Deep in the grounds of the Jedi temple, a clan of younglings had gathered before a large door and were waiting patiently for their minder to finish counting them. They were all very excited for today they were going on a trip through the Jedi Temple gardens.

Standing near the center of the group, were four younglings eagerly chatting away about the prospects of their trip. One of the younglings, a human male, looked up at the large door and spoke out loud to the group, “Did you guys know that the greenhouse ceiling has artificial sun lamps covered by a special fabric in order to imitate a natural changing sky?”



He turned around to face his friends and say them with their heads down trying to pretend that they had fallen asleep. The youngling got angry at his clan mates and stuck his tongue out at them.

Another of the younglings, a Kiffar female, opened her eyes and rolled them back at the boy. “Don’t be offended, Zhantos,” she said, “We were only kidding. You know we only fall asleep whenever you talk about science.”

The other two younglings began to laugh. The other human boy in the group raised his hand up to the girl in an effort to high five. “That was really funny, Melandie!” he said as his hand was left in the air.

“Actually, I think that was funnier,” laughed a small Aleena child, “Don’t listen to Drakess or Melandie, Gabrall. I honestly like it when you try to teach us new things.”

“Why thank you, Vena,” said Gabrall with a smile.

“Looks like little Vena Cavara has a crush on a human. Awww,” shouted Melandie sarcastically. Upon hearing her, the other younglings surrounding them began to also laugh forcing Vena to blush and try to hide behind Drakess.

By this time, their minder had finished counting all the younglings and was calling for their attention.

“Okay class, settle down,” she shouted, “I know we are all excited for today’s trip. Now I want all of you to be on your best behavior and stay with the group. Okay?”

“Yes, Madame,” answered the group in unison.

“Good,” she smiled. The elderly Jedi woman then turned around and waved her hand over the large metal doors. A loud clanking echoed through the hall as the doors slowly opened. Behind, the children could see a bright light begin to filter through and fill the hallway behind them.

“Welcome, children, to the Temple Gardens.”

The faces on the younglings were full with excitement as they entered the cavernous room. Though they were deep in the temple, the room was made to seem as if they were outdoors. All around them, a beautiful menagerie of exotic plants from around the galaxy sprouted up towards the ceiling. Truly it was spectacular sight to behold compared to the metal surroundings of Coruscant.

Their minder was delighted by the sense of wonder amongst her clan. She walked over to the beginning of a small path and turned to her younglings.

“Now if everybody would follow me. We are going to begin the tour, and don’t forget to take notes,” she turned towards Drakess as she said this and the clan giggled.

The young human just smiled back and spoke, “Don’t worry about me, Madame Ala May. I got this.”

“We’ll just see when the test comes around,” whispered Gabrall as he nudged past his friend.

As the tour started through the garden, Madame Ala May would point out various plants that had special properties that might be useful to any Jedi in the field. Coming upon a group of odd-looking vines, the Jedi turned to the children and asked if anyone knew what this was

“Oh, I know!” shouted Gabrall with excitement, “It’s a Scintil vine from the planet of Ruusan.”

“Very good, Mr. Zhantos,” applauded Madame Ala May. “Now. . .”

Gabrall interrupted his minder and began to explain the many properties of the plant. The rest of the group all rolled their eyes or sighed heavily for they knew this was going to be another long explanation.

Off to the side of the group, Melandie was ignoring her friend for she had heard something rustling amongst the bushes. She kept on staring at the bushes, waiting for something to emerge.

Vena turned to see Melandie with her head in the plants and asked her what she was doing, “Is there something in there?” she added.

“I don’t know,” she said, “But I heard something in there and now I can kind of feel something alive in the bush.”

Just then, a small blue colored bird darted from the bottom of the bush and ran off further down another path. Without thinking, the youngling immediately ran after the bird. She chased it up and down the path, but eventually grew annoyed. Reaching her out hand, she focused on the Force and just like that, the blue bird was within her grasps. As she studied the bird, she began to notice that it looked very scared and also seemed to be in pain.

“Are you okay, little bird?” she asked in a soft voice. Knowing that the bird could not answer, she got an idea on how to figure out what had happened to the bird. Being of Kiffar heritage, Melandie was gifted with psychometry, the ability to psychically read any object to experience any events that had happened around it. She looked around and saw a big tree a few feet away from her. She knew that had to be the best spot to read the area and quickly ran over to it.

