Capítulo 8: Chapter 8: Initiate Training 3
This was expected to only be a few thousand words, yet events before and after the first day of the Trials took over.
As the sun shone in through the window of my quarters on the first morning of the Festival of Life holiday week and I looked over my room before my eyes settled on the datapad on my desk and the worrying information I had discovered yesterday.
Any Initiate that reached their thirteenth birthday and was not taken as a Padawan was assigned to one of four corps that were under the control of the Council of Reassignment. While none of the corps sounded bad in their descriptions on the datapad, something about the fact that anyone dumped there was basically ignored by the rest of the Jedi was worrying. As was that after being raised and indoctrinated – and after six months of lectures on the Jedi and what they stood for, the signs were clear as day that Jedi were indoctrinated once taken from their families – those send to the corps had to be at least a little resentful towards the Jedi; making them perfect targets for Sidious and his master – if he was alive – to corrupt and use as agents.
I shook my head to clear the worry and anger that the apparent abandonment of failed Initiates generated and turned my attention to what today was; the start of the Initiate Trials.
"List Quests."
QUESTSThese are the story chains that will help push and shape your new life.Quests come in various forms, from repeatable simple ones, to long, multi-part campaigns.Most of your activities will be setup as quests, however, you are free to decline most quests.You can also create your own quests if you are willing to push yourself beyond what would be considered easy/safe.All quests are rated from F to S*** for difficulty, with anything rated B or over running the risk of bodily harm, if not death.Current quests are:Tremors of the Ancient Sith EmpireForge your own PathCleanse the TempleTrials of an InitiateChanging Fate [Dooku]…For more details, on a quest, tap it or say 'List Quest' followed by the quest required.…
I smirked at the changed glad I'd spent some time fiddling with the settings of the Player Powers to limit details on certain pages. It made all the lists much shorter and easier to browse; especially the Skills and Force Powers lists.
"List Quest, Trials of an Initiate."
Trials of an InitiateTake part in the Jedi Initiate Trials and put on a good performance.[Start today]Rating: CObjectives:Advance to the free-for-all lightsaber stage for your age group.Win at least 3 of your push-feather duels.Complete the obstacle course with a time in the upper half for your age group.Bonus: ?Bonus: ?Bonus: ?Bonus: ?Bonus: ?Rewards:1500XP1000XP1000XPThe chance to be taken as a Padawan.Penalties:Spend another year stuck as an InitiatePossible expulsion from the Jedi Order.…
I looked through the 3 main objectives and mentally went over my chances with each.
The lightsaber part was, from what I had learnt, the final part of the week, but also my weakest.
Even with the way I seemed to gain skills – I was now Adapt 55 for Shii-Cho and Novice 80 for Makashi, which in 6 months felt an insane improvement – I knew I was miles behind the Initiates. Even after 3 months of on-and-off sparing with Serra – and a few other members of her clan – I'd yet to win a single spar.
However, the fact I'd spared with them using only Shii-Cho while they'd used their preferred Forms meant I might have a leg up as none of them spent much time on Makashi – which was the Form designed for one-on-one lightsaber duels. I'd also spent time in the archives learning of the flaws of each Form in the hopes to find a weakness there and had watched the clan members for any physical ticks that were potentially exploitable.
Even with every advantage I had thought of, and the Force Powers I'd trained up that I felt were different from what was commonly expected for Initiates, I didn't hold out much hope of making the free-for-all.
The push-feather event was one I was looking forward too as Jedi Master Giiett had informed me that while my ability to alter the temperature with Cryo/Pyrokinesis was banned, I had discovered that a Force Blast wasn't; it was simply a more concentrated form of TK to the Jedi, but it was not a trick commonly taught. That some of my other self-usage powers were viable to use – as they only affected me and not my opponent – I felt I had a fair shot at completing that objective.
The obstacle course objective was the event I most expected to complete, not least as I had learnt two Force Powers that I felt were rather rare to use and should give me a huge advantage with the objective.
Force Teleport allowed me to make short-range jumps from one place to another, and while the cost was high – currently 1994FP at Novice 2 – and had a range limited to 2*my level, it was a handy skill to have.
Force Phase however, was my big hope for the obstacle course. It granted me the ability to alter my physical density, I wasn't sure how and frankly wasn't going to even try to understand how beyond 'The Force', meaning I could walk through solid objects with ease. At current costs, I could hold it for about 5 minutes continuously, or use it 4 times before needing to meditate to restore my FP. Though that now only took about 20 minutes as Trance had evolved into Serenity, which had improved the boost, and maxed out. Combined with Meditation, I had 550% boost to my FP regeneration, which just seemed grossly unfair; for others.
