Chapter 4: Conscripted
"This is Republic Shuttle RC046027 requesting clearance for docking." The pilot said through the comms as they approached the large Venator class cruiser. This would be its maiden voyage having only been built recently, it was outfitted with both experienced non-clone officers as well as clones for the clones to acclimate themselves appropriately.
"This is the Defender you are cleared for landing, please make your way to docking port 12." A voice said from the other side of the comms, the large red doors that ran down the middle of the ship opened up and the shuttle began to descend into the ship.
Jaden was trying his best not to lose control but even this situation was starting to get a little taxing on him, he'd been in firefights and nearly died more times than he could count but right now, impersonating a Jedi Knight, he'd never done that before. He had to imagine they had a pretty good punishment lined up for people who did that, and that's not even considering the fact that he might be blamed for the deaths of the Jedi back in the undercity. He certainly hadn't made himself look any less guilty by hiding their bodies, this whole situation was bad and he'd be lucky if he didn't get a blaster bolt to the back when he tried to run.
'I could know out the pilot and commandeer the ship.' He thought to himself as his gaze drifted to the back of the pilot's head, one hefty swing with a solid object would do it and he could then pilot this shuttle 'Then get blasted out of the sky or disabled and boarded when I fail to explain why I haven't docked yet.' He thought coming to the logical conclusion of his actions.
He cursed silently as he realised he should've knocked out the pilot before they left the atmosphere. If he had then he could've landed somewhere on the surface and disappeared into the city after blowing the shuttle up. Jaden started to take deep breaths to calm himself, he couldn't let himself get agitated he had to think this through clearly otherwise he'd get caught.
'If there is another Jedi on the ship then there is a good chance I'll be finished but if there isn't then I might have a chance to get out of this." He thought to himself as he palmed the Holocron he had attached to his belt. If the Defender was to be reinforcing a planet fighting against the separatists then they would likely be going with other ships 'I only see one Cruiser and a few destroyers, nowhere near enough to make a difference.' He rationalised.
This was good as it gave him time, time to figure out a plan to escape but also a chance to work on a backup plan in case he fails the first plan. He was force-sensitive and he had a teacher right on his belt, and not just any teacher a Grandmaster, he could learn to pass as a Jedi for long enough to give him another opportunity to escape. Jaden breathed out before running his hands through his hair, he nodded his head now that he had a plan that he could work with.
Jaden felt the shuttle land and so he stood up and approached the door as it lowered, waiting outside for him was what looked like a Naval officer with a Clone Commander next to him, it was easy to recognise the commander by the yellow decals on his armour though what kind of a commander he remained a mystery to Jaden "Welcome Jedi Katarn, I am Admiral Novak, it is a pleasure to welcome you aboard." Admiral Novak said politely as he held his hand out.
Jaden schooled his features only letting a small smile Grace his face "I'm glad to be here Admiral." Jaden said as he took the offered hand.
"I was disappointed when I heard the temple could not spare any more Jedi for this certain campaign, so when I heard a Jedi would be coming aboard it was a welcome surprise." Admiral Novak said with what Jaden now recognised as fake sincerity.
"I'm glad to be of any assistance I can," Jaden said with a forced smile. The Admiral gestured in front of them and they both began to walk through the hanger bay "I must ask this Jedi Katarn, but do you have much experience with a battlefield or war in general?" He asked as he turned his head towards Jaden.
Jaden seeing this as an opportunity to get out shook his head "I'm afraid my experience with battle extends only to my training with a lightsaber." He replied.
Admiral Novak breathed heavily "I feared as such, it is why I was so against Jedi conscription in the first place, while there is no doubt a Jedi is a force to be reckoned with, being in charge of men requires more than brute force." He stated.
"However I am not one to disobey orders and if the republic wants to make you a General then who am I to argue." He said in a tired voice.
He then stopped dead and put his hand on Jaden's shoulder "But I want to make one thing clear Jedi, when it comes to this ship and this fleet I am in charge, I don't care about your republic commission or your training as a Jedi Knight my orders are absolute on this ship, am I understood." Admits Novak said sternly.
