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Chapter Text

A starfighter streaked past a massive luxury starliner, close enough to wipe the space dust off its port windows. Dozens of small faces pressed up against the transparisteel. Alex turned the Jedi emblem on her wing toward them as she rocked back and forth. From behind, R3 protested with a shrill whistle.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing."

Blaat!

"Come on. That was one time."

Alex ignored the disdainful trills. She stayed in manual, locking out her astromech droid for good measure. She muted their channel.

Dual emotions of excitement and uncertainty swirled within her as she entered the atmosphere of Coruscant. Life on the capital seemed to move faster than in the rest of the galaxy. So much changed each time she was away, sometimes to the point where the streets became unrecognizable. But the Jedi Temple was the one anchor in her life.

Adding to her anxieties, she'd been given no reason for her early recall. She hoped she wasn't in trouble again.

She let out a breath. As Master J'onn had constantly reminded her, she focused on the present and let the worries of the future belong to the future.

Closing her eyes, she let her Force sense broaden beyond herself and her ship. The Force was in everything, even the very particles of the air. She brought the aerodynamic wedge of her ship along the twisting stream. With a loose grip on the control stick, she surfed the currents rather than cut through them.

Coruscant was beautiful from the sky. Through the haze of smog, the blemishes of the surface were invisible. The lights of the city teased at abstract shapes.

Three trillion people below created a buzz in the Force that never ceased. It was normally a background sensation that she could ignore. But today, something was different. A great weight in the Force blanketed everything. It grew heavier as she approached the densely populated Government District. At the center, the Jedi Temple towered high above everything else.

"Jedi starfighter Sentinel-6, you are cleared for docking at the main hangar bay."

"Copy that."

She bit back a groan. At the far edges of Temple grounds, the main hangar was typically relegated to visitors. From there, she'd have to walk through the Garden of Seven Meditations, up all Ten Thousand Steps of Pious Contemplation, and enter through the Entranceway of Humble Beginnings.

She'd already pointed her ship toward the smaller Jedi hangar at the rear of the Temple. Instead of staying in the designated skylanes, she cut through the Temple itself. Her pass between the spires was close enough to see Master Jinn in the upper levels of the Tower of Reconciliation. His look of disapproval would be a problem for her future self. Right now, she was living in the present.

"Sentinel-6, please proceed to the hangar bay by official thoroughfares without further delay."

Now that they were in atmosphere, R3's rebuke carried across the air. It was ridiculous how that little droid could say "I told you so" so clearly that she didn't need to read a translation.

In retaliation, she did a barrel roll as she spun them out of Temple airspace and back into the skylane.

R3 howled all the way up to the moment she brought the fighter down with an abrupt jolt. Even before her canopy opened, she could hear it start on the next warbling tirade.

She sighed. Touching down always came with a bit of melancholy. But duty waited for no Jedi.

The ground crew bustled about her. The ship rocked with the insertion of the fueling line. A mechanic checked over her hull, making tsking noises to himself. Someone pushed a ladder toward her cockpit.

Instead of waiting, she hopped out, using the Force to both propel and cushion her landing. The man with the ladder shook his head. "Kids," he muttered.

In years, she was far from a child. But the Jedi measured youth by the padawan's braid, and she'd only just lost hers last year. A padawan, or apprentice, often went unnoticed or dismissed. A Jedi Knight commanded respect.

R3 caught up as she hurried out of the hangar. In her peripheral vision, she caught a glimpse of it stowing its booster rockets.

"No flying on Temple grounds," she echoed the reprimand it'd given to her earlier.

Blaat!

Well, that was rude.

Through the courtyard, the steps up to the Temple loomed before them. The towers always looked more intimidating from this angle. She counted every one of the thousand twenty-four steps as R3 floated beside her on its rockets.

Today, something different hung in the air. Halfway up the steps, the acrid scent of expended baradium assaulted her nostrils. But that was impossible.

She crested the steps to the grand entrance of the Temple and gasped. The high arch had collapsed into rubble. Of the twin statues that normally towered on either side of the walkway, only the bottom half of one still stood. The fallen guardian's face had been smashed to pieces against the pavement.

Alex drew in a sharp breath. The nebulous echoes she'd felt in the Force now solidified into a crashing wave of sadness, anger, and then an overwhelming resolve that smothered over the rest.

Blood still stained the duracrete. It didn't…. This wasn't…. This kind of thing didn't happen on Coruscant.