"List Quest; Cleanse the Temple."
Cleanse the TempleSomething is off in the Jedi TempleRating: BObjective:Find the dark side taint and cleanse it.Rewards:3000XPPenalties:Possible death…
I frowned as I re-read the details of that quest. I'd studied the history of the Temple in classes on the history of the Order and browsed the archives for details on the temple and concluded that the taint would be linked to the mountain on which the temple was built.
But after examining the mountain everywhere I could from levels 1 to 23, I had yet to find any hint of the taint. Levels 24 and above were not for Initiates, or even Padawans, without permission and common sense suggested that the chances of the part of the mountain where the various Councils of the Jedi were located was tainted were small enough to be ignored unless no other option was left but to check them.
That meant I was going to have to go under the Temple, which meant becoming a Padawan or leaving the Jedi, probably permanently.
Frankly, I was chafing at being stuck in Temple for the last 6 months and was seriously considering just leaving. The indoctrination was starting to get to me and it was taking a lot of self-control to not point out that cutting one's self off from emotions left you weak when confronted with an emotional situation beyond your grasp; and thus, easy prey for the whispers of the darker side of the Force.
And I was now certain that there was a darker element to the Force. I had felt the pull to lash out at various times over the last half-year; the faint wish to act on my anger to prove a point, to push back in fear. Yet, I had no problem with resisting the temptations. A decade of serving in the army and SAS before dying had let me see the dark side of Human nature and learn to control my urges.
It made me feel that fear and anger were not something to be avoid, but controlled, tempered, if not negated if possible. After all, a wise man had once said that fear meant one of two things; Forget Everything and Run, or Face Everything and Rise.
The Jedi, by closing themselves off to the better emotions – or at least being able to show them – left themselves unable to see that fear/hate/anger were things to overcome. And that could often only be done if you had something good to hold on to.
Or that was my take on things at any rate.
The big issue with leaving the Order before being fully trained was Senator Palpatine. Unsurprisingly, I hadn't ran into any politicians in my time here so-far, but I knew the man was on the planet and a senator having done a brief search of the Holonet for information on him, Dooku and a few others that I remembered from the movies. That meant that there was a good chance Palpatine knew about my arrival here and whom my great-grandparents were.
And that would put me clearly in the crosshairs of Sidious and his master; if he was still around. I honestly had no idea about that beyond him mentioning a Darth Plagueis to Anakin in RotS, so I was working on the theory that that was the name of his master, though whether he was alive currently or not I did not know; nor if Darth Maul was around as a Sith yet or not.
And if I left the temple abruptly as a child, I was all but certain that Sidious would have me monitored, if not kidnapped, and that was not something I wanted currently. Which was why becoming a Padawan was the safer – if more stifling – option. And since I wanted out of the Temple a-sap, it meant trying to find a master who wasn't tied at the hip to Coruscant.
I sighed as I stood and waved away the quest details and began a slow walk from my quarters – which were still in the guest quarters – to the Room of 1000 Fountains; where all Initiates over 8 had to gather for the start of the Trails.
As I entered the Room of 1000 Fountains and took in sight of all the massive greenhouse/meditation centre/waterworks – something I didn't think I would ever find anything but breath-taking, calming and inspiring all at the same time – I looked around and saw maybe a hundred or so kids my age and a little older waiting around in one of the larger pavilions and moved over to join them. Most were standing in groups that, based on the faces I recognized, were their clans, with each clan having two adult Jedi standing with them.
I spotted Serra standing nearby with the other members of Dragons Clan and gave her and the others a wave. While most waved back, Sia-Lan glared at me. The older girl was still less than happy with my admittance into the Temple – even if I wasn't truthfully an Initiate – but she held her tongue when we met. The glares however, did not stop; nor a few less than quiet comments on my lack of ability and only getting in here based on my family name.
At the sound of a sharp bang I turned with the Initiates and saw the Jedi High Council take to the stage; Yoda and Yaddle – a female of Yoda's species – floating on their chairs beside the other members. Yaddle hadn't been present when I'd met the Council when I'd first arrived so seeing a female of Yoda's species during one of my morning classes a month ago had surprised me; though I guess they would need to be for them to reproduce. At least, I assumed that most, if not all, life in this galaxy followed the same patterns as Humans for genders and reproduction.