Jaden raised his hands in surrender "Of course not Admiral, I have no intention of usurping your command." He said trying to placate the naval officer.
It seemed to have worked as Admiral Novak nodded his head accepting Jaden's words "This here is Commander Delts," he said pointing to the Clone Commander next to him "If it is agreeable to you then I want to have him run you through the ARC training course they go through on Kamino, between getting the whole support fleet together and supplied and then our trip to Jabiim we are looking at over a month maybe longer." The Admiral explained.
"This obviously won't be enough time to get you fully trained but if it means that it might save some men down on the surface I'll take it." He finished before looking at Jaden for an answer.
Jaden wanted to refuse as he didn't even plan to be on the battlefield, it would also cut into his time learning to use the force. But he didn't want to piss off the Admiral, that was just asking for trouble "I have no issues with such a request Admiral, command experience would serve me well." He said nodding in agreement.
"Good, Commander Delts will lead you to your quarters and explain how the training will go, now if you'll excuse me I have things that need my attention." He said bowing his head slightly before walking off, Commander Delts saluted him as he did before putting his hand down.
"This way sir." He said as he led Jaden through a blast door out of the hanger bay and into the interior of the ship.
"Tell me more about this training Commander." Jaden asked he was curious how physically taxing it might be as he had not fully healed yet 'I might have to see if I can raid the medical bay." He thought to himself.
"It will be a combination of learning and application sir as well as conditioning, this ship is state of the art and has been designed for interference on planets engaged in civil war." Delts explained.
Jaden looked at Commander Delts curiously "In what way is it designed for such a thing?" He asked.
"It has been designed with multiple simulation rooms with fully automated holographic technology, these were designed to provide training to the general populace giving them an advantage." He replied. Jaden nodded but didn't ask any more questions as he didn't much care about the war that was going on, whether the separatists were in charge of the republic wouldn't affect him. Eventually, Commander Delts stopped outside a room and turned on his heels.
"Your training will begin tomorrow at 0800, I shall send someone to escort you, sir." He stated.
Jaden nodded "Thank you Commander you're dismissed." He said the Commander saluted before turning and walking back down the corridor.
Jaden walked through the automated door and into his quarters, SD8 came crawling out from under his cloak and began exploring the room. It wasn't long before SD8 had opened a panel in the room and began routing around the wiring "SD don't break or steal anything yet wait until we leave." Jaden told the small droid who seemingly ignored him but Jaden knew he wouldn't do anything stupid.
Jaden looked at the Spartan room and sat down on the bed that was adjacent to a small refresher, he let his robe drop to the ground before he sat down on the bed. He took the holocron off his belt and it started to glow before it opened back up again "Jaden I'm glad to see you're well, though I have to admit you do look quite different than the last time I saw you." Satele said as she appeared in front of him with her arms crossed.
Jaden chuckled humourlessly "A lot has happened since then." He replied to her.
Satele inspected him and her gaze was immediately attracted to a familiar object on his waist "Where did you get a Lightsaber from." She asked in a stern voice.
"That doesn't-"
"It most certainly does matter." She said cutting off Jaden.
"Listen Satele I need your help!" Jaden said louder than he meant to.
"I'm in a bit of a bind, and I need you to teach me how to pass as a Jedi." He said bluntly.
Satele inspected Jaden with a discerning eye "Tell me how you got the robes and lightsaber Jaden..." she simply replied.
"Why does it matter!" Jaden shouted as he stood up.
"Because I will not train someone who murders people in cold blood." She replied calmly.
Jaden sighed before sitting back down "I didn't murder them... they were already dead when I found them I'm not sure how they died though."
"Did you inform the Jedi Temple of their deaths?" She asked only to be surprised by Jaden's sudden laughter.
"It's way too late for that, I saw a way out and I took it," Jaden replied.
"Well, I'd like you to inform them now," Satele stated.
"Are you insane? If I did that I'd be asking to be discovered, no I won't do it." He said shaking his head.
"But... if you teach me to use the force then once I escape from this place I'll send an anonymous message letting them know where the bodies are." He said trying to compromise.
