Seven years earlier...
It was the unreliable electricity and poor plumbing that had made Oa Umi'u pick the cramped apartment in one of Coruscant's more run down neighborhoods. Only the very desperate would live in a building with a crumbling foundation and rotting walls--in fact, Yesemei Heights was in such bad condition that the residents on the top three floors had been evicted from their apartments last month because they were no longer livable. No damage deposits were returned; it was another reason why Oa liked the building. With rent so high, and a thief for a manager, it was almost a guarantee that only those who wanted to be left alone would move in.
And of course, there was the fact that the trap door in her bedroom led to a tunnel dug by the previous owner--an "import-export entrepreneur" the landlord said--and out into one of the back alleys down the street.
Oa had been living in 1D for six months now, ever since the birth of her son Wyl. Though the infant kept her busy, it was her other duties which took up most of the young mothers time. Once, a very long time ago when things had been better than they were now, Oa had lived in the Jedi temple. Though she herself had never possessed enough of a connection to the Force to be trained, her father had been a Jedi Knight. The Jedi had been her family. Until that awful day.
Mostly she tried not to think of it. She had lost many friends, many mentors... and a father. It had taken her years to work up the courage to come back to Coruscant.
She was back with a vengeance.
"Vayne? I'm sorry my friend, it's time to go."
Oa smiled down gently at the exhausted looking man on her bed. His blue eyes opened instantly and he sighed. There was a dark purple bruise on his cheek, and he winced slightly as he spoke.
"Yes. I shouldn't have even stayed this long." The man sat up slowly, stretching his stiff muscles. "I cannot thank you enough Oa. Though, as a friend, I must urge you to stop." He put a large hand on her shoulder. "You're putting your life in danger. You're putting his life in danger."
Oa followed his gaze to her open door, where down the hall her son slept peacefully in his room. When she looked back at the Jedi, her face was stony. "Do you really say this as a friend? Or is it as a Jedi?"
"Both."
"I see." Oa straightened and placed a small bag on the bed beside her guest. "There's food in there, and some credits."
"Oa, I do appreciate what you're doing, all of us do, but your situation has changed, you cannot put your child’s life, and yours, in danger for the Jedi--" Vayne was stopped by the sudden slam of the bedroom door. Oa spun around, her eyes blazing.
"I'm not just doing it for the Jedi, my friend. I understand that this is dangerous! Don't you think I thought about the risks? I still thing of them, everytime I hold Wyl! But this is the only way that I can help him have a good life!" She drew a quiet breath and shook her head. "Vayne, I am not strong enough to fight the forces of this galaxy directly, and even if I were I couldn't because of my son. But I can do this. My father is dead; at least leave me the luxury of aiding his peers."
There was an awkward silence, as woman and Jedi stared at each other. Oa broke the gaze first, turning to leave the room.
"The trapdoor is in the back of my closet, under the boxes. If you find anyone else who's alive, tell them they'll find safety here. May the Force be with you."
********
"Hey, Staedtler!"
Wyl Staedtler turned around, schoolbag in hand, to look at the source of the voice. When his eyes caught sight of the Van Irreck brothers he narrowed his eyes.
"What do you want?"
Luren, the older of the two, grinned manically and sauntered forward, little brother Fawn in mimic. "I just heard something that I find very interesting."
Something in the back of Wyl's mind paused, on the alert. Luren was an out-and-out bully, pure and simple. He didn't have the brains to do much else but punch; so why was he pacing himself? Wyl rolled his eyes and huffed.
"Oh yeah? What'd you hear? That your mother barfs every time she kisses you goodnight?"
Lurens face puffed out and his cheeks grew red. "No! I heard that your Grandpa was some kind of freak! That the government executed him because he was a real weirdo!"
Wyl's face went white. "What?"
"That's right, micromind! No wonder you're such a malfunctioning little twerp! You've got the crazy gene!" Luren jeered. Fawn guffawed and then slapped his brother's shoulder.
