kei Lo ran out of the room, yelling back to his friend. "Thank you, Akya! I'm going to go tell Reeshi!"
Akya laughed to herself at his enthusiasm. "You do that," she said. He waved, then closed the door to the sparring room behind him. It was a silent, serene environment, without any sparring going on or any people inside the room. The quietness echoed off the wall, creating a haven from the sound outside as everyone bustled to finish up their day. The sky was darker now, revealed in the skylight high above Akya, but in the light pollution of Coruscant, she saw no stars, and the moons weren't expected to come up until later.
Akya had to wake up earlier than usual for her test, so she decided she'd make her way toward her room and start resting now, so that perhaps she could have some time in the morning to practice. She thought that one of the sparring rooms might be the perfect place for that, since no one trained in them until later in the day, so the serenity of these wide rooms would be preserved.
Akya walked back to her room at the end of the bedroom wing, and got ready for bed. Though, she didn't end up getting much sleep because of the stress the looming test brought to her. After some short hours of rest, Akya woke up in the morning as the sun came through her windows. She stood up and got dressed, then rummaged through her drawers, looking for her favorite necklace— it had a small pendant on it in the shape of a sun and rays, coated in gold metal. She clipped it around her neck and looked in the mirror at it as it hung just under her collarbone. She then stuffed it under her robes.
Jedi weren't supposed to have possessions— this was the one rule that Akya broke. She enjoyed her little trinkets and the joy they brought to her, so what harm could they possibly cause? She hid them all in the drawers of the dresser in her room under her robes, and no one even bothered to look for something like that, something so small. But they meant a lot to her. Akya had owned these little trinkets since she was young, before the Jedi took her in. She'd had nothing, and known no one. Akya believed her trinkets were special, that they brought luck, fate's favor— call it what you want— she was convinced they brought good fortune along with them. Jedi didn't really believe in luck— anything that happens only happens because the Force willed it so. But Akya liked to think that there were other ways to catch fortune's fancy.
After placing the pendant under her tunic, she attached her lightsaber to her belt and walked out the door toward the sparring room she and Kei Lo had been in yesterday. She decided she'd do some warm ups, some forms the masters had reccomended she practice. The humm of her lightsaber as she switched it on set her into practice mode. As she swung, she saw the beam move across her field of vision, leading her body to follow it in a graceful matter.
The lightsaber truly was an elegant weapon. Akya was very proud of her skills thus far, which many masters called "far ahead of her level." However, galactic war loomed over, threatening to break the long period of peace the Jedi had so purposefully held, and so, her skills aimed to ready herself for war. Akya trained with great determination— her goal was to someday, if the day came, fight for the peace the Jedi held so dear, and perhaps then, her resume would be complete. Over her years at the temple, Akya had run every training course, every holo-maze, and taken many other Jedi on in combat. Her skills rivaled that of a fully fledged Jedi knight— and people who didn't know of her rank thought she might be one.
"Good morning, Akya," said a voice. Akya turned to the door and switched off her lightsaber. In the doorway stood Plo Koon, the master scheduled to give her her test.
"Good morning, Master," she said, bowing her head slightly.
"I see you're practicing your forms," he said, walking further toward where she stood at the center of the floor. "Are you ready for your test?"
"I think so," she said. "Do you have another room set up already?"
"We can do it here," he said, taking a holo-projector out of one of the pockets inside of his cloak. He placed it on the ground in the middle of the room as Akya stepped toward the door, readying for the start point of her test. The holo projector booted up and showed a battalion of B1 battle droids with blasters at the ready. Akya stared at the challenge ahead— there had to be at least fifty— and she had to take them all on her own, using only the Soresu form.
"You must use only the intermediate level of the Soresu form to complete this test, getting to the middle of the sparring room in time to turn off the holo-projector," Plo Koon said calmly, as he walked to the side wall. Once at his destination, he turned to face her and crossed his arms. "You may begin when ready."
