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"The Golden Globe": Book 1 in the Junior Jedi Knights series


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chapter 1:
Han and Leia Organa Solo say good-bye to their youngest son, Anakin, as he prepares to take a shuttle to Yavin IV where he will join other students at his uncle’s Jedi academy. Leia could not bear to have all of her children gone at once, so, only after Jacen and Jaina returned from their time at the school, would she allow Anakin to go.
There is always danger in studying the Force. Leia cannot help but worry about the power her son will harness. She hopes he finds a friend to help him through the challenging times.
Anakin knows his mother is worried, but he is not. He’s read all about Yavin IV and the culture that lived there long before Uncle Luke began training Jedi there.
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  • The time is 22 years ABY. Anakin Solo is 11 years old. His siblings, Jacen and Jaina, are no older than 13.
  • The chapter mentions that Jacen and Jaina have already been to the Jedi academy, but that has not yet been covered in any books taking place prior to this one. Did they also go when they were 11 and returned? If so, is Luke still only training Jedi for a few months at a time before letting them loose?

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chapter 2:
On the moon of Yavin, Anakin is welcomed by his uncle, Luke Skywalker, and the droid R2-D2. Luke takes Anakin on a tour of the facility, explaining its past as a temple for the Massassi before it lay dormant for thousands of years, being discovered by the Rebel Alliance and now used as the new Jedi academy.
The outside has not been altered, but the inside has been converted into rooms for the students. There is no glass on the windows, so heavy drapes protect them from the storms that sometimes erupt here. The Temple really is the only safe place to be during the violent winds. The rest of the time, the moon is warm.
He introduces her to Tionne, a Jedi Knight and one of the instructors at the academy, before taking him to meet his fellow classmates. What his parents, and the other adults, don’t understand, is that Anakin likes to be left alone. His closest friends are his siblings and C-3PO. By the end of the first night, he’s met so many people, he just needs some quiet time.
He gets annoyed when R2 won’t stop following him, so is glad when a staircase keeps the droid from going any further. Inside the Grand Audience Chamber, though, he finds a young girl with blond hair, bare feet and wearing an orange jumpsuit like the rest of the students.
Anakin is annoyed that someone else is already here to interrupt his thoughts. But he asks her why she’s not wearing shoes. The girl explains that her name is Tahiri and she’s nine-years old. She was orphaned at the age of four and was discovered by the Sand People who took her in. When Luke and Tionne visited Tatooine and found Tahiri living among the Tuskens, they determined she had the ability to use the Force. They brought her here to learn how to control her abilities. She doesn’t wear shoes because she was forced to wear them on Tatooine where the sand gets between one’s toes. She made Tionne promise she wouldn’t be required to wear any here.
She rattles on to Anakin about life on Tatooine and riding banthas. He tells her she talks an awful lot. She admits she does but she had no friends her age on Tatooine. Tahiri thinks she’s lonely for a friend. Anakin agrees and thinks it might be nice to have one here.
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  • This is the first appearance of Tahiri.
  • About her story. Tahiri was orphaned at age 4, taken in by the Tusken Raiders and lived with them for, we assume, the last 5 years, since she’s currently nine. First of all, I’ve never gotten the impression that the Tusken Raiders were all that compassionate when it came to humans, even children. For them to take a young human child among them to live is somewhat remarkable. Secondly, Tahiri must have had well-honed skills in Basic before coming to live with them because she’s speaks it very well for someone who has lived among the guttural Tuskens for most of her still-very-short life.
  • I am assuming that R2 simply chooses not to use his repulsors these days or he could have followed Anakin up the stairs easily.

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This is the first appearance of Tahiri.

 

And thus begins our introduction to our favorite human who would, in turn, become a Tusken Raider, Jedi Knight, Yuzzhan Vong, Anakin Solo's unmarried widow, Sith, bounty hunter, and Imperial Hand.

 

In seriousness, as much crap as Anderson deserves, the love interests for the Solo kids he introduced turned out well enough. Well, maybe except Zekk. Zekk was always stupid. Anderson can't exactly take credit for it, but Tahiri turned out to be a pretty good and unexpectedly important addition to the EU.

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And, her introduction in a children's book is so innocuous.