Upon reaching the tree, she closed her eyes and placed one hand on its trunk. She began to clear her mind and focus on all the energies on the tree. Melandie took a deep breath and then suddenly opened her eyes. They were filled with light and seemed to stare blankly at the tree. In her mind, the she could still see the garden, but everything was now dark. Above her, she heard the cheerful chirping of the bird flying in and out of the branches of the tree. She watched it fly over the garden and then land in the opening of large air vent that fed the gardens. From inside the walls, she heard a rumbling and looked back to the bird. A huge burst of air ejected the small bird from the vent and sent it falling down on the ground near the bushes where she first heard.

Upon seeing the bird hit the ground, Melandie broke from her trance and inhaled loudly. She looked down at her hands and saw the small bird shaking in her palms. A frown of sadness appeared on the younglings face. She pulled the bird closer into her chest and embraced it softly.

“I’m so sorry little bird. I wish I could help you,” sobbed the young girl as she began to tear. As her thoughts filled of nothing but helping the small bird, Melandie was able to subconsciously tap into the Force and unlock its healing powers. From her hands, a dim green light could be seen and surrounded the small bird.

Melandie was too occupied to notice, but just up the path, an Ithorian Jedi Master had been watching her this whole time. As he sensed the young girl’s instinctive use of the Force, he decided to approach her and introduce himself.

“Hello, youngling,” said the Master with his unique Ithorian voice, “What have you got there in your hand?”

The young girl looked up and wiped her tears as she answered the Jedi, “It was bird that got hurt. I tried to catch it so I could help it, but I don’t know how.”

The Ithorian kneeled down to the girl’s level and spoke in a comforting tone, “My dear, stop your crying. Look into your hand.”

Melandie did as she was told and to her surprise, the small blue bird took off into the air as if nothing had happened to it. A large smile overcame her face as she looked back at the master.

“He’s okay!” she yelled.

“Of course he is,” said the Jedi cheerfully, “You healed him.”

“I did?” Melandie looked confused at the master’s explanation.

He simply nodded his head and got to his feet. “Yes. The Force has many aspects to it that you will come to learn with time. Now come. We should getting you back to your minder.” The master stuck out his hand for Melandie to hold and soon they were walking back to the rest of her clan.

After turning a corner, Melandie saw her clan mates and yelled out, “Madame Ala May! Look what I found in the garden.” She released the master’s hand and sprinted towards her forwards. “You guys won’t believe what I just did!”

Madame Ala May gave a sigh of relief and sternly raised her voice to the lost youngling. “Melandie Tolome, where have you been? I have had the entire clan looking for you,” turning her head to the master, she continued on, “Oh, thank you Master Healer Annon Dergra. I’m so glad you found her.”

“You’re very welcome, milady. It was no problem and I’m very glad to have met her,” remarked Annon as he watched an excited Melandie narrate her small adventure.

“You are?” asked Ala May surprisingly.

He turned back to the other Jedi and answered, “Yes and I have something important that I need to ask Lady Ala May about young Melandie Tolome.”

The group suddenly became quiet at the mention of Melandie’s name. They all looked up at the two adults in curiosity and waited for what it was that Master Annon Dergra was going to ask.

“What is it?” asked Drakess loudly from the back of the crowd with a deep voice.

“Lady Ala May. I would like to formally ask that Melandie Tolome be transferred to my class in the Medical Corps and that she become my padawan.”

The group was frozen by the surprise of the question. They all dropped their jaws and started to stare at their clan mate who, herself, was surprised by what the master was asking.

Ala May peered down at her youngling with great pride, and spoke, “Oh my. That is a great honor, Master Healer, but it is not my choice to make.”

“You’re right,” said Annon as he turned to face Melandie, “My dear, the Force has given you a great gift, the gift of healing, the gift of life. With my teachings I believe you will grow to not only become a great Knight, but a magnificent Healer as well. So what do you say? Will be my padawan?”

The room fell silent as everyone eagerly awaited Melandie’s answer. She turned to her three friends next to her. All three were smiling as they nodded their head in approval. A large smile appeared on her face and her eyes filled with excitement. She looked Annon Dergra straight in the eye and shouted, “I’ll do it!”