"Hey, I bet his Grandpa was a Jedi." He spat the foul word out, shriveling his face in disgust.
Wyl was certain that time had stopped. He couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything but the rushing wind that was his breath, couldn't move. He swallowed gingerly. "Where... did... you... hear...that?" He demanded, pronouncing each word very deliberatly. Luren scoffed.
"Oh yeah, like I'm going to tell you!" The boy paused, and then with a wicked grin went on in a low voice, "It's true, isn't it? He was a freakoid that had to be put down right? It's a good thing too, I wouldn't want to live here with a crazy person running around."
"My Grandpa wasn't crazy!" Wyl shouted.
Luren stamped his foot. "Yes he was! And you're probably going to be crazy too!"
“MY GRANDPA WAS NOT CRAZY!” Wyl dropped his school bag and tackled Luren, who gasped as as stomach was pummeled by Wyl’s head. It only took a moment, however, for the bigger boy to get his wits about him. Wyl managed to get a few good punches in before Luren rolled on top of him and slammed his fist into his nose. Ignoring the blood that was now oozing out his nostrils, Wyl wriggled his knees up and kicked Luren in the chest, pushing him away. While the bully was rolling Wyl got up and began to charge at him; he hadn’t remembered about Fawn though, and just as he was about to jump on Luren, the small Van Irreck grabbed hold of his legs. With an ‘oof’ Wyl crashed to the ground. The boys took no time at all in using the situation to their advantage.
“Stop it!” Wyl roared as he rolled to avoid the two. “ I mean it, stop it! Something’s wrong!”
And indeed, something was wrong. He could feel it, he was losing control over… what?
“Stop it!”
And then everything went black.
**
“Wyl is that you? You’re late, where have you—oh!” Oa gasped as she caught sight of her sons bloody face. Wyl had walked through the door minutes ago, hours after school had ended. Pushing her questions about his tardiness aside, Oa ushered the boy into the kitchen where the light was better. She grimaced as she wet a cloth and began to wipe gently at his face. “Was it the Van Irreck’s again?” she asked. Wyl nodded.
“I’ve told you before Wyl, you just have to walk away from people like that! Fighting doesn’t solve anything!” Oa stopped at the look on her sons face. He was pale, and very drawn. Alarmed, Oa grabbed his shoulders. “Wyl? What’s wrong?”
Wyl licked his lips and sucked in a breath. “Something happened Mom.”
“What? What happened?”
When he didn’t answer, Oa repeated herself more firmly. Wyl looked at her with teary eyes. “I don’t know Mom! We were fighting and then… I don’t know! I just blacked out and when I woke up they were gone and I felt really sick Mom, and I know I’m not supposed to fight but they knew about Grandpa Mom, they knew that he was different and they kept saying that he was crazy! I couldn’t take it!” He started to cry and shook his head. “I lost it Mom! I lost it and something really awful happened!”
Oa was too shocked to move for a moment. Methodically she pulled her son to her breast, her mind rushing. She let him calm down and then pushed him away from her so that she could look into his eyes.
“Listen to me now Wyl. Your Grandfather wasn’t crazy. You know that. He was a very good man.” Wyl nodded slowly. Oa smiled. “Now, I want you to go to your room, and I want you to pack some clothes into your old backpack. When you’re done that, put it in the closet. Okay?”
“Why?”
“Because Wyl, you were right. Something did happen, and because it did we need to be ready. Now go.” Oa watched her son walk slowly to his bedroom, and only when he was gone did she let her head fall into her hands. For a few moments the woman stayed that way, and then she stood up, took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. Grabbing her commlink, Oa walked out to the dirty terrace that went out from the common room. She punched in a number and then waited.
“Annaud here.”The gruff male voice answered.
“Zach? It’s Oa.”
“I haven’t heard from you in a long time. Something up?”
“Yes. I need you to get a message rolling.”
“…Sure thing. What is it?”
Oa paused.
“Say… say that I’ve found someone who has the potential to be very interesting.”
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