Leia sat down next to girl. It was hard to believe that the young woman sitting next to her had lived through the darkest days of the Jedi. "What was it like?"

A ghost of a smile crossed the woman's lips. "Peaceful, orderly. We were the Guardians of peace and justice in the Republic. We were…respected. We trained our own; we kept aloof from others. Maybe that was our downfall, but there were so many of us." She half turned to Leia. "The majority of your knights? Never would have been trained."

This was news to Leia. There were so little recorded about the Jedi of old. "Why not?" They were all force-sensitive, that much was clear.

Caitrin chuckled dryly. "Too old."

"What?" It didn't seem right. Why deny someone training simply because of his or her age? She remembered what Luke had told her about Dagobah and Yoda. He had told her that Yoda had said he was too old. Neither of them could figure out what was the age limit for training of Jedi.

"Luke didn't have much choice. He wanted to resurrect the Jedi."

Caitrin nodded. "I know, and his heart was in the right place. I'm used to seeing the halls filled with laughing children, all force-sensitive, all running around or with their Masters. The universe if a very different place and I don't know where I fit into it anymore."

Leia could only imagine what that would be like. "How were the Jedi trained when you went through it?"

Caitrin sat down and smiled at the older, younger woman. She had to keep reminding herself that she was close to 75 years old. While Leia Organa Solo looked older, she was actually several decades her junior. "You're identified as a Jedi initiate when you're very young. Obi came to the Temple when he was a year, I believe Master Windu was brought when he was only 3 months old. You're brought up in the Temple until a Master or Knight takes you on as a Padawan Learner. You have until your 13th birthday to become a Padawan. I was chosen when I was 10.

"That Master or Knight teaches you one on one until the Master or Knight decides you're ready for the trials. It took me 9 years and two different Masters before I was ready for my Trials. It took Obi eight. Some Padawans can take 15 or more years depending on when they were taken and who their master is. Then you're a Knight."

"Why 13? And what happens if you're not chosen?" Leia asked. This was so different from anything she'd heard about the Jedi.

"I don't know why 13, but you leave the Temple and are posted to anyone that needs you. Obi almost went to the AgriCorps, but Qui-Gon saved him last minute.  

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