"To the yearly Initiate Trials, welcome younglings. High hopes that you will all perform well and impress your fellow Jedi, I have." Yoda said calmly as he smiled out at the gathered children. "But remember, competition this is not. Merely a change for you to show your comfort with the force, it is, and learnt over the years, what you have."
'Yeah right. This is how you choose the Padawans, so it is a competition. Plus, I've got my quest to complete and if I get all 3 objectives, I'll level up. Kinda curious as to what that will be like.' I thought to myself as Yoda floated back and Windu stepped forward.
"For those of you taking part in the trials for the first time, understand that your performance has no bearing on your standing in the Order. Just because someone is older and has spent longer at the Temple does not guarantee victory. Younger Initiates have emerged victorious at the various components of the Trials in years past." He paused for a moment and I watched as several of the older Jedi glanced at Dooku, who looked totally uninterested in the proceedings, and I as actually surprised was here as what I'd found in the Archives suggested he'd become a bit of a recluse after a failed mission about 4 years ago which resulted in his Padawan being killed.
'Huh. So Dooku won one of the parts at a younger age? Didn't know that. Maybe if I do the same it will give me an in to get to know him and start the quest to prevent his fall.'
"This year the schedule for the Trials is as follows: Today will see all Initiates attempting to cross a randomly created obstacle course in holographic training area. Each clan will be taken there by their lead Jedi trainers in due course. Due to the number of Initiates this year, the top 15 in the obstacle course will receive a pass in first round of the push-feather tournament.
"Tomorrow will begin the push-feather tournament. These will be held throughout the day, with the last 32 being held the day after. For the lightsaber spars, Initiates between 8 and 10 cycles will compete on the fourth day of the Festival, including the final free-for-all between the top 8 Initiates. Regardless of the outcome, all 8 will be allowed to compete against the older Initiates on the final day of the Festival."
Windu stopped and gazed out over the room. I noted that the rest of the Council and the gathered Jedi were doing the same, some seemingly focusing in on a select clan. I spotted a young Human male with a strange yellow mark across face focusing on Dragon Clan and noted that Aayla seemed to sense his stare as she waved to him.
"Katarn Clan will be first up. Please head to the training area. All other Initiates are free to either watch their fellow Initiates on the screens around the Temple or head off to prepare for when their time comes. Dismissed."
I turned around and silently wondered just how I was to know when I was to attempt the course.
"Wondering about your turn?"
I turned at the familiar sound of Master Giiett's voice and nodded. "The Council has decided that you will attempt the course after Dragon clan given to your budding friendship with a few members of that clan." He smiled in what felt to me like an amused way. "It's good to see you starting to spend time with your fellow Initiates. I was beginning to think you didn't like people."
I chuckled at his comment. "No, just settling in. And Serra approached me first."
"Initiate Keto?" He rubbed his chin. "Hmm, now that is interesting. Did she mention anything about her past while you talked?"
"One doesn't rat out your friends." I replied with a small smirk, one Master Giiett returned.
"Indeed. Well, so long as neither of you dwell on the past, I see no harm in discussing it. I must leave now. The Council has asked me and my Padawan to investigate a disturbance in the Kessel sector. I hope that when I return, I find you have done adequately in the trials."
"I hope I do so as well. May the Force be with you sir."
He chuckled as he gently shook his head. "One day young one, we will get you refer to your seniors as Master. But not this day it seems." He turned and walked purposefully across the pavilion to where a young Human female was waiting. If I was on Earth, I'd have called her Asian, but here, I had no idea how to define that ethnic group.
With a shrug I walked over to one of the quieter fountains and sat patiently waiting for Dragon Clan to be summoned, figuring I could head along behind them instead of wandering aimlessly through the halls of the Temple; well doing so once more. I closed my eyes and ran through my plans for the push-feather events, as I was more than comfortable with my plans for the obstacle course.
"Master Rancisis says you'll be joining us for the obstacle course." I opened my eyes to see Serra had come over to speak with me again. She was smiling as she spoke, and I saw that two other members of Dragon Clan had come over. Jaeman Charlton and Darihd Bykys.
Jaeman Charlton was a Human male from Alderaan with sandy brown hair and eyes. He was the same age as Serra and I and generally had no opinion on my being accepted into the Jedi; preferring a wait, learn and see approach.