Akya held the lightsaber close to her body, mentally readying herself. She touched the pendant that sat against her chest, then took a deep breath. The projector sensed her movement forward, and the battle droids began shooting. If a blast struck you, it would create a sting against your skin— it couldn't harm you, but it wasn't pleasant, either. Using all of her senses, Akya used her lightsaber to defend herself from every shot fired. The Soresu stance was one that could only defend or deflect— so she was not allowed to slash into the droids. She moved her body quickly, in time with her lightsaber, to deflect every shot fired. If you got stung, you failed. The intermediate version of this form involved a lot more body movements than the previous levels, and there was 360 degrees of blasts to deflect.
Akya felt lucky that the holo-droids did not seem to have good aim today. She moved her saber from side to side and spun her body, taking every shot into consideration. Every time she heard a shot come out of the blasters, she spun quickly, perhaps deflecting it back at the droid or taking it into her lightsaber. Akya moved with great speed and grace, and in record time, completed the test as she stepped on the holo-projector, turning the images it created off.
"That was wonderful, Akya," said Master Plo Koon, walking toward her.
"Thank you, Master," she said, bowing her head once again. "Have I passed?"
"With flying colors, young one. You completed that test faster than any of the other combat tests you have taken. In many ways, Akya, you are ahead of some Jedi Knights." He picked up the small holo-projector and slipped it back into his cloak pocket.
"But not all?"
"You understand," he said. Akya nodded.
"Thank you for proctoring," she told him.
"Of course, Akya. You are a wonder to watch with a lightsaber." He nodded once again, making his way toward the door. Akya followed him, clipping her lightsaber back onto her belt.
"Master?" she said, as he opened the door for her. She walked out, then waited for him to close the door before he replied.
"Yes?"
"I think that young Kei Lo is almost ready for a lightsaber. I know it's not my place to say, but in my opinion, his skills have progressed very far, and he seems to be very attuned to the grace the saber beholds." She gave her best argument for her friend.
"Thank you for your opinion, Akya," he said, nodding to himself. "He is rather young to make the journey to Ilum, however, I will take your argument to the Council."
Akya smiled and nodded.
"So, what is next for you, Akya?"
"What do you mean, Master?" she asked. What was next? Akya didn't have any further plans, and no upcoming tests.
"Have you been training with the Force? Meditation?"
"I've been trying," she said, putting her head down and watching her feet take every step on the carpeted floor. So that's what he had meant.
"There are only so many tests you can take, Akya," he said. "You cannot keep putting off your attunement with the Force with all this studying. What is it you are going into now?"
"Mechanics, Master."
"Mechanics," he repeated quietly. "I do think you should take a break from all this, all your lightsaber combat, your books, the library, everything, and just meditate on the Force. You must further your relationship with the Force if you are to become a fully fledged Jedi one day." He was not upset with her, and Akya could tell he had her best interests at heart. But she had heard all this so many times.
"Yes, Master." She still did not look at him.
"I trust it will come to you one day, Akya. The Force is your guide." More words she'd heard a thousand times.
"Yes, Master."
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the Council." The halls were just now beginning to fill, and people began readying for their days at the temple, whether they be teaching, studying, or perhaps just attuning themselves with the Force. Whatever was on their agenda, all these people had something to do now. Except Akya.
"Of course, Master." They bowed their heads to each other once again, then Plo Koon walked off in the direction of the stairs to the council chamber.
Akya walked back to her room. She didn't even attempt to meditate, and instead, sat in her windowsill and just moved her lightsaber in front of her face, listening to the hum every time it moved, watching the blue light in her saber move back and forth in front of her eyes. The lights reflected in her irises, partially blinding her to everything else in the room. Akya found comfort in the light of her weapon— it was one of her escapes from everything else in the world, along with her little luck charms. But she was never fortunate enough to keep her mind off of things for long, because her looming stresses always fought and won against her blank mind.
I don't think I'll ever be a Jedi.
a.n.
the first chapter!! i know we haven't seen ani yet, but he's coming don't worry. i wanted to do some Akya character building before i introduced our main plot. what do you think of her so far? I'd love to know.
thank you so much for reading!! more coming soon, don't forget to vote ♡ ♡ ♡
molly