Around her, Jedi of all ages worked solemnly to clear the remaining debris. She stepped through the rubble in a daze. In the shell of the doorway, someone had set up a memorial. Short holographic clips of those who'd passed played in loops, the eerie smiles of those who would never do so again. She shuffled past with her head bowed.

\ \ \

Despite the wide corridors and high-vaulted ceilings, this main hall had always felt like a cage. People seldom gathered here. They filtered in and out, not all of them Jedi, but all with the hurried strides of those with places to go. No one liked to linger.

That was not the state of things today.

Packed from wall to wall, Alex had never seen so many Jedi congregated in one place. The crowd was abuzz. She felt the anxiety rippling through the Force.

"I've been summoned by the Council," she announced at the edge of the crowd.

No one moved for her. Master J'onn would have been able to get through. He could flow through a crowd like liquid passing through cracks.

Alex stepped up to them. With the Force, she created a wedge. Those closest to her looked around confused as they were moved by something other than their own legs.

At the far end, the doors to the council chambers opened. Everyone fell silent for the doorkeeper.

"Jedi Knight Danvers?" he called, his voice echoing.

"Here," she said, cutting off an impatient murmur from the crowd. All eyes turned to her.

"They've been waiting for you."

It sounded like a reprimand. Alex resisted the urge to bend in apology. She kept walking, feeling and hearing the murmurs all around.

As always, on entry, her first sensation was in the Force. From the wisest masters of the Order, she felt strength like an enormous waterfall that stretched past the horizon, the stored power of a massive glacial asteroid, and depths beyond even oceans that passed through cores.

She focused on keeping her steps soft, quiet. The acoustics of the Council Chambers amplified even the slightest of sounds. She'd always hated the way she'd sounded like a stomping dewback on the heel of her master.

"Your starfighter was cleared over half an hour ago. Take the scenic route, Knight Danvers?"

Alex stiffened at the voice of Master Ki-Adi-Mundi. She saw now how the large floor-to-ceiling wraparound window would have given the Council a perfect view of a certain Jedi Knight buzzing between the spires.

At the center of the room, there was nowhere for her to hide. She bowed her head and gave no excuses.

A low gravelly voice gave her reprieve.

"A grave task, we have for you."

Even with no rank between the highest masters of the Order, there was one to whom all deferred. Alex kept her head bowed as she turned toward the voice of the smallest in stature but largest in the Force.

Around her, she heard a murmur from other masters. She fought to keep her irritation from showing.

"I'm ready," she said evenly.

The rumbling became louder. They were silenced by Yoda.

"Impetuous, some find you." This time, Alex held her tongue. Master Yoda softened. "But speaks highly of you, Master J'onn does. Made, the decision has been. Trust in young Danvers, we will."

A second voice boomed from her right. "Nothing you hear here can be spoken of outside of these chambers. Is that understood?"

Dark eyes delivered the threat his mouth hadn't.

"Understood, Master Windu," Alex said with another bow.

A holographic face appeared before her. She took in her soft features, dark hair that fell to her shoulders, and guarded eyes that seemed to hold the depths of oceans. Another master spoke.

"Her name is Maggie Sawyer…"

\ \ \

Alex walked out of the Council chambers, so deep in thought that she almost bowled over her former mentor. He caught her by the elbow to keep her from falling.

"Be mindful of the present," he admonished. The wide smile on his face took the edge off the reproach.

"Master J'onn—"

"Alex. You can drop the formalities. We are equals now before the Council."

It was hard to shake off more than a decade's worth of conditioning.

"I've not seen much of you since you passed your Trials."

"I'm sorry, Master. I—"

"Alex, please," he said kindly. "Just J'onn."

His easy familiarity relaxed her. This last year had been hard without him at her side.

"You've been busy," J'onn said. His smile broadened. "Agamar, Haruun Kal, the attempted coup on Alderaan."

She almost glowed with pride, but caught herself. Humility was the Jedi way. "I go wherever the Council needs," she said humbly.

"Yes." His face fell into a deep frown. "So I have heard. This business with these terrorists is distressing to say the least."

Taking Alex by the elbow again, he pulled her behind a column. She could feel his misgivings in the Force.

"The Council has drawn its conclusions," J'onn said, his voice low. "But I have my concerns that they've been too quick to judgment. It's imperative that you keep your eyes open out there. Be mindful of the Force. And try and keep an open mind."

"Yes, M—J'onn."

With a hearty laugh, J'onn clapped her on the back. "Come, I'll walk with you to the docking bay. And you will tell me about your latest adventure on Batuu."