Satele thought for a moment before smiling and nodding "I find this agreeable, you said you need to learn how to pass as a Jedi, I'm not sure what you mean by that." She stated.
"I need to learn to use the force to a passable degree and I don't have a lot of time to do it," Jaden explained.
"How long do you have?" She asked.
"A month," Jaden said as he laughed self-deprecatingly.
Satele raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head "That is not possible though I've also never witnessed someone being able to break through a block in the force." She stated.
"We better get started then."
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"Concentrate Jaden!" Satele chided as Daemon sat in the middle of the room with most of his clothing off, his entire body was soaked with sweat as he breathed heavily, part of this exercise involved messing with the environmental controls and turning the heat up extremely high.
"Tutaminis is one of the fundamental abilities of every Jedi, going from initiates to Masters." She stated.
"In my life, I had mastered Tutaminis to the point where I could dissipate the concentrated energy of a blaster bolt or even a lightsaber." She continued.
Jaden meanwhile was sweating as he had trouble dissipating the heat "This was so much easier when I was fighting those thugs." Jaden breathed out as he wiped his forehead.
"What it sounds like you did was channel the force by using your anger and rage, while it may seem powerful it is a path that only leads to pain and suffering," Satele stated.
"The force isn't something to be dominated Jaden, you must treat the force as a close friend, as an ally, do not try to use your will to overcome it but to work with it." She explained
Jaden took a deep breath before refocusing 'The force is my friend, my ally.' He repeated this over and over in his mind as he once again felt the familiar connection. Jaden felt his connection which was as strong as ever, like he was in the centre of a storm.
After a few minutes, Jaden managed to calm the storm down, like Satele had said it was his ally he did not need to control it. Forming a second skin around his body he followed Satele's instructions from before and started to channel the heat away from his body. Slowly but surely he started to cool down and a smile marred his face "Well done Jaden, I truly have never seen someone so strong in the force before." Satele said with an impressed look.
Jaden stood up and walked over to the refresher, he wanted to wash all of the accumulated sweat off of his body "Ahh I see you've managed to discern our next training exercise." Satele said with a grin.
"Next training exercise?" Jaden said dumbly as he turned around.
"You've learnt to channel the heat away from your body by using only the force, this'll be most useful in extreme environments but to get a greater degree of control you must now do the same thing with a running water source." She explained.
"Usually Jedi initiates wouldn't do such advanced training so quickly but you did ask to become a passable Jedi within such a short period of time." She stated while shrugging her shoulders.
Jaden sighed before nodding however the comms link to his room started to beep. He quickly walked over to the panel and answered the call "Jaden here." He said in a clear voice.
"Good Morning General, I just wish to inform you that a Trooper will be coming to collect you for training in less than 10 minutes." Commander Delts stated.
"Thank you, Commander, I shall be ready momentarily," Jaden replied before disconnecting the call.
Jaden walked into the refresher and ran the faucet wiping his face with water, he hadn't realised how he'd been training all night and now he'd most likely be training all day. Jaden breathed heavily before stepping into the shower and washing the sweat off of his body.
It wasn't long before he stepped out and placed his Jedi robes on "You know it is quite a shame you do hit wish to join the order, you do look quite dashing in that robe." Satele said.
Jaden grinned at her "From what I heard I'm a bit too old for the old men in your little club." Jaden saw a frown appear on her face but before she could argue with him he turned off the holocron "SD keep this sage." He said before throwing it to the little droid who deftly caught it.
Just as he did so the sound of his door echoed through his room. Daemon walked towards the door and opened it "Good Morning Sir, I am here to escort you to the simulation room." The Clone Trooper said with a prolonged salute.
"At ease trooper, please lead the way," Jaden replied, Jaden just hoped that this training wasn't too bad otherwise he'd pass out at some point today.
(AN: So Jaden is going to spend the time he has trying to become a competent Jedi, will he have enough time? Will be become a good general ? Idk I'm tired. Anyway comment on this chapter if you actually like this story or if I should just add it to the back of the list.)
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