𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐎 || 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫

Chapter 22 - Dangerous Truths & Lies

It was late afternoon in Coruscant by the time the ship touched down. Managing to slip away before Obi-Wan could drag me into yet another boring "emergency" Jedi Council meeting, I wrapped myself up tightly within the confines of my brown rough-spun cloak. Walking briskly through the crowded streets of Coruscant, I let the winding paths lead me to the Jedi Temple's entryway.

No one gave me a second glance as I strode inside with my head held high underneath the hood of my cloak. It wasn't until I wove my way to the back of the Temple where the Archives were that I began to be more cautious. The words I had spoken to Anakin a mere few hours ago rang inside my head like bells.

"This is a dangerous game we're playing..."

It was painfully true. Our lives had spiraled into chaos as the galaxy descended into darker and darker times. And with those darker times brought suspicion and unrest, mistrust that was unshakeable. Ever since the arena, it had been gnawing at the back of my mind like a brain worm. I suppose, somehow, it had always been there, though - I had only recently stopped suppressing it.

Bypassing the main room of archives filled with aqua blue holofiles and busts of long-dead Jedi legends, I ascended the stairs to the higher levels to the restricted section. It was surprisingly vacant when I slipped inside the anteroom, letting my nimble fingers glide over the buttons that I had memorized as a small child. Every Jedi was allowed to learn the codes at certain ages in order to gain the knowledge held within the holofiles.

I, however, had managed to discover those codes much earlier than my peers due to my more curious nature. The red button blinked bright green then as the doors hissed open before me, revealing the restricted section in all its glory. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as my dark brown gaze scanned the emerald holofiles. This had always been one of my favorite rooms in the Temple.

It took me several minutes to finally locate the correct holofiles I was searching for and when I did, I took a deep breath despite myself. I admit, the thought of finally knowing the truth slightly unnerved me. As Jedi, we had been taught to let go of attachments and never to ask questions about our past lives. Up until this moment, I never had. I'd always forced that desire from my heart and mind. Yet now...

Shaking the thoughts aside, I did what I came here to do. My fingers flew across the buttons as I began to sift through the holofiles - all in alphabetical order, of course. When my eyes lit on Aroo, I immediately activated the holofile. It slid out automatically and pressing the button on the side, an aqua-blue hologram of a much-younger Jedi Master Mace Windu flickered to life before me.

"Jedi Knight Mace Windu reporting the discovery of a Force-sensitive child found on the planet Concord Dawn. Child is female, around 3-4 years of age and was tested as having a midichlorian count of over 1500. I was on a mission in the Outer Rim, tracking the location of a rogue group of Mandalorians causing unrest with the local population of Arvala-7. Following information on the group led me to Concord Dawn where I later discovered the child living with her parents, an exotic dancer at the local cantina and a Mandalorian warrior."

My eyebrows hit my hairline at this, dark eyes wide as I drank in every word he spoke as if it was a cup of fresh-made Juri Juice. Mandalore? I was from Mandalore?

"I questioned this warrior but he refused to give information on his fellow Mandalorians, attempting to throw me out of his home. In the scuffle and confusion that followed, the child became upset. The walls of the house began to shake and trinkets fell off the shelves from the tremors. It became immediately clear to me that the child was strong in the Force and needed to be trained. I left to finish out my mission first before returning to acquire the child who had to be obtained by force."

A quiet gasp emitted from between my lips, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion as I listened.

"The woman was distraught at the news of her child's Force-sensitivity and the man fought me with an array of weapons on his person. The woman was unfortunately killed in the conflict. Regardless, I was able to overcome the warrior and take the child back with me to Coruscant where she will be trained in the Jedi Order. Lastly, I will note the child's given name is Jetta Aroo, daughter of Baiaa Aroo and Jango Fett."

I felt like I couldn't breathe then as images flashed in my mind's eyes - memories I had forgotten until now. A beautiful woman with olive skin and long brown tresses wrapped in a red scarf smiling down at me before pressing a kiss to my cheek, a dark-haired man in silver-plated armor over a blue tunic laughing deeply before gathering me to his warm chest. I barely noticed the hot tears spilling over my cheeks unbidden as my chest heaved with the resurgence of suppressed memories and this horrid newfound information.

Never had I questioned the Jedi before, never had I once stopped to consider that being taken into the Jedi Order had ever been anything other than a conscious choice by my parents to give me a better life. But it was never their choice. The Jedi had taken me from them! Taken me from my home, my parents, my very existence and forced me into this life I now led. Baiaa, my poor mother...killed trying to save me...

And Jango...my father...I had seen him murdered before my very eyes. But...but he had known me... Yes, that was it! He had known me, that was why he saved me that day. Briefly, the thought of the dark-haired boy, Jango's son, flickered into my mind... My brother? What happened to him? Where was he now?

Too many thoughts were clouding my brain. I quickly began to wipe away the tears with the back of my hand and slid the holofile back into place. As I wove my way back through the Temple's labyrinthine halls, a drastic notion descended over me.

I had followed every rule, every law set before me. I never questioned, I never judged. And in return, I had been lied to my whole life by the Jedi. Suddenly, nothing that had transpired in the past few months seemed to matter. Nothing I had opposed seemed to matter at all.

As I exited the Jedi Temple and began the long trek leading to the infirmary, the last rays of the sun began to dip below the horizon. I glanced up from below my hood then, my dark eyes hardened into a fierce resolve.

By this time tomorrow, I would be Anakin Skywalker's wife.

Author's Note: Aaaaand what did y'all think of THAT little bombshell?!!!! Did you see it coming or no? Or Jetta's decision to defy the Jedi after learning they kidnapped her from her family?