Star Wars, page 22
Amadeo enjoyed seeing these glimpses of the Temple, but in truth, he longed to leave the grounds and see Coruscant. He could practically feel the city about them humming with activity. They reached the dormitory wing. The protocol droid had gone quiet as a result of the two Jedi saying absolutely nothing in response. But a sound, barely perceptible, caught Amadeo’s attention. Master Lox was singing softly to himself.
“Shri ka rai ka rai. . .we’re coming to take you away. . . .” He hummed a little, then Amadeo heard, “When they do find you. . .all you’ll be is dust. . . .”
The droid motioned to two dormitory rooms side by side, then left.
“It’s been a day. Let’s get some rest, shall we?” Master Lox said.
“Yes, Master.” Amadeo hesitated. “May I ask you a question? What were you singing just now?”
Master Lox’s eyes widened in surprise. “I was singing? I didn’t realize it.” He looked past Amadeo, as if seeing something from his past. “A lullaby. One of the old Jedi at the Temple used to sing it. She told a story about a big battle where creatures preyed upon the Jedi. I’ve heard it sung in other cultures, as well.”
“And this was supposed to be soothing?” Amadeo’s mouth dropped open.
“You know, the tune was soothing. When I was old enough to really discern the lyrics, I realized how disturbing they were. But they say that such stories passed down from generation to generation are rooted in some truth.”
“What’s the purpose of frightening children like that?” Amadeo wondered aloud.
“A good question that I don’t have the answer for.” He ran his hand over his head. “Let’s rest. I’ll wake you up so we can do some meditation tomorrow. Then we’ll attend the larger meeting about our task ahead.”
“Yes, Master.”
Amadeo went into his room. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that the song, the story, whatever it was—had affected his master in a way a childish singsong rhyme shouldn’t. And there was something out there, killing Jedi. A veritable mythological terror come true.
In a place like Coruscant, bustling with life and activity, such a concept seemed even more unreal. He closed the door to his simple room, with its bed, a shaded window, and a low table set with candles for devotion and meditation. But Amadeo paced the small space, not tired enough to sleep and not settled enough to meditate.
Through the window, he watched the sun setting on Coruscant, with two moons rising in the sky like half discs of polished silver. The lights of the city were winking on. The rest of Coruscant wasn’t going to sleep. The thought thrilled him. Surely, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look around the zone surrounding the Jedi Temple.
He left his room, heading down the corridor. It took a few wrong turns before he made his way out of the Temple into the deepening evening. At the end of the long walkway that led away from the Jedi compound was a lift that took him all the way down to street level. There, a road split into three more avenues. Bright lights, blinking signs, and storefronts were everywhere. The buildings grew so high into the sky that he was practically in a valley of sorts. People walked past, ignoring him as he stood on the threshold of the compound, not quite able to fathom stepping onto the street.
Stars! He was acting as if he was afraid! The trials were in his future, and those would be a true challenge. Even with years and years of experience battling all sorts of dangers in the Outer Rim, this first step still seemed almost treacherous.
“You lost, Jedi Knight?”
A Tholothian woman was leaning against a railing a few meters away, arms crossed casually. White tendrils flowed from her head, and her cream skin shone under the blinking lights of a nearby sign. A flowing black tunic fluttered above her leggings and purple boots. She was about Amadeo’s age.
“I’m not a Knight,” Amadeo said. Almost too quickly, he added, “And I’m not lost.”
“Ah, so I’m wrong on both counts. How unusual.” She smiled. “Well, if you’re not lost and you know exactly who you are, then have yourself a good evening, Not-a-Knight.” A group of three other people approached, all dressed so very unlike Amadeo. They wore slick black, blue, and metallic colors, in contrast to Amadeo’s plain brown apprentice attire. The Tholothian waved to join them and walked away from Amadeo.
“Wait,” Amadeo called out. “What if I said I was actually lost?”
The woman turned around, head tendrils twirling before resting on her shoulders. She smiled. “Then I’d tell you where to go. I’d tell you to be careful, because Coruscant at night can be dangerous. And then I’d send you on your way. Unless you can keep me entertained with a good story, Not-a-Knight.”