Darihd Bykys was a green-skinned Togruta who was friendly towards me, when he wasn't stomping a mudhole into my arse during the few spars we'd had. He was proficient at Form 1 to a level I just couldn't cope with and I was praying not to run into him during the lightsaber spars.
Honestly, I was fearing the lightsaber trials a lot, but I put it out my mind as I spoke.
"Yeah. Master Giiett told me as much at the end of the Council's little speech." I scoffed quietly. "Not a competition my backside."
Darihd, who was about half-a-head taller and a good 10 Kg heavier, slapped me on the back. "This is why I like you Cameron. You speak you're mind. Everyone else just says 'yes master' or 'no master' all the time."
"You mean like you do?" Jaeman queried with a smirk and ducked the lazy backhand that Darihd aimed at him.
"Well yeah. But I have to at least keep up the pretence of following orders. I'm the minder of the Clan, remember?"
I chuckled at the interaction. If not for Serra talking to me I would've become a social pariah, which had kind of been my plan. The idea of dealing with a bunch of kids did not appeal but thanks to our first talk and spar, Serra had given me a door into her clan and I was enjoying the interactions; even if it was often juvenile at times.
"Yes sir, no sir. May I lick your boots sir." I said, doing a fair impression of Darihd's voice.
"Careful Cameron. I've got no reason to go easy on you, unlike some." He warned, a finger wagging in my face as the other two chuckled, though Serra's cheeks reddened a touch.
"And who's to say I haven't been letting you whoop my arse just to make you overconfident." I countered with a smile as I swatted the finger away.
Serra shook her head. "Nope. No way you've been holding back. Face it Cam, you've got next to no chance with the lightsaber. Heck, even Jyl can take you and she's nearly two cycles younger than you."
That wasn't true; she was only a cycle-and-a-half younger than me. But yeah, she had tanned me when we sparred. God, did I suck at sparring. Though these would not be spars, but full combat drills, so I had a few plans.
"Really? None of you think I stand a chance? How about a friendly bet then?" I asked with a smirk as they all shook their heads at my first question.
"Jedi don't gamble." Jaeman stated even though he had a small smile on his face.
"It's not a gamble. It's a bet." I replied.
"And what's the bet?" Serra asked, as I expected. While Darihd did occasionally speak out privately about things in the Temple it was only Serra that had questioned things; and even then, only when we were alone.
That might have only been an hour or two each week, but it was enough to see she had a rebellious streak in her, and that my words when we'd first met had had an effect. The questions she asked me about my family were a solid attempt – for a child – to examine someone's thinking without exposing themselves; though I had always ended my questions about family and life outside the Order with a question challenging her, and those always got her thinking about her own family and what life outside was really like.
"Hmm. How about for every spar I win, you each have to clean my quarters once? If I don't win any, I'll clean yours for a week." I figured I had an outside shot at winning one duel, and even if I lost it gave me a greater in with Dragon Clan. Plus, you never know what you can find when searching, I mean cleaning, someone's bunk.
"Deal." Darihd replied instantly, Jaeman nodding at the same time in acceptance. Serra however, had narrowed her eyes and was looking at my face carefully.
"You've got something prepared, don't you? Something we've not seen yet."
I smiled back in what I hope was an enigmatic way. I'd not expected anyone to object to the terms, but I was pleasantly surprised that she'd guessed I had something planned. That rebellious streak I'd been seeing leant itself to non-conformist ways of thinking for a Jedi; something I'd seen in our last spar when she'd intentionally dropped one of her lightsabers – yes, the girl used two – until I was past it, then summoned it back to her hand; taking out my legs as it flew. I'd been pissed about it at the time, but since then I'd come to appreciate the fact she was willing to fight 'dirty'.
"Maybe." Was all I said in reply.
"Then, I'm going to wait until after the obstacle course before accepting." She said with a smile.
I gave her a mock salute as an adult Rodian approached.
"Come. Dragon Clan's time is approaching." He stated with a lisp when he used an 's', before turning and walking to where I saw the rest of their clan was waiting.
As we walked, I gently touched Serra on the arm and leaned towards her. "Good girl." I whispered before picking up
the pace to meet the group, leaving the girl a few steps behind me.
The rest of the clan, bar Sia-Lan and another Human girl named Trudie, all gave me small smiles or nods of acknowledgement. Sia-Lan narrowed her eyes but said nothing since the Rodian Jedi was with us and Trudie stood to Sia-Lan's right, but a half-step behind; as always.
