The great doors of the Jedi Council chamber closed behind them with a low, resonant thud. Kaelen trailed after Yoda in silence, the boy's small feet scuffing across the polished stone floor. The Council's words still echoed in his head—too strong, too dangerous, Mandalorian blood, balance, choice. He wasn't sure if they had accepted him or merely tolerated him. But Yoda's hand, light on his shoulder, grounded him.
The corridor outside was quiet, the light from the high windows falling in long shafts across the floor. Jedi passed silently, robes whispering as they moved to their duties. Kaelen caught glances from some—a boy in simple travel clothes, carrying a frayed shawl instead of training robes. Most turned away quickly, but Kaelen felt the weight of their scrutiny.
Yoda paused at a small lift, tapping his cane to summon it. "Much to see, you will," the Grand Master said, his voice warm despite the child's unease. "The Temple, your home now will be."
Kaelen swallowed. "Home…" He clutched the beskad shard tied at his belt, thinking of fire and blood. Could stone walls and strange faces really be home?
The lift doors opened with a hiss, revealing a wide platform that rose through the Temple's interior. As they descended, Kaelen saw gardens sprawling across terraces, fountains spilling into reflective pools, libraries lined with glowing archives. The air here was calm, filled with faint echoes of chanting and the hum of training sabers.
When the lift opened again, a group of younglings were crossing the hall, their laughter echoing. They wore simple tunics, each bearing the same calm discipline in their steps. Kaelen shrank back instinctively, but Yoda nudged him forward.
"Meet them, you should. Fellow learners, they are."
The children stopped, staring at him with open curiosity. A Twi'lek girl tilted her head, her lekku swaying. "He's new."
A Rodian boy sniffed loudly, his Basic clumsy but eager. "From—Mandalore?"
Kaelen stiffened. "Yes."
Murmurs spread. Some looked impressed, others wary. Mandalorians were famous even among children—for their warriors, their battles with Jedi in ancient times. Kaelen's cheeks burned, but he forced himself to stand tall.
The Twi'lek girl smiled. "I'm Nira. Don't worry, we all started as outsiders."
Kaelen blinked. Her kindness disarmed him. He gave a small, awkward nod. "Kaelen."
"Come," Yoda said, tapping his cane. "Time for lessons."
The younglings' training chamber was circular, lined with smooth walls and faintly glowing panels. Instructors waited at the far end—among them a tall, graceful Togruta with white-and-blue head-tails, and a short, wiry human with piercing eyes. Kaelen followed the group nervously, feeling the floor vibrate faintly beneath his bare feet.
The Togruta, Master Tera Sinube, greeted them with a smile. "Ah, our newest youngling. Welcome."
Kaelen bowed clumsily, remembering what he had seen in the Council chamber. "Thank you, Master."
Sinube's gaze lingered briefly on the beskad shard at Kaelen's belt, but he said nothing. Instead, he gestured to the circle of mats. "Sit. Today, we begin with meditation."
Kaelen lowered himself onto a mat, folding his legs the way his mother had taught him. Around him, the other younglings closed their eyes, their breathing slowing. Kaelen tried to mimic them, but the silence pressed on him like a weight. His mind filled instantly with fire, screams, his mother's dying gasp. He trembled, clenching his fists.
"Breathe," Sinube said gently, his voice carrying across the circle. "Do not fight the memory. Let it pass, like a cloud over the sun."
Kaelen bit his lip. "I… I can't."
Another instructor approached—Master Luminara Unduli, her green skin calm beneath her ornate headdress. She knelt beside him, her voice soft. "Close your eyes, Kaelen. Listen not to the fire, but to the current beneath it. The Force is always there. Can you feel it?"
He shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself to breathe. For a moment, nothing. Then—like the river, flowing steady beneath the roar—he felt it. A hum, quiet but unbroken, winding through him. His trembling eased.
"Yes," he whispered.
Luminara's hand rested briefly on his shoulder. "Good. Remember this: the Force is not the memory of loss. It is the promise that something remains."
The rest of the day blurred with lessons. The younglings practiced basic movements with training sabers, humming blades of light that tingled against Kaelen's palms. He stumbled at first, his stances awkward compared to the others. But when the instructor shifted the exercise to reflexes, Kaelen surprised them all.
The Rodian swung clumsily, and Kaelen blocked without thinking. The Twi'lek lunged, and Kaelen sidestepped before she even moved. The others gasped, and Kaelen froze, realizing he had reacted before the strikes came.
Sinube raised a brow. "Precognition. Strong in him already."
Kaelen's cheeks burned. He looked at the floor. He didn't want to be special, didn't want them staring at him like the Council had. But the whispers in his head grew clearer that moment: Endure. Survive.
Later, Yoda found him sitting alone in one of the Temple's gardens. The boy's small frame hunched on the edge of a fountain, the beskad shard resting across his lap. Water trickled softly beside him, koi-like fish gliding beneath the surface.
"Not join the others, you did," Yoda said, settling on the stone beside him.
Kaelen didn't look up. "They all know what they're doing. I don't."
"Hmm." Yoda's ears twitched. "Yet block every strike, you did. Before it came."
Kaelen's eyes flickered. "I don't want to be… different."
"Different, you already are," Yoda said simply. "Mandalorian, and Jedi. Prodigy, some may say. Burden, others will call it. But choice, always yours."
Kaelen frowned. "What if I choose wrong?"
"Then learn, you will," Yoda replied. "Fall, then rise. Wrong choice teaches as much as right."
Kaelen's throat tightened. "My parents… they didn't get to choose. Death Watch chose for them."
Yoda's gaze softened. "And still, here you are. Alive. Their strength, their love… in you, it remains. Make them proud, you can."
For the first time since arriving, Kaelen allowed himself to breathe without the fire in his chest. He looked down at the beskad shard and whispered: "I'll try."
Yoda nodded slowly. "Try, yes. But do more. Be more. The Force flows through you, Kaelen Shan. Guide you, it will—if you listen."
The boy finally lifted his eyes, meeting the Grand Master's steady gaze. For the first time, he believed he could.