Thunder echoed across Coruscant.
Eli Kaen jolted upright in his bedroll. For a second, he didn't know where he was—but the vaulted stone ceiling and the soft rustle of robes around him reminded him quickly.
The Jedi Temple.
The dormitory.
He was still here.
The light outside the window had changed. Not golden like last evening, but a pale gray—dawn. The city was awake, alive, a constant buzz beyond the glass.
He'd made it through the night.
But today was the day it all began.
He moved slowly, quietly, gathering his tunic and belt as the other younglings stirred. His heartbeat thundered louder than the warships in the atmosphere. He felt raw, coiled like a wire stretched too tight.
A girl beside him yawned and smiled.
"Good morning, Eli," she whispered.
He turned to her—Niyala, small and sharp-eyed, a fellow youngling in his clan. Her voice was soft, unaware of anything amiss.
"Morning," he said hollowly.
No one else knew. No one sensed it.
The Force was silent.
---
Breakfast was a blur.
He sat among the others in the Temple's youngling dining hall, pushing pieces of nerf sausage around his plate. Conversations hummed around him—little gossip about katas, sparring matches, one boy boasting he'd caught a glimpse of Master Windu passing through the corridor.
Eli's fingers trembled on the rim of his tray.
How do I tell them? Should I tell them?
What would he say? That he remembered a future none of them believed in? That he'd seen their deaths before they happened?
Even if he warned them… what could they do? They were children. They had no weapons. No training in war.
The Temple wasn't a fortress anymore.
It was a tomb.
---
Later, in the main training hall, Master Tallis guided the initiates through meditation and balance drills. The vast circular chamber echoed with their footfalls as they moved in sync across the polished stone.
Eli lagged behind. His limbs moved mechanically. His eyes scanned every shadow, every hallway.
Master Tallis noticed.
"Kaen," he called, motioning him aside. "You're out of step."
Eli froze. "I didn't sleep well."
Tallis raised an eyebrow. "You were one of the stillest in the dormitory. What's troubling you?"
Eli opened his mouth—then stopped.
He wanted to scream everything. That it was coming. That they were all in danger. That something terrible was going to happen before the sun set.
But how would he sound? A panicked child warning of invisible death?
Tallis looked at him carefully. His tone softened.
"You're not the only one who feels a shift in the Force," he said quietly. "There's tension in the galaxy. Even here. But fear clouds clarity. You know this."
Eli looked up at him. "What if we're not ready?"
The Jedi Master studied him for a long moment.
"Then we learn fast."
---
After class, Niyala walked beside him through the gardens.
"You're acting strange," she said.
"I just… have a bad feeling."
"That's not new," she smirked. "You had a 'bad feeling' when Jorla spilled blue milk on your robe."
"This is different."
She glanced at him. "Eli, what's going on?"
He hesitated. Looked away.
"I don't know how to explain it. I think something terrible is about to happen."
Her face fell slightly. "You're serious."
He nodded. "I don't know when, but soon. I think we need to be ready to run."
She didn't laugh. She didn't tease him.
Instead, she looked out over the marble garden steps and said, "Then I'll stay near you. Just in case."
---
By midday, the sky had darkened.
Thunder rumbled again—closer this time. The hum of the city changed pitch. A low alarm buzzed faintly in the Temple, almost imperceptible.
Tallis appeared again, flanked by two senior Padawans.
"All younglings are to return to the dormitories. Remain calm. This is only precautionary."
The air was suddenly heavy.
Eli turned to Niyala. She looked pale.
"Is this it?" she whispered.
Eli didn't answer.
He followed the others back to the dormitory, heart hammering in his chest. They moved quickly through the halls. The statues seemed darker now. The stained-glass windows cast red light instead of gold.
Clone troopers passed again—silent. Focused.
One of them had his hand resting on his DC-15 blaster.
Eli's stomach dropped.
---
They reached the dormitory. Masters and guards stood at the entrance, calm but watchful. Eli could feel it—tension thick in the air like a storm about to break.
He stood by the window, eyes fixed on the Temple's main gates.
And then he saw it.
A single gunship descending.
Not part of a drill. Not a supply drop.
A warship.
His breath caught in his throat.
He looked up at the sky above Coruscant—brighter now, almost blinding.
A cold realization settled in his bones.
This was it.
And he was still powerless to stop it.