The journey to the training room was quick, thankfully the elevators in the Temple were fast and quiet, and while the Clan began to get excited for the event, I held back, going over my plans for the course once more.
Sure, there was a chance none of my ideas/power would work, but if that happened, then I'd just fall back on a decade-plus of military assault courses.
When the first of Dragon Clan, Aayla Secura, was called in, I turned to the monitor and decided to make note of how each worked through the course; thinking there might be things there I could use if I encountered them in later events.
Aayla was fast and agile; someone I could picture as a dancer in another life as she ducked, dodged and weaved through the course. What had caught me off-guard was that there were active guns firing at her as she went but given to the way no-one else responded to them, I guessed they were only set to sting.
That theory was proven when the next member of the clan, Trudie Fulton was clipped in the side by a blast. She stumbled, a grimace clear to see on her face, but managed to duck out of the way of any further blasts.
A Sullustan named Funt cleared his course quickly by jumping over several large walls with help for the Force, while Darihd and Jaeman both set times in the middle of the pack; though with only one clan having gone before Dragon Clan, I wasn't sure how good that really was.
Sia-Lan surprised me when she blasted away a wall with the Force to clear a path, and I made a mental note to be wary of facing her in the later events if she was that comfortable with Force-assisted TK.
Serra was the last member of her clan to go, and while she wasn't as graceful as Aayla, nor as blunt as Sia-Lan, she seemed to be a step or two above the others in her clan. Her time placed her top so far at just under 5 minutes.
"Cameron Shan." I turned to see the Rodian Jedi who'd escorted us up looking at me. "Come with me."
I followed him to the main doors of the training area.
"The rules are simple. Reach the exit door on the far side of the room before time runs out. The blasters will not hurt, but each hit carries a ten second penalty to your overall time. Destruction of any part of the course carries a five second penalty for each wall or obstacle destroyed." I was hard to read his face, having not had much time around Rodians so far, but if he was Human, I'd say he was less than impressed with Sia-Lan's blunt-force approach. I however, so no problems with it, as even with the time penalties, she was still third overall and probably more concerned with the lightsaber duels.
"Understood." I replied as he waved his hand and the door opened.
"Your time begins with the chime."
I nodded again and waited until the starter's bell. When it sounded, I walked forward slowly and looked around the entry area, mindful of any blasters around the door that could get a free shot off at me.
Seeing none, I glanced at my mini-map and was happy to see that even though the room had a different layout to the last – and only – time I'd visited, the map still showed the location of the other on the far side.
I started jogging straight for it and phased as I was a step from the first wall. I'd only walked through a table in my room once, so the tingles that erupted through my body caught me off-guard for a moment and I stopped once I was through. Finding myself in another area, I looked around for blasters, but once again, found none.
Even though the wall had felt strange to pass through, I stayed phased as I started to jog across the room, ignoring the tingles as I passed through more walls, only to come to a stop at a chasm that was probably beyond my ability to Force Jump currently.
I shivered as a blaster bolt went through me, chilling me to the bone. 'That was unpleasant.' It was quickly followed by more shots, but as they went feebly through me, and did no damage to either my HP or FP, I ignored them as I examined the chasm.
Even with a run-up, I doubted I could clear the gap with a Force-Jump so that left one option.
With a smirk, I stepped forward, dropped my Phase and I felt myself pulled both inwards and outwards at the same time, my stomach seemed to dance the Tango and my skin felt like I'd stuck my fingers in a live power socket, but I stepped down on the far side of the chasm.
"Awesome." I said to the room with a smile as I looked back across the gap as the blasters turned to reacquire me. That was the first time I'd used Teleport outside of my quarters and it worked exactly as the description stated, even if the feeling was still uncomfortable. 'Hopefully it gets better with time.'
I activated Force Phase again and jogged the short distance to the exit; not waiting for the door to open and making the waiting Jedi jump in shock. I noted that it was a female Togruta and as she stared at me, her face a few shades of red lighter than her arms, I noted that I recognized her from the movies; though I didn't have a name to go with the face yet.
"How'd I do?" I asked as I dropped the Phase, a smirk on my face.
The Togruta's eyes narrowed as she looked past me. "Beyond aging me a few years, I do believe that is the quickest time I have ever seen. Possibly a new Temple record. Though when, where and how you learnt to use such advanced Force abilities is a question I, and many other Jedi, will no doubt ask you in the days ahead."
