(Unknown source): *Father, can you hear me...* (weak sound like a soft whisper)
(Kew'ilaä POV): Wait, did I just hear someone calling out for their father? It must have been my imagination. *Petting my new companion on its head as it dozed off*
*Sometime later*
(Kew'ilaä POV): My looks have changed over the years as I am finally a young adult according to Jedi standard. I am 190cm tall and have broad shoulders and weigh 100kg, but I am still growing. I have a light brownish with shades of purple skin color. I heard that I look different from the appearance of my species. They are usually purple with tentacles in their face. Whereas, I have a more human-like appearance.
I am not really bothered with appearances as I am able to shapeshift into any sentient being and change my appearance on the fly. I do keep it a secret that I have this ability and so far only my brother Jaraen and my sister Kanitsae know about this.
Now back to the present, I finally get to leave the temple. I am assigned to go to Coruscant with Jedi master Shan, he will lead the operation and I will tag along to learn from his exploration and diplomatic skills. My own master is not able to leave the temple as she has too many responsibilities.
Master Shan is a human Jedi master and has been active as a diplomatic envoy for over a decade. While we were boarding the ship, the Jedi master approached me. He asked whether I was nervous to go off planet, as it was my first time to his knowledge.
I told him that I feel excited to explore the unknown and I hope to learn a lot from him. He said that I should dim my excitement as it could be counterproductive as we are going to a tense situation. He explained that excitement is okay, but do not act on it without proper preparations as it might lead to devastating results on the potential battlefield.
I remembered a quote and murmured it to myself "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.", but I could not remember why I knew this quote and by whom.
Over the years, I started to have memories that do not seem like my own. It was a weird experience, but these memories are beneficial as it helped with various subjects and provided a different point of view than the ones taught at the academy.
Master Shan smiled at my murmurs and praised me for this quote. He remarked "Quite the philosopher for someone your age and without any experience in war and politics." Which surprised me as it felt like common knowledge. I felt bad that I did not remember the original person who made the quote. Later he informed the council and my master about my quote, which was commonly used in the future and frequently associated with one of my famous quotes. But that is something that will be discussed later.
*The ships engines started* After some time we arrived at Coruscant, which is one of the core worlds. The Jedi have been here before, but never established a temple or outpost here. I am not sure whether they were ever planning on it, but if not then I will be the pioneer in this.
When we arrived at the Zhell's side, master Shan took me to the head of the Zhell's. These seem like regular human species. As they spoke it became clear that there were rising tensions between them and the other native species called the Taungs.
It was apparent that the Zhell's disliked other non-human sentient species as they avoided me and only spoke to master Shan. They even looked at me with disgust and were making hateful remarks in hushed tones.
Master Shan reassured me that they did not mean it and that they were only like this because my species was unfamiliar to them. But I knew all too well that this was not going to change anytime soon and if I was not a Jedi then I would have been assaulted by them.
I noticed people in chains as we walked through the streets and in alleys I saw people getting beaten. Master Shan looked at me and said we cannot save every child and the order is only maintaining peace and is not responsible for the livelihood of all the beings in the universe.
I looked back at him and did not say a thing. I was thinking that although it is not realistic to solve every problem and help everyone, at least you can save the people in your vicinity. This was one of those things that I felt differently about and I believe that the order is wrong for selectively ignoring the pleads of these species/inhabitants as they only try to please the ruling class of each planet. *Hypocrites that is what you are I thought*
As I taught this all the slaves looked up at me, as if they heard my thoughts. I looked around me and luckily master Shan and the Zhell's were still discussing the pressing issue and did not hear my thoughts. One of the Taung slaves approached me and slipped a note in my pocket.
As we returned to our allocated quarters, I looked at the note. It stated that I did not have to worry about the slaves, but they appreciated my feelings towards their situation. It showed a location and a name, it was noted that I should come alone as they do not trust anyone but me.
Shortly after this incident, master Shan informed me that we should report back to the Jedi council and that our mission has ended. I was confused as I did not understand why we did not visit the other party that was involved in this conflict. Master Shan sensed my confusion and told me that he already knew everything that he needed to know to inform the temple about the actions that would be necessary to resolve the dispute. As I was only here to observe and did not have any power or permission to influence the mission, I boarded the ship to our home at the temple.
Back on the ship, I felt like I did learn a lot during this mission. But not in a positive manner, especially about the way the Jedi operate. I kept my doubts inside to avoid any suspicion about my conflicting feelings regarding the order and master Shan.
When we arrived at the temple, we immediately went to update the council about the situation on Coruscant. I was surprised that master Shan proposed that the Jedi should support the Zhell's in expelling the Taungs from the planet. In my opinion, he framed the story in such a way that the Zhell's seem like victims. While I remember seeing Taung slaves working for the Zhell's even little Taung kids. When I wanted to speak up the council members looked at me and told me that it was not my place to speak only to listen.
After the meeting, I was upset about the way the situation on Coruscant would be handled. My master Sequoia told me that I needed to meditate more as my frustrations were visible on my face and left a heavy feeling in the force. I felt betrayed and a sense of hopelessness.
I feel like this will be one of the many struggles I will face on the journey ahead.....
Two weeks later, my brother and sister came back. I look forward to hearing about their experience.
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I would like to thank WTWvrdd for being the first reader to donate Power Stones. I appreciate it and hope that you will enjoy the rest of the story!