Taanab – Agri-Corps Dormitories, Midnight
Arcann sat cross-legged on the cold floor of his quarters, the only light in the room emanating from the holocron floating before him.
It pulsed with a faint golden glow, casting shifting shadows against the walls. The figure of Master Vorallis stood tall within the projection—his translucent form radiating wisdom, patience, and something else Arcann could not quite place.
"Knowledge is not given freely—it must be earned," Vorallis spoke, his deep voice resonating within the small room.
Arcann's fingers twitched. He was ready to learn.
"The Jedi Order teaches discipline. Restraint. Balance," the holocron continued. "These are virtues, yes—but the Force is not bound by them. The Force is not light, nor dark. It is will. It is motion. It is understanding."
Arcann remained silent, absorbing every word.
His training as an initiate had been rigid, limiting—teaching him to suppress his emotions, to follow without question. But the teachings within the holocron were different.
"To wield the Force properly, you must understand its currents. To control it, you must first listen to it."
Arcann frowned slightly. "Listen?"
Vorallis' image shifted. "Close your eyes."
Arcann hesitated but complied. The room faded into darkness behind his eyelids.
"Reach outward. Not with your hands. Not with your mind. Feel beyond yourself. Feel the currents that move around you."
Arcann inhaled slowly, extending his awareness.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then—
He felt something.
A faint hum in the air. A presence beyond sight, beyond thought. The Force was there, around him, within him—moving like the wind through unseen channels.
His breathing grew steady. He focused.
The glow of the holocron intensified, responding to his connection.
"Good," Vorallis murmured. "Now… reach deeper."
Arcann obeyed.
And suddenly—his perception expanded.
For the first time in his life, the Force did not feel distant, like an untouchable power reserved for stronger Jedi.
It was his.
His breath caught.
He was stronger than they thought.
The First Test – The Irrigation Collapse
The next morning, Arcann was assigned to field restoration work along the outer edges of the Agri-Corps' farmland. The team was tasked with reinforcing a massive irrigation system—a complex network of water channels and support structures used to sustain crops across miles of land.
Arcann worked silently, lost in thought. The holocron's lessons still echoed in his mind.
"Feel beyond yourself. The Force moves through all things."
He could feel it now. The subtle threads of energy weaving through the soil, the wind, the people around him. It was all connected.
For a moment, he almost forgot where he was.
Then, the structure above him groaned.
A sharp crack split through the air.
"Move!" someone shouted.
Arcann looked up just in time to see the irrigation platform collapse.
The weight of the structure—a massive metal beam—plummeted toward the ground, directly over a group of workers.
There was no time to think.
Arcann reacted instinctively.
His hand shot out—
And the Force roared to life.
The falling debris stopped mid-air.
The ground trembled beneath Arcann's feet. The air pulsed with energy. The structure hovered, frozen in place, held by a power Arcann had never wielded before.
For a moment, all was silent.
Then, with a controlled movement of his hand, Arcann guided the beam to the side and let it crash safely into the dirt.
Dust and debris clouded the air. People coughed, stumbling backward.
Arcann stood frozen.
He had never done anything like that before.
His heart pounded against his ribs. His breath came in sharp, quick bursts.
He had not struggled. It had been easy.
Too easy.
Suspicion and Consequences
The initiates murmured, shaken but unharmed. Some whispered amongst themselves, casting glances at Arcann.
Not everyone had seen what he did.
But Freya had.
She was staring at him, her brow furrowed, lips slightly parted—not in shock, but in realization.
"You—" she started, stepping toward him.
Arcann turned away immediately, forcing himself to move. He couldn't stay here.
He had been seen.
Later That Night – A Warning from the Holocron
Back in his quarters, Arcann activated the holocron once more.
The figure of Master Vorallis flickered into view.
"You have tasted power," the projection said. "And now you understand why the Jedi fear it."
Arcann clenched his jaw. "I didn't mean for that to happen."
"But it did," Vorallis replied. "And now, others have seen you. What will you do?"
Arcann hesitated.
"Freya suspects something," he admitted. "If she speaks to the overseers—"
"Power revealed too soon invites those who would take it from you," Vorallis interrupted. "Be mindful. A lesson half-learned is more dangerous than ignorance."
Arcann exhaled slowly.
He had made a mistake. He had revealed too much.
Now, he had a choice.
He could continue to hide, as he had done all his life.
Or—
He could embrace what he was becoming.
That night, Arcann stood outside the Agri-Corps facility, staring up at the stars.
He could feel it.
The Force within him was growing, shifting, evolving.
He wasn't weak. He never had been. The Jedi had either been blind to his potential… or they had feared it.
Either way, he was no longer the boy who had been cast aside.
And sooner or later, the galaxy would know it.
Jedi Temple – A Disturbance in the Force
Far from Taanab, deep within the heart of Coruscant, two Jedi Masters stood in quiet contemplation.
Master Mace Windu gazed out at the endless cityscape, arms folded behind his back. His expression was unreadable, but the tension in his posture betrayed his thoughts.
Beside him, Master Yoda sat in deep meditation, his brow furrowed.
The Force had stirred. Twice.
First, when Arcann had awakened the holocron.
And again, when he had stopped the collapse of the irrigation structure with an effortless command of power.
"You felt it," Windu said, his voice measured, but firm. It was not a question.
Yoda's eyes remained closed. "Felt it, I did. A shift, unexpected."
"It was strong," Windu said. His grip tightened behind his back. "Too strong for a mere initiate. And yet… the one responsible was cast from our path long ago."
"Hidden, his potential was," Yoda murmured. "Or perhaps, awakening, only now it is."
Windu exhaled through his nose. "That is what concerns me. If he has discovered his strength now, after exile, what path will he walk?"
A heavy silence passed between them.
"One we must watch closely," Yoda said at last, opening his eyes. "Unseen currents in the Force, always there are. But where they lead… uncertain, it remains."
Windu nodded once, but his frown remained.
For the first time in years, a name once discarded from their concerns now lingered on their minds.