"I saw a Sith Phase when my home was attacked, and the Teleport was just an idea I came up with, ma'am." I replied, instantly using the excuses I had prepared for those questions.
"Ah, yes. Forgive me for not recognizing you sooner. Child of Revan." She smiled and if my body was a decade older, I'd have found it very enticing. "I am Master Shaak Ti, and I have been assigned to run the obstacle course component of the Initiate Trials."
"Hello." I replied, then looked around the small room I was in with Master Ti; and yes, I felt weird referring to a female as master, but when in Rome…
"So, um, what now?" I asked slowly.
"Ah, yes. You have completed the course, so please feel free to return to whatever you were doing previously. A final timesheet will be posted at 18:00, though I do not expect anyone to beat your time. Today, or within my lifetime." She added with a smile that seemed to be both proud and curious at the same time.
"Thank you, ma'am." I bowed fractionally, then exited the room into the corridor. "Well, that was easy. Guess I can go and prepare for tomorrow." I muttered to myself as the doors closed behind me.
"What was that?!" I turned to Serra and the rest of Dragon Clan waiting around. Most were looking at me in surprise or awe; though Sia-Lan's expression was fighting to not show any interest as she scowled deeply. Even her little follower, Trudie, was staring at me with wide eyes.
"What was what?" I replied, earning myself a slap on the arm and a notice that I'd taken 3HP of damage in my combat log.
"You walked through walls! That was kriffing brilliant!" Exclaimed Aayla, her eyes wide as she danced from one foot to the other.
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"Can you teach us?"
"What does it feel like?"
"What was that thing you did to clear the chasm?"
I raised my hands. "Stop." I said simply, getting the barrage of questions to end before they became a deluge. "As I just told Master Ti, I saw a Sith Phase when they attacked my home and the Teleport was just an idea I had that, thankfully worked."
"You mean you tried that for the first time in there?" Serra asked as she pointed at the doors I'd just come through. As I nodded, she slapped my arm hard; causing another 5HP of damage. "That was stupid! What would've happened if it hadn't worked and you'd fallen down the chasm?" Her lips pursed together as she finished talking and I reached forward, placing my hands on her arms.
"Then I'd have Phased through the floor and ended up in someone's quarters." I replied with a smile. I was surprised at how worried she was over me supposedly trying something dangerous for the first time during the obstacle course. I didn't think we were that close. "Though hopefully they would've been dressed. I'd hate to see what the Council look like naked."
A few of the others groaned. "Oh, gross." Muttered one of the boys, but my attention was on Serra and I was relieved to see her lips twitch at the bad joke.
"Initiate Shan, the Council of First Knowledge wishes to speak with you." A teenage Twi'lek male – if I was judging the aging of the race correctly – stated, drawing my attention away from Serra and Dragon Clan.
I chuckled once. "Yeah, I bet they do." I replied. I knew this was going to happen, but my story was prepared and, if needed I had another card to play to limit any concern/anger they had at me using concepts that I'd learnt from the Sith Holocron were only meant for the most advanced of Jedi. "I'll see you all later." I said to Dragon Clan, though my eyes lingered on Serra until she gave a slight nod, and then I followed the Twi'lek through the corridors.
He didn't speak once, but I noticed that several Jedi – of various ages – gave me glances as we walked; usually where a display screen was setup to show the obstacle course.
'Figured this would happen. But I'm surprised so many seem amazed that I did what I did. Shouldn't such a trick be known to Jedi Knights and Masters? Then again, I don't think I ever saw in in the movies, cartoons or games.' I pondered the question as we entered the elevator under the northwest tower; thank you mini-map for that.
As the elevator slowed and the doors opened, the Twi'lek turned to face me.
"They await you within." He said formally, then leaned closer. "I'd really like to know how you did that." He whispered, making me smirk.
"It seems that most of the Temple wants to know that. I thought it was a common ability." I knew it wasn't but playing mild-mannered and unknowing helped deflect attention that I was up to something wrong. "PM." I whispered, thinking that staying clam would hide any hint of me lying to this sub-council.
I entered the room to see six Jedi masters present. I recognized Yoda and two others from my meeting with the High Council when I arrived, and one more who had been on the High Council in the Prequels; a short alien with large, drooping ears and a missing eye. The last two however, I had never seen before.
