Star Wars: Force Bound

Jack was being guided through massive halls and he could see a lot of Jedi walking around doing their things or just talking to each other. It even surprised him just how many of them were present in this temple.

Soon he came further into what he believed to be the center of the temple.

There was an elevator present that they entered. It brought them upwards to the top of the middlemost tower.

Leaving the elevator and entering a half-moon shaped room that had many large windows where you could see the city and traffic outside. Cin Drallig and Jack went towards the middle and stood there.

There he stood with his hands cupped in front of him and looking at the Jedi Master sitting on the seats. Not all of them were actually present.

"Master Drallig, what is the purpose of your visit?", asked a man with dark skin, brown eyes and bald head.

"Master Windu, I have an interesting child here with me." He raised his hand and pointed it towards Jack. "This here is Jack Shea. And he is here with a request being taught in the way of the Force.", added Cin Drallig to his answer.

The other master jedi that were present suddenly became a little bit intrigued by this sudden event. Maybe it was also a change in their daily routine that raised their interest.

'So this is Grandmaster Yoda...He comes to me as an old gramps. Weird. Guess figuring out who is a powerful Force-s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e ain't that easy after all.'

Windu leaned back into his chair and looked at Jack. Then he glanced over to Yoda who was also staring back at the child in front of them.

The room even became somewhat quiet and Jack even nocked his head sideways with a questioning look after no words were said.

"Test you, we will." Now Yoda started talking after he seemed to have realized something.

"Is that really alright? This child looks even older than Skywalker.", asked Windu to reconfirm the grandmaster's decision.

"And took him in. Taught in the Force, we have. No need to rethink, we need." gave Yoda as an answer.

"But this child clearly has some attachments, Grandmaster Yoda.", said a woman now. She had tanned skin and black hair. What was quickly noticed was some markings at her forehead.

For Jack, she looked like an Indian woman with a typical spiritual mark on the forehead.

While the conversation went on Jack started frowning a little and was surprised how Yoda was so quick in accepting him even though the other Jedi Masters were trying to change his mind.

"Hmm, your origin I presume. Sith, it is.", said Yoda and basically dropped a bomb in the room.

Windu immediately frowned and became agitated. "What!? This child is a Sith?", he asked quickly and looked at Jack more cautiously now.

"Mmm, pureblooded Sith. Long extinct this race, we thought. Wrong, we were.", added Yoda now still looking at Jack with a wise glimmer in his eyes. Then he closed his eyes. "Terrible, terrible things to your people, we did." Yoda seemed to become melancholic for a short moment. "But not of the Dark Side, you are. Proof of our mistake, it is. Train you, we must."

Jack was now frowning even deeper but then only bowed after now more words or rebuking came from anyone. "Then I would like to contribute to the order as compensation for this chance." Jack was wearing a little cloth bag on his back and placed it on the ground. Then unfolded it two Holocrons came to light.

"These are Jedi Holocrons." A Jedi Master with an elongated forehead responded from the side now. "Rather old by the looks.", he added.

Jack walked forward and wanted to give the holocrons to Windu.

Windu was starring at Jack with squinted eyes now and pointed towards the Jedi that was talking just now. "Bring them to our Artisan, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi over there."

Jack nodded, looked to the man, walked over to him, and handed them over. When Ki-Adi-Mundi took them Yoda seemed to smile.

As if it was a natural behavior Jack walked back to the middle and waited beside Cin Drallig for any other instructions.

"Not wrong, I am. Trained, you will be. But uncertain the future is, for your latter progression." With a nod and deep hum, Yoda declared. The others also nodded even if they didn't know what Yoda planned.

"Come, Jack. I will introduce you to your clan, then. The other procedures will be done a later time.", said Cin Drallig.

"Yes, Master Drallig." Jack followed him outside the council room.

When he was out of it Windu looked at Yoda.

"Are we really going to train that child? He is a pureblooded Sith. A species inherently close to the dark side!" His last words were clearly raised in volume.

"The exact reason to train him, it is. To guide him from that path, we must.", responded Yoda calmly.

"But what if we can't stop it from happening?", asked the one woman again. "He seems already influenced by the dark side to some extent."

"Master Billaba is right, Grandmaster.", said Windu once again and supported that claim. They could clearly feel the taint of the dark side inside the child.

"Hmm, how you want to handle this?", asked Yoda back.

"I say we execute him." Windu was very clear in his words and some of the Jedi were surprised by that.

Yoda's eyes enlarged for a short moment. Then he sighed with a pained expression. "A very extreme measure, that is. Mistakes we did, not repeat again, they should. A decision, I have made."

"Then let's hope it won't come back to bite us." Windu backed down now and could only grumble inwardly.

Yoda felt the increased hostility that Windu showed towards Jack and was worried about it for various reasons.

"Under control your emotions, you must have. Unbecoming of a Jedi Master, that is.", commented Yoda now.

Windu widened his eyes realizing he was being reprimanded by the grandmaster at this moment.

"I shall meditate about it...", answered Windu and also stood up from his chair to leave the chamber.

###

On the other part, Jack was lead towards the place where the younglings were trained.

"What is a clan exactly, Master Drallig?", asked Jack now.

"It is a group of similar-aged children that are being trained together until they become Padawans."

"So, something like a replacement for a family?"

Cin Drallig thought about his wording. "Not a replacement. But yes, a family."

"Look, we are here. This will be your family from today onward." After a door towards a sleeping quarter was opened there he saw a few children talking to each other.

"Good day, younglings. Today is a special day. We welcome a new member that will join our order and learn the ways of the Force." He talked to the other children that were gathering around now because of the unusual visit.

Then he pointed to Jack. "This here is Jack Shea. Jack, this is your clan from today. Introduce yourself to them and then start your training tomorrow, alright? I hope you will adapt quickly to our lifestyle."

Jack nodded, looked after Cin Drallig leaving, and then looked at the children that were still staring at him.

Looking through the children of various races Jack noticed a certain person that he does recognize.