Deep inside a secure Republic diagnostics center on Coruscant, a ring of analysis droids worked through a steady flow of samples from a hundred worlds. Cool white light washed over polished durasteel benches, holo-screens hovered in layered arcs overhead, and the air carried a faint sting of sterilizing agents and humming power conduits.
Across the Republic, this network handled everything from neonatal screenings and vaccination baselines to planetary health statistics and census markers. For frontier species like the Wookiees, it helped medicine, planning, and trade. Quietly, the same system forward-ed anything unusual to the Jedi Temple so the Order could track promising younglings early.
One diagnostics unit—MED-9K—rotated its optical sensor toward the next pair of vials arriving along the conveyor track.
Two slim transparisteel tubes eased into the cradle before it, clamps clicking shut with precise rhythm. Each held dark, copper-tinted Wookiee blood, tagged with encoded markers, planetary origin, and time stamps.
Origin: KASHYYYK
Source: NEONATAL SCREENING PROGRAM
Sample A: ID-AVR-KSH-17
Sample B: ID-KRW-KSH-18
From MED-9K's perspective, the pair mirrored each other—same species profile, same origin window, same shipment capsule. The loader arm set them side by side, twin threads in a single case file.
The droid extended a proboscis-thin sampler into the first vial. Hologlyphs spun up across its internal display.
GENETIC ANALYSIS…
MATCH INDEX (SAMPLE A → SAMPLE B): 99.998%
RELATIONSHIP: FIRST-DEGREE SIBLINGS
SUB-CATEGORY: TWIN PAIR, SHARED PARENTAL MARKERS
A small flag lit in its logic stream: SIBLING SET: LINKED.
MED-9K shifted to the next layer of testing. Micro-probes dipped and withdrew in practiced sequence; energy fields swept across the samples, pulling cell behavior and bioelectric patterns into numeric form.
M-CELL DENSITY SCAN…
BASELINE: WOOKIEE SPECIES STANDARD
SAMPLE A: ELEVATED ABOVE BASELINE
SAMPLE B: ELEVATED ABOVE BASELINE
PAIR STATUS: MATCHED ANOMALOUS SIGNATURE
Two graphs rose on its internal display, their lines climbing along nearly identical curves. An overlay confirmed the alignment—Aavruun and Krawruuk carried paired readings well above the normal Wookiee band. To the machine, the meaning was simple: both cubs possessed an unusually high concentration of midi-chlorian-rich cells, the biological marker the Jedi associated with strong Force potential.
Classification tag shifted from ROUTINE MEDICAL ARCHIVE to PRIORITY: JEDI DATA CHANNEL.
Across the wider facility, thousands of other samples moved through similar routines. Most ended in standard archives, feeding charts and reports. The anomaly from Kashyyyk entered a narrower path. MED-9K logged the twin status, attached both vials under a shared reference thread, and bundled the data packet.
EXPORT ROUTE: SECURED JEDI LINE
PACKAGE CONTENTS:
— FORCE-RELEVANT BIO-SIGNATURE, NEONATE PAIR
— ORIGIN: KASHYYYK (MID-RIM CANOPY SETTLEMENT)
— RELATION: TWINS, MATCHED ANOMALOUS CURVES
The conveyor carried the vials onward toward cold storage as MED-9K turned to its next case. For the droid, the twin samples from Kashyyyk became another flagged entry in a long series of numbers.
Far away, along the encrypted line leading toward the Jedi Temple, two new names slid quietly onto a list for further review:
AAVRUUN.
KRAWRUUK.
————————————————————
A FEW DAYS LATER…
Sunlight from Coruscant's upper sky slanted through the wide transparisteel windows of the High Council chamber, turning the air a pale gold. The city stretched outward in layered lines and towers, traffic lanes glowing as streams of speeders wound between spires. Up here, the sound fell away; only a low hum from Temple systems and a faint whisper of air remained.
The circular room sat quiet, ringed with twelve seats facing inward toward the center. Some held Masters in person, robes settled, faces calm. A few glowed with blue holo-silhouettes, distant Councilors projected in full detail from far sectors. The floor between them carried a soft reflection of the curved ceiling above, with its subtle patterns and age-worn stone.
At the center, a cluster of small holoprojectors threw up layers of pale blue text and rotating sigils. Sector codes, planet names, species markers, and age ranges floated in overlapping bands.
Youngling candidacy review.
Most cases moved in smooth rhythm. Worlds with long-standing agreements sent lists on a regular schedule. Families from Core and Mid Rim systems often approached the Order first, familiar with the path a Force-strong child could follow. Some species, bound by ancient ties with the Jedi, welcomed the Temple's visitors with old ceremonies and shared meals before any decision.
Others required care.
Border worlds with proud warrior cultures. Clans that guarded bloodlines with intense devotion. Systems where local leaders viewed the loss of a gifted child as a weakening of future strength. In those places, the Jedi moved with patience and respect—long talks with elders, quiet time with parents, careful explanation of what training meant and how the Order lived.
Jedi practice kept one principle steady: children entered the Temple through trust and consent. Conversations, agreements, extended visits—bridges built instead of chains.
A new entry brightened near the center of the holo-display.