"Initiate Shan, I am Astaal Vilbum, Caretaker of First Knowledge and leader of the Council of First Knowledge." Said a large black-skinned alien that's skin was all wrinkled making it look like he – she? – had spent far too long in the bath. "We have some questions for you regarding the abilities you displayed within the Initiate obstacle course."
I chuckled quietly. "I imagine you do sir." The drooping-eared alien frowned at my apparent lack of respect, but Yoda's lips twitched and another High Council member – a dark-skinned human woman, who had a strange headdress with white… things coming out of it – smiled at my reply.
Vilbum nodded, or I took the movement of his head for a nod. "There are two initial questions we have, though we may have more depending on your answers."
"Shoot. Um, I mean, go ahead."
"Where did you learn to Phase and Teleport using the force and why have you not shown these abilities to any master?"
I calmed myself internally, boosted by Player's Mind cancelling out emotions quickly, and began. "Truthfully, I think I saw a Sith Phase during the attack on my home on Talravin; though at the time I gave my report to the High Council, I wasn't sure, so I failed to mention it. Up until I managed to succeed in Phasing myself, I wasn't sure I'd actually seen it done." I glanced and Yoda and tilted my head in an apology for not mentioning that before. He replied with a tap of his stick and a very subtle smile.
"As for Teleporting; well, that was just me thinking that if the Force allowed me to alter my body to be able to pass through solid objected, then maybe it could allow me to move instantly from one place to the other. Though that was the first time I'd actually attempted it." I shrugged when I said that, hoping to seem sheepish about doing so.
The five seated Jedi turned and looked at each other and I suspected they were talking mentally to each other; though since I hadn't tried that myself I wasn't sure if that was possible with the Force.
"When did you first phase?" an older human female asked bluntly, catching me off-guard for a split second.
"About 3 months ago."
"And you never felt like informing a member of this Council, or any Master for that matter, about learning a power we have classified as dangerous for any being lower than a Jedi Master to learn?" Droopy-ears challenged, his eyes narrowing as he leant forward in his seat. "Why didn't you inform us of this development?"
"Well, you never asked." I replied, fighting to not smirk at my own reply.
A few of the Council members seemed to splutter at my answer, though I caught the female with the strange headdress covering her mouth, which I took to mean she also didn't want the Council to see her smile at my answer.
"Besides, I'm isolated from the other Initiates, never mind actual Jedi, so who would I have told?"
"Perhaps Master Giiett, hmm?" Yoda suggested, clearly aware that he was the only member of the Council to spend much time with me. Though I suspected that some of that was because the Council wished for me to have an informal minder.
"Well yes, but the last time I mentioned using the Force in an unexpected way I was told I couldn't use it during these Trials." I shrugged. "Something my grandfather said was that it was sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness than beg for permission."
The Council seemed to split between annoyance at my lack of apparent respect and amusement at my reasoning, but before anyone could speak I started again.
"Also, I still haven't been told anything about how I arrived in this time nor have I been allowed access to my ship." I had a suspicion of how I'd arrived, thanks to months of study on hyperspace and computers, but I wanted confirmation instead of the Jedi's apparent unconcern about my arrival.
"The High Council is still conducting a review of the flight logs of the ship you arrived in. " Remarked a red-skinned humanoid member of this Council. " And I was not aware that you had ownership of it."
I shrugged again. "OK, technically, I never bought it, but seeing as the former owner wanted to kidnap me and murdered my grandfather – the only living member of my family – and that I killed a Sith onboard, I figure I earned it."
"Jedi do not have possessions," Vilbum stated calmly. "The ship is also a Sith vessel. As such, the Council and Jedi Sentinels are examining it thoroughly for possible links to locations strong in the Force."
'Meaning you knew the flight data was erased and have been unable to recover any clues to where the ship came from. Good. No point in risking Sidious gaining access to Ziost and the remains of the Sith Empire that attacked the Republic millennia ago.' Yes, I'd done a fair bit of reading about the time I'd come from if only to help me build plausible stories to confirm my background. It left me wishing I'd played SW:TOR, but the idea of on-line gaming never appealed.
"And once you have finished examining it, what then?"
"We have arranged for it to be sold to a museum. The ship is millennia out of date and could not be brought up to a standard we would deem safe for Jedi usage."
'You were planning to just take my ship and not tell me? Bastards!' "Then what if I am not taken as a Padawan, or choose not to stay with the Order?" Now that got a response from a few of the gathered Masters. It seems they were less than keen on me leaving. 'Why… Oh fuck no! They cannot think I'm the one to bring balