Chapter 1

Marxx Racees glided though the dense forested floor on Yavin 4. His heart beat steady as he raced through the brush. He inhaled the wonderful earthy scented mixture of pine and composting leaves as his feet trod over the soft soil. Effortlessly jumping over fallen trees, leaping up and grabbing vines, he flew deeper into the never-ending undergrowth on the green moon. Nothing bothered him as he ran. His mind clear and focused- he was one with the Force. He darted past a gorseed tree and spotted his destination ahead.

The eighty-foot tall pallanberry tree beckoned him. The luscious fruit that grows only in the top most branches had now ripened and was ready to be picked. Barely breathing after his fifteen mile run, Marxx wiped a hand over his bare head removing the excess sweat. Upon arriving on Yavin, Marxx found his worst enemy not to be the poisonous lumernier snakes, endless mosquitoes, Yavinese Lions, or Frayt lizards, but the humidity. Growing up on an arid desert planet, it took him nearly a month to acclimate to the muggy air on the moon. Marxx examined several options with his hair, he tried tying his thick curly hair back and then he cut it shorter. However these changed did not alter the fact that his hair made him even hotter, more miserable, and unable to concentrate on his lessons. So he shaved it all off.

He chuckled remembering the first time he sent a holophone message to Jaina on Naboo. He turned his back to the holophone so all she could see was the back of his head. In a mirror behind him, he saw Jaina jump at the large oval shaped head. When he turned around, he lowered his face into view so she could just see his eyes, to assure her of his true identity. She looked at him puzzled, then laughed realizing immediately why he did it. In response, she reached up to the top of her head, plucked out a hairpin, and her hair fell down in flowing curls well past her shoulders and half way down her arms. She’d never worn her hair long before, and found a strange new pleasure in styling it up into intricate twists. After several viewings, Jaina decided she liked Marxx’s new look. She told him that he had an attractive shaped head. The lack of hair projected out his pool blue eyes and accentuated his thick eyelashes.

Marxx readjusted his backpack and leaped twenty feet straight up, grabbed a branch, and started weaving his way up through the limbs towards the fruit. Upon reaching the top fourth of the tree, the uppermost limbs all leaned over, heavy with the hard crusted fragrant sweet fruits. Marxx sat down, and readjusted his backpack so it faced him in the front. He pulled out his carving knife, stood up and started selecting the sweetest smelling fruits. After nearly filling his backpack, he pulled one close to his face. The fruity scent of the pallanberry reminded him of an ingredient used in Jaina’s shampoo. He felt an overwhelming rush of warmth pass over him as he savored its heady scent. He put it in his pouch, grabbed one more, and determined he could not fit it in his bag. He sat down and carved away the hard rind. He attacked the pulpy sweet fruit with blissful joy, gently kicking his legs against the smooth tree limb. On Tatooine, such things as fruit trees were non-existent. He took pleasure in the freshly picked pallanberry fruit believing it to be a true wonder to the world.

Marxx looked out across the green canopy of trees and felt contentment in his pleasant surroundings. He listened as a large flock of owlgrets flew overhead, softly calling to each other. From deep in the forest he heard a mating roar of a Yavinese Lion. He just couldn’t drink in enough of the sight of trees. The only thing that could have made this moment sweeter would have been if Jaina were there, sitting on the tree limb next to him. His heart yearned and ached for Jaina.

Back on Naboo, construction of Theed kept her too busy for making trips to Yavin 4. She’d only managed to come once to visit him seven long months ago. And even that trip was cut short by a frantic call from his father Rowlon concerning some building fiasco. Marxx found himself daily longing to return to Naboo, to be with her, to help her with the Reconstruction of Theed. At times when he saw her tired expression from her long days of work over the holophone, he wished he could be there to massage her neck and help erase her tension. Jaina enjoyed fulfilling her promise to rebuild Theed, but it was obvious the strain of her duties were wearing on her resolve and spirit.

Marxx also felt a longing to return to Naboo. The planet spoke to him; it churned in his blood. He loved the simple, elegant beauty of the land. Each tree seemed to represent the four principles of the planet, beauty, truth, art and love. He loved the people and the wonderful cool breezes that blew into the Lake County from the many surrounding lakes. He couldn’t wait to return to Naboo. He had a secret surprise for Jaina. He couldn’t wait to see her expression when he showed it to her.

Marxx gazed at the glowing red gas giant of Yavin that loomed along the horizon. He contented himself with being on Yavin 4, because he wanted desperately to become a Jedi Knight. He reasoned that by being patient, the day would come that much sooner in which he would be released into the Galaxy, fully trained, and back into the arms of the woman he loved.

Placing the pit in his bag, Marxx readjusted it on his shoulders and threw himself down the tree, limb by limb. When he reached about forty feet he took a deep breath and dropped, landing on his feet, knees bending to absorb the shock. He bounced the pack firmly into place and ran back towards the Temple.

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In the depths of the Temple Jedi Master Tionne and Jedi Master Rodersuin looked at Luke Skywalker in the holo-emitter. Luke sat in his meditation chamber back on Coruscant as the Jedi Masters gave him their weekly updates.

“Honestly Master Skywalker, I don’t see any reason to keep him here. I know it’s only been eighteen months, but really there is nothing left for us to teach him. The boy has exceptional skills and talents. He has surpassed everyone here in his abilities- present company included,” Jedi Rodersuin said.

“How would you rank him for peace and calmness with the Force?” Luke asked.

Tionne spoke up, “Master Skywalker, if Marxx was any calmer we’d have to prod him awake. The boy just exudes calmness and confidence with his abilities. I can’t explain it. Nothing bothers him. He just doesn’t get impatient. A few weeks back we sent all of our students into individual chambers to see how long they could last in solitary confinement, most were screaming to come out after a few hours. We completely forgot about Marxx. He was in there for over 40 hours! When we finally got him out he just said, ‘Oh that must be why I’m hungry.’ I’ve never seen anyone like him.”

Luke chewed on that for a moment, “And you both seem absolutely certain there is nothing to worry about the boy.”

“Should there be?” Jedi Rodersuin asked, scratching his cocoa colored hand. “I wish all of my students were as quick and qualified as he is around here. My job would be a lot simpler. He does go through bouts of loneliness, and misses his family, and especially your niece. But overall he seems content with finishing his training and is able to put his emotional bonds aside.”

Luke nodded his head, “Give him another month of training. Let me know if anything suspicious arises, and then forward him through the trials.”

Tionne bowed, “Yes Master. And thank you.” They shut off the emitter. “So what should we do with Marxx for another month?”

“We’ve got a whole pack of five year old younglings he can work on beginning saber techniques to. That’s more than enough to get anyone’s temper flaring. If he passes the day without losing his patience once, we should just grant him the title of Jedi Knight on the spot,” Jedi Rodersuin said smiling.