ORIGIN: KASHYYYK
REGION: MID RIM, STRATEGIC HYPERLANE JUNCTION
CLASSIFICATION: WOOKIIK CLAN SETTLEMENT — MID-LEVEL CANOPY
CANDIDATE RECORD:
AAVRUUN — AGE: NEONATE — FORCE POTENTIAL: HIGH
KRAWRUUK — AGE: NEONATE — FORCE POTENTIAL: HIGH
RELATION: TWIN PAIR
On the table below the projection, a smaller crystal relay pulsed in steady intervals, carrying the secure report from the Republic diagnostics center. Midichlorian density curves hovered above it in twin arcs, almost perfectly aligned.
Several Council members turned their attention toward the display. Chairs shifted slightly. Robes whispered against carved stone.
Kashyyyk.
A loyal Republic world.
Strong warriors. Strong bonds. Strong families.
The holoprojection tightened on the twin entry, sigils sharpening around their names.
The chamber's air grew still as the Council prepared to speak.
In the High Council chamber, light from Coruscant's upper levels poured through the tall windows, laying pale stripes across the circular floor and the polished inlays of the council dais. Far below, the city stretched in layered rivers of traffic and towers, a shifting glow that reflected in the glass and caught faintly along the edges of the chamber's stone columns.
Yoda sat in his small seat, legs folded, hands resting on the curved armrests carved for his size. Beside and around him, the other Masters occupied their places in a wide ring. Mace Windu sat upright and steady, broad shoulders squared beneath deep purple-trimmed robes. Depa Billaba leaned slightly forward, elbows light on her knees, dark braids falling beside a thoughtful tilt of her head. Plo Koon's mask and goggles picked up blue-white highlights from the central projector. Ki-Adi-Mundi rested his hands on his knees, elongated skull tipped toward the hovering light.
Saesee Tiin's horns framed a calm, intent gaze. Eeth Koth's tattoos stood in sharp contrast against his skin as he watched the display. Adi Gallia's headdress cast a slim shadow down her cheek, eyes measuring each new line of data. Oppo Rancisis' long tail coiled in a loose loop around the base of his seat, fingers resting within his layered beard. Yarael Poof's slender neck rose above folded hands, and Yaddle sat with ears slightly lifted, robe pooling neatly around her feet. Poli Dapatian completed the circle, eyes half-hooded, attention fixed on the holo.
A holo flickered to life in the center of the chamber: the green-and-blue sphere of Kashyyyk, wreathed in its vast band of forest, the mid-rim world slowly turning above the floor. Lines of data scrolled beside it—medichlorian readings, age window, origin, village information, a twin marker pulsing in a steady rhythm.
Mace spoke first, voice steady, hands resting open on his knees as he watched the rotating world. "Kashyyyk. Neonatal screening returned paired anomalies from a mid-canopy settlement. Siblings. Twins. Both show elevated counts."
Depa folded her hands, gaze tracking the glowing text. "Wookiee candidates arrive rarely, and usually as single children from scattered clans. Two from the same home, at the same time, sits far outside usual patterns."
Plo Koon angled his head slightly toward the holo, vocoder carrying a low tone as his cloak shifted around his shoulders. "Even without the Force, Wookiees stand as formidable allies. With training, a pair of them would shape any engagement they touch."
Ki-Adi-Mundi's fingers tapped once against his knee before stilling again. "Their world holds a valued position in the Mid Rim. Strategic lanes. Strong local culture. A request for younglings from that world deserves careful steps."
Adi Gallia inclined her head slightly, eyes narrowing in quiet thought. "Clan pride runs deep there. Even with Republic trust, any approach around children touches roots of custom and family."
Oppo Rancisis' tail drew a smaller circle on the floor, his eyes half-closing in consideration. "An envoy with long-standing ties eases that path. Someone their elders already view with respect."
Yaddle's ears lifted a fraction, her gaze steady on the Kashyyyk sphere as light slid across its clouds. "Two from one family bring additional layers. Twins often share bonds that reach beyond ordinary blood."
Saesee Tiin folded his arms across his chest, attention still locked on the readings. "They will grow strong on that world with or without us. With guidance, they may become pillars of both Kashyyyk and the Order."
Silence settled for a brief moment while the data continued its slow rotation above the floor, the soft hum of the projector filling the pause. Robes shifted as several Masters adjusted their posture, the circle unified in quiet focus.
Mace turned his head toward Yoda, the lines of the planet reflecting in his eyes. "The request sits clearly before us. Do we send a representative to speak with the family?"
Plo Koon's mask tilted slightly toward the Grand Master. "Your history with their people carries weight, Master Yoda. The Wookiees remember those who stand by them."
Depa added quietly, hands still laced together in her lap, "A direct conversation, elder to elder, honors their ways. Perhaps going with another veteran Jedi knight who has shown meritous valor."
Yoda opened his eyes fully, gaze resting on the Kashyyyk holo. The forest sphere turned in the air, light sliding across its cloud cover and green band as his ears angled forward a touch.
"Go, I will," he said. "Old friends, the Wookiees are. Speak with them, I shall to take in the young cubs I shall offer "
Mace gave a single short nod, shoulders easing by a hair's breadth. "Then it's settled. Master Yoda will travel to Kashyyyk, with another Jedi knight ."