 

chapter 3:
Tionne finds Tahiri and Anakin together. She had worried Tahiri might have trouble making friends since her non-stop chatter might be off-putting. Tionne tells both of them it’s time for bed, something Tahiri isn’t ready to do. On Tatooine, they do what they need to do when they need it. Tionne reminds her that there are rules here on Yavin IV and she must follow them.
Anakin enters his room and Tahiri is surprised to see what her own room has. A sleeping pallet with blankets, her own refresher station and a closet with orange jumpsuits. The suits are more comfortable than the robes she wore on Tatooine and the first time she showered, it felt wonderful.
She ignores the shoes that have been left for her.
The bed is more comfortable than sleeping on the sand and she realizes that she is probably tired after all. Tahiri’s sleep includes the same dream she’s had regularly for as long as she can remember. She is on a silver raft along a green river and is paddling until she’s knocked overboard.
The dream usually ends here, but not this time. Tonight, it continues and she sees another raft. This one contains Anakin Solo who tries to reach her with one of his paddles. She struggles to grab onto it and wakes up.
The dream had never gone that long before. The green river may be the one that streams by the academy. Tahiri decides she needs to get to know Anakin better.
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  • I’m really rather surprised it was as easy to get Tahiri’s cooperation than it should have been, considering the several years she’s lived outside of human civilization.

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chapter 4:
The next morning, Tahiri sits with Anakin at breakfast and pressures him into talking to her about his life, despite his assurances that he's not a morning person.
He tells her that his parents are famous heroes of the Rebellion and that his mother is now Chief of State. His uncle is Luke Skywalker. In all, the whole family is just too much to live up to. Tahiri tells him he doesn’t have to live up to them. He’s his own person, not his parents.
She would love to have a family. Her parents were moisture farmers. She remembers the machines they used to pull water from the air, but doesn’t really remember them. The Sand People told her they were killed when she was four. She feels lucky they found her in the desert and that Luke and Tionne found her later.
Anakin agrees she’s is fortunate and mentions that he has a brother and a sister. Jacen and Jaina are twins, thirteen years old. They just left the academy right before he came. Jacen likes living creatures while Jaina is more like Anakin, pulling mechanical devices apart and putting them back together. They are his closest friends.
Tahiri assures him she is now his friend, too. She describes the dream she usually has and adds how it changed last night to include him. Anakin doesn’t find that unusual because she’d just met him before she went to sleep.
She argues that she had that dream for a reason. After all, there’s no explanation as to why she would ever dream about a river while living on Tatooine. She’d never seen one before. Anakin thinks she might have when she was very young and just remembered it in her dream. Maybe she’d been here on Yavin IV.
Luke approaches and asks if Anakin’s made a friend. Tahiri storms off and Anakin wants to apologize for upsetting her. Even though she talks too much, she is still his new friend.
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  • So it appears that Leia is indeed still Chief of State of the New Republic, despite all that stuff in Spectre of the Past/Vision of the Future. How long has she been in office? She took over for Mon Mothma after the events of the JA trilogy which took place about 11 years ABY. This book takes place 22 ABY which means Leia’s been in office for 11 years! The Supreme Chancellor of the Old Republic had four-year terms but we’ve never been told how long the Chief of State/President of the New Republic holds a term. If it’s still four years, the New Republic obviously doesn’t believe in term limits.
  • And if Jacen and Jaina just left the Academy before Anakin got here, then we may have a timeline conflict depending on how we choose to handle these books.

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chapter 5:


Luke Skywalker greets his twenty new young students that morning. He explains to them the commitment that a Jedi must have. While speaking, his eyes fall on his young nephew, knowing the power behind the boy and how evil people try to corrupt those strong in the Force. He will have to keep an eye on Anakin.


Tahiri will have a choice to make, too. She’d been bored on Tatooine the way Luke had been, as well. But he’d promised the Sand People that he would return her to Tatooine after her training if she wished to come back. He hopes she will choose to stay with the Jedi.


Luke explains to the students the importance of making right decisions. The Force can be a powerful tool, but it can also be a weapon. He relates how his father had been a good man who’d used the Force properly until he’d been corrupted to the Dark Side of the Force. That good man became the evil Darth Vader.


Since this is the youngest class of students to ever come to the academy, there are special rules to follow. Yavin IV is peaceful, but it can be dangerous. They cannot leave the area without permission and they will need to learn to get along with others who are different. If they do not obey the rules, they’ll be sent home.


After they’re dismissed, Tahiri wants to talk about the concept of destiny, but Anakin is fixated on the Dark Side of the Force. He knows he was named after Anakin Skywalker who did still have enough good left that Uncle Luke was able to redeem him. Still, that’s a frightening legacy for Anakin to inherit.


Tahiri, on the other hand, thinks she was destined to meet Anakin and thinks they should try rafting on the river like in her dream. Anakin refuses to do anything against the rules that could disappoint his family and get him sent home.


That night, however, Anakin has the same dream. He tries to hold the paddle out to Tahiri but she is being swept away.

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chapter 6:


Tahiri tells Anakin he looks terrible at breakfast. She says he doesn’t have to worry about rafting the river because she didn’t have the dream last night. It’s as if telling him broke the pattern.