Amadeo took an imperceptible breath and stepped onto the street. “Sounds like a challenge I can handle.” He walked up to her. “I’m Amadeo Azzazzo.”
The woman reached her hand out. “I’m Alees. Alees June.” She smiled. “I like your name.”
“Thanks,” Amadeo said, trying to sound more confident than he was.
“Let me introduce you to my friends. This is Ellyt and Sym,” she said, gesturing to twin human men, wiry and tall, with dark spiky hair and black eyes. “And Loran,” she said, patting a very serious-looking Zabrak woman on the shoulder. Loran glanced at Alees.
“I thought it was only going to be a small group of us hanging out,” Loran said.
“C’mon, Loran. Five versus four is not a big deal.”
Loran gave Amadeo a glance up and down. “Fine. But if he joins us, he’s gotta lose that burlap cloak he’s wearing. It’s killing my mood.”
Amadeo took off his cloak, stashing it just inside the Jedi compound behind the gateway.
“Better,” Alees said, smiling. “You look less intimidating now.”
Was he intimidating? Amadeo didn’t know. They headed down several streets, chatting about the grav-ball games happening later, and which clubs were too crowded and which were crawling with riffraff they chose not to associate with. The whole time Amadeo simply looked around, taking in the bright signs, avoiding the people outside one restaurant offering passersby a genuine Chandrilan cocktail complete with wriggling worms. They finally found a booth inside a place called the Uzzu and ordered their drinks. Sym draped his hand over his brother’s shoulder. They looked like they could be attached at the hip.
“So, Not-a-Knight. What are you, then?” Alees said, sipping a tall blue drink, her eyes on Amadeo. Amadeo had bought a moonberry juice, relieved that he had a few credits on him to pay.
“I’m in training. A Padawan.”
“Where’s your master? Don’t you guys travel with a boss all the time?” Ellyt asked.
“Not a boss. He’s my teacher. And no, I guess we’re not together all the time. Like now. What do you all do?” Amadeo asked. He felt like he was shouting; the music pulsated in his chest, but he kind of liked it.
“I work at the CoGint building. That pointed monstrosity in this zone. I arrange transfers for the officers in the company,” Alees said. “It pays the bills, and I get to travel a lot. I went to Corellia, Cosia, and Vulpter in the last month. Do you travel?”
“Mostly the Outer Rim,” Amadeo said.
“Wow. Sounds rough,” Sym said.
“It can get rough. I don’t mind.”
“What do you do in your downtime?” Alees asked, pushing a plate full of triangular fried mandu toward him. Amadeo poked at it with a serving prong before taking a bite. It was incredible, salty and savory and crunchy. He felt like he’d been eating nothing but stew for the past half year.
After he swallowed, he said, “I meditate.”
“Oh, the exciting life you live,” Loran said. It was the only thing Loran had said since they’d been introduced. She was busy tapping on a datapad with figures whizzing dizzyingly all over it.
“Just ignore Loran. If her world doesn’t move at lightspeed, she’s bored. Loran organizes events for some of the top Coruscant talent. Oh, there she goes, on another call.” Alees leaned in. “She knows everyone famous on Coruscant. Like Tillia Nova, the singer, and Sin Merk and Gaggaran Gu.”
Amadeo blinked. He had no idea who they were. He felt like he was spinning. There was so much to look at, to hear and to taste. He found himself grinning for no particular reason and had to wipe the expression off his face for fear that he looked intoxicated.
“You haven’t answered my calls!” shouted a large Pantoran man, strutting up to their table. He was enormous. “Alees! You owe me!”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Alees said calmly. “I paid you back, Bing, and you spent it the same night when you were drunk. You think everyone owes you.” She rolled her eyes and turned to Amadeo. “Just ignore Bing. He’s an old boyfriend.”
Bing lunged for Alees’s face, but Amadeo caught his wrist before he could touch her, twisting it and making the Pantoran fall to his knees.
“Ow! Okay, I’ll stop! I was just kidding!” Bing cried out. The club went quiet, and all eyes were on Amadeo. He was standing and holding Bing’s arm at a painful angle. He let go, and Bing shuffled away quickly. Sym, Ellyt, Loran, and Alees looked at Amadeo with unfiltered admiration on their faces.
“And here I was the one telling you that Coruscant can be dangerous!” Alees said. “Thank you. Really.”
“I think Alees owes you a drink! That was incredible!” Loran said, no longer paying attention to her datapad.
Amadeo smiled a little and sat back down. They soon left the club to meet another group of young people at an apartment so high up that wisps of clouds obscured parts of the 360-degree view. Strangers beckoned Amadeo toward them, curious about his training, before inviting him to tell stories of the Outer Rim. At one point, Amadeo had a group of twenty in a circle listening to him as he told of the groundquake on Mikkia and their rescue.
“So they just ask you to go save people, and you go?” a woman asked.
“Pretty much,” Amadeo said.
“Don’t you miss your family?” a Twi’lek man asked.
“I don’t remember them, to be honest.”
“Do you have a lightsaber?” Sym asked.
Amadeo reached for his lightsaber, his hand finding the familiar angles and curves of metal. But he let go of it.
“I do,” he said.
“Can we see it?” Sym pressed him. “It’s not every day we get to share a drink with a Jedi.”
Amadeo pushed aside his hesitation and showed them the lightsaber. When he turned it on, there were oohs and aahs at the light-green glow and the hum. The attention felt wrong, and he quickly turned it off. They weren’t trying to learn, or understand. They were gawking. Well, that was a mistake.
Alees suddenly came into the circle, hooked Amadeo’s arm with her own, and smiled. “You guys are monopolizing my new friend! Come, Amadeo. I’m stealing you away for myself.”
Amadeo couldn’t help being pleased. Alees was pretty, and she seemed to know everyone. Outside, the nighttime sky was looking slightly watered-down. He’d been out all night. Alees walked him down a corridor of the lavish apartment, into a small sitting room with rich, velvety poufs, and sat him down on one.
“I can’t believe I almost left you there by the Jedi Temple gates,” Alees said. She gestured around her. “I know this is all a little overwhelming for you. I hope it’s not too much.”
“Do I seem overwhelmed?” Amadeo said, a little disappointed.
“A bit. It’s okay. I was, too, when I first moved here a few years ago. There’s something about Coruscant that makes you feel really small. But at the same time, you feel like you’re part of this collective beating heart.”
“Yes! That’s exactly what it feels like,” Amadeo said, nodding. He liked talking to Alees when there wasn’t a crowd around. A small serving droid had rolled in and handed Alees a bubbly purple cocktail. Amadeo took one, too. He sipped it. It made him want to sneeze. And after a few sips, he felt a warmth in the core of his body that began to spread outward. He relaxed and slumped into the pouf and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Comfortable, are we?”
“This may be the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat on in my entire life,” Amadeo said, smiling. When he opened his eyes, Alees was leaning her head on her hand. She touched his Padawan braid. It made his scalp tingle a little.
“I didn’t know Jedi—or Jedi in training—were allowed to socialize.”
“We’re usually too busy. In fact, I probably have to go. My master and I have a mission.”
Alees sat up, her face serious. “You’re leaving? Haven’t I been selling Coruscant well enough for you to stay?”
Selling Coruscant? Wait. Am I in a position to be buying this? Amadeo suddenly wondered.
“Yes, I do have to leave,” Amadeo said, but he couldn’t hide the regret in his voice.
“Aw, no.” She tugged on his Padawan braid playfully. “You should stay. You’re so interesting, Amadeo. You’re so real. Not like these jaded Coruscant types.”
“You mean your friends?” Amadeo said, laughing.
“And that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you laugh,” Alees said. She flipped her white tendrils over her shoulder. “Yes, I meant my friends. They could be your friends, too. I know you barely know them, but the twins are brilliant. They know more about the history of Coruscant than any scholar around. And Loran? She may seem like she’s distracted all the time, but she’s held my hand through some bad stuff.”
Friends. Amadeo didn’t really feel like that word was part of his life. The idea of sharing pieces of himself with others, and vice versa—it was inviting in a way he’d never known. He wondered what it would be like to be just Amadeo. Not Jedi Amadeo Azzazzo. One life not more worthy than the other, just different. His hand went to his lightsaber, and indecision made his fingertips tremble.
The questions simmered around him. Another life. Another possibility. A different existence in the universe. It felt real, and true, and the questions beckoned him to answer.
Alees was watching him. “What are you thinking?”
“Too many things,” Amadeo said.
“I know. This place will do that to you. Things move fast here. You have to let the flash and fancy fade a bit, and let Coruscant reveal the truth.”
“The truth?” Amadeo raised an eyebrow, not unlike Master Lox did sometimes.
“Yes. Coruscant will show you who you really are, and what you really want. If you give it time.”
“I don’t have the time,” Amadeo said.
Alees leaned back. “I feel like you could make a decade out of a day. But maybe you already have it all figured out. Talking to you, it’s like. . .you’ve got a soul that’s already a thousand years old. I like that.”
“That sounds vaguely like you’re telling me I’m boring.” Amadeo laughed again.
“Not at all,” she said, her expression serious. “Life is a blip. And I’m constantly trying to figure out what this blip is all about. Before it’s out. I have this feeling that you know. And you’re willing to share the secret with me.”
“I don’t think I know, Alees,” Amadeo said, shaking his head.
Alees reached out and put her fingers on Amadeo’s cheek. “Then maybe we could figure it out together.”
Amadeo said nothing for a moment. He looked at Alees. Her dark eyes were big, framed with black eyelashes. Her attention felt so pleasant. He’d never cared, really, if anyone liked him. He’d always and only ever been focused on one mission: To be the best Padawan he could be. To pass his trials and become a Jedi. To always fight for light and for life. But here was this Tholothian woman who’d invited him into a world and cracked open a fissure that hadn’t existed before—the possibility of another life.
It reminded him of the little kid on Mikkia who had gotten her legs caught in a crack during the groundquake. It was dangerous, and in just a few more moments, that crack could have opened up and swallowed her whole. There was nothing good to be found at the bottom of that chasm. But he was no kid, and this was no dangerous prospect. It was another life being offered to him. Those tendrils could root him somewhere, if he’d let them.
Since he was a tiny child, he’d only remembered being in the Jedi Temple. Learning the ways of the Force. Feeling his own Force abilities grow with him and seamlessly adopting the Jedi creed as his own. He’d never questioned another choice. Not until now—when there was some nameless terror killing Jedi, Starlight Beacon was destroyed, and he felt an urgent call to do something. The call to duty included so many things threatening to shorten his life: The Nihil. The creatures. Being a Jedi wasn’t for everyone. Was it worth it? Was it what he really wanted?
Then he looked at Alees and those large eyes that reflected the dawn, the fizzy drink in her hand, heard the crowd in the other room who’d welcomed Amadeo and all his adventures. The dawn was warming the edge of the sky. Somewhere out there, in the Jedi Temple, Master Mirro Lox was awakening and probably meditating. He would look for Amadeo and find his room empty.
“I wish it wasn’t dawn yet,” Amadeo said.
“Hey,” Alees said, reaching for Amadeo’s face. Her skin was so soft, not like Amadeo’s rough, calloused hands. “Hey. Don’t disappear on me, Not-a-Knight. You’re here, right now. The sun and moons and the turning of the planet mean nothing in the undercity of Coruscant. So let’s go back down there where dawn never comes.” She smiled, a beautiful smile that was more brilliant than Coruscant Prime could ever be. “This world is yours for the asking, Amadeo Azzazzo. So am I.”
Amadeo closed his eyes, allowing Alees’s hand to pull him closer.
Dawn could wait.
Mirro Lox woke up as soon as light touched his dormitory window. He quickly arose and readied himself before leaving his room and knocking on the door of his Padawan.
No answer came.
“Amadeo?” Mirro knocked again, then opened the door.
Inside, the room was a replica of his own. It was empty.
One of the Temple protocol droids arrived with a tray of fruit, rolls, and a steaming mug of tea.