Anakin tells her she didn’t have the dream because he did. He tried to save her and she drowned. He has to go down there and find out what the dream is about. Tahiri suggests he ask his uncle about it. Anakin gets a sense from the Force that telling Luke would be a bad idea. He fears this urging is coming from the Dark Side.


They’ll have to find a way to pull this off without being expelled from the academy. Tahiri offers to let him come live with her on Tatooine if they do. Anakin is concerned that the dream might come true if she comes with him. She points out that the dream involved both of them and she has to be there.


The next morning, Anakin tells her that a voice told him before he went to sleep that night that the raft would be at the edge of the river. Tahiri is concerned that listening to strange voices could lead them to the Dark Side of the Force.


Anakin doesn’t understand how he knows, but he somehow knows the voice isn’t evil. Tionne interrupts and asks if there’s a problem. They explain they cannot seem to use the Force to lift a metal rock they’re supposed to be levitating.


The two of them work together, concentrating, before Tahiri convinces the rock to be lighter. They make a good team. She tells him that she will come with him to the river, but he must know she cannot swim. He says he’s already thought of that, too, and hopes he can save her.

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chapter 7:
Anakin and Tahiri sneak out of their rooms to plan how they are going to get out of the academy. Pretending to be sick won’t work. No one will believe they are both sick at the same time and, since Anakin has rarely been sick in his life, he doesn’t want to risk being sent home to his parents.
Sneaking out at night won’t work for Tahiri because she reminds him it was daylight in their dreams. Anakin refuses to focus on this romantic notion of destiny she seems to have. He admits they are supposed to go to the river and that they are supposed to be together, but not everything has to happen the same way. He knows this because of the voice. It’s real and he thinks it’s the voice of a Jedi Master.
Still, he thinks that going in daylight is a better choice so they’ll at least be able to see where they’re going. They will sneak out during the two-hour period they have free in the afternoon, using the exit door at the hangar bay at the bottom of the temple.
That night, Anakin has the dream again and nearly cries when he sees R2 in the raft with him. He can’t do anything with a nosy droid along, but, if R2 is supposed to be with them, he will have to take him.
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  • Why did Anakin and Tahiri sneak out of their rooms at night to plan when they had a two-hour free period during the day to plot and scheme?

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chapter 8:


Tahiri objects to taking Artoo along, but Anakin thinks they should be safe and try it. Getting the droid to follow them is easy as Anakin believes his uncle has set R2 to keep an eye on him.


They have to stop when Anakin spots Luke and Tionne nearby. Then they have the problem of finding the exit door. Artoo helps them pull open a trap door and they head into a stone corridor until they reach the edge of the river and find the raft.


They are out on the water for a short time before Artoo’s beeps warn them of the dangerous clouds that are in the sky. The wind picks up and Anakin tries to paddle them back to land. The waves toss the raft to and fro until Tahiri is knocked overboard.

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chapter 9:


Anakin reaches out to Tahiri with one of the paddles and tries to get her to grab it. The waves are pulling her down. He throws the Force into his voice and wills her body to become lighter so she won’t be dragged under water.


A wave nearly knocks him over when Artoo grabs the back of Anakin’s jumpsuit with his metal arm. Anakin grabs Tahiri’s hand and pulls her onto the raft. She tells him he helped her float and his voice gave her strength when she needed it.


When they reach shore, they use the Force to pull Artoo out and race for cover under the pouring rain. The blue and gold woolamanders that Jace told him are usually in the tops of trees are looking for shelter, too. The two children find one of the other old Massassi temples and head inside.


Artoo lights up the darkness and they see hundreds of woolamanders. Knowing they are already in trouble anyway, they decide to do some exploring.

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chapter 10:


Tahiri asks if Anakin knows what happened to the Massassi. Anakin says there are many legends, but one that his father told him was about a Sullustan named Dr’uun Unnh who’d studied the Temples .


It seems that exiled Sith arrived on Yavin IV and intermarried with the natives 5000 years ago to create the Massassi race. A thousand years later, a fallen Jedi named Exar Kun returned to enslave them and resurrect the Sith teachings. He was defeated during the Great Sith War.


Artoo finds a hole in the wall that reveals a hidden staircase. Anakin can sense something evil floating up from it, but thinks they should try going down. He wishes he’d not been named after his grandfather. His mother had told him that he wasn’t named for Darth Vader but for Anakin Skywalker. This name is a symbol of hope to her that those who fall to the Dark Side can be redeemed just like Vader was.


Tahiri slips as stone gives way and gets her foot caught under a rock. Anakin goes to help her. She says she’s fine but her hand brushes against something that is not a rock.

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chapter 11:


Anakin confirms the object is a bone and he thinks it belonged to a Massassi child. They continue down the staircase. Tahiri wishes they had a glowrod, but Anakin gets the sense they won’t need one soon. Sure enough, gold glitters on the walls further down and lights the way.


However, they are warned by voices identifying themselves as the followers of the ancient Sith. They are told to go back or die. Anakin refuses to head back and Tahiri won’t go without him. The voices challenge them to fight, but Tahiri announces they will not use the Force for attack.


She explains to Anakin she can hear them, too, so he mustn’t think that he is the only one who can be tempted to the Dark Side. He isn’t any more susceptible to it because he’s related to Anakin Skywalker than she is.


At the bottom of the staircase, a golden glow comes from behind the wall. There’s a hidden room there. The mystery voice tells Anakin that there are all kinds of strength. Physical strength helps them move the droid, but there is the strength of the mind. Anakin realizes a puzzle is what’s required to let them inside.

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chapter 12:


He tells Tahiri they have to look for patterns along the wall. She finds several gold arrows pointing up. She climbs up in that direction and finds a secret button. Anakin thinks that this is too easy and that someone would have found that centuries ago.


She suggests they are just smart and pushes the button. No doorway opens but a rock emerges and begins to fall. Anakin uses the Force to push it aside before it crushes both of them.


Tahiri tells him the only thing that moves on this wall is the gold glitter. He suggests moving it around to see if it sticks to anything that could show them what to do. Before long, they have an outline of an opening. Near it, is the outline of a hand. Neither of their hands will open the door, so Anakin retrieves the skeletal arm of the Massassi child and puts the hand on the outline. The door opens.

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chapter 13:


In the center of the room is a large crystal globe. At its base is a furry creature with floppy ears, sleeping.


It opens its eyes and repeats the word Ikrit over and over again. Tahiri thinks that’s it’s name. It seems attached to the globe, leaping up and down in front of it. Tahiri tells Anakin she sees a hand inside it. A child’s hand.


The creature turns Anakin’s wristwatch toward the light and the boy realizes they’ve been gone for hours. They need to get out of here now. With the creature on their heels, they race up the staircase and through the hole in the wall to where Artoo is waiting. The creature sits on the droid.


Anakin can’t help but think the symbols on the outside of the Temple are the secret behind this. Tahiri doesn’t want him to think about that now. They will never find out if they don’t get back to the school.

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chapter 14:


After stopping to get Artoo out of a hole, they let him lead the way back to the academy. Tahiri tells Anakin she’ll take the blame for him. If she is expelled, it’s no real problem. She doesn’t have anyone who would be disappointed in her failure.


He refuses to allow her to think that way. Even if the Sand People don’t really care for her, he does. He’ll be her family now and they are a team. They walk the long way back and think about what they’ll tell Luke. Anakin knows that they cannot tell him about the globe. Something has led him to believe that everything will be lost if they aren’t the ones to solve the problem. They decide to tell Luke they were walking in the woods and got lost.


By the time they get back, the creature is gone and they find Luke waiting at the door.

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chapter 15:


Luke tells them they’ve searched the temple and the jungle all day. Tahiri explains that she had to see the jungle and wanted Anakin to come with her so she wouldn’t be alone. Luke can understand her desire to see things she didn’t see on Tatooine but they should never have gone off alone.


Anakin adds that it’s not just Tahiri’s fault. He is responsible for his own choices. Tahiri is glad that Ankin understands that he is not destined to follow anyone else’s path but his own. She can tell that Luke knows the struggle his nephew has had with his heritage.


Luke knows too well of the legacy Anakin is inheriting. He gets the feeling that Anakin and Tahiri will serve the Force together. He sends them to bed.


Anakin wonders about all the things he saw that day. What is the secret of the globe? What is the strange voice in his head? Why can he not reveal this to Uncle Luke? A scratching at the stones on his window alerts him and he finds the strange floppy-eared creature waiting.


It jumps into bed with him and Anakin laments he has to share it with a jungle creature. A voice tells him to watch what he thinks is just a jungle creature. This voice comes from the bed, not his mind.

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chapter 16:
Anakin is surprised and is even more surprised to find that it’s this voice he’s heard in his mind since coming here. The creature explains that his name is Jedi Master Ikrit and he came here 400 years ago to study the Massassi. He found the golden globe which is cursed, but he cannot break the curse himself.
He believes that Anakin and Tahiri can. An adult cannot because he’s already tried. If Luke is told, the globe will burst into a million pieces and the spirits of thousands of children will be lost. He asks if Anakin is willing to try.
Anakin knows that he must have the deepest commitment as a Jedi and not go after excitement. Yet he also knows that neither he nor Tahiri will abandon these spirits.
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  • So, how does Ikrit know that if Luke is even told about this that the crystal globe will burst? I mean, Ikrit actually tried to break the curse and nothing happened, right?
  • BTW, this is the first appearance of Ikrit.

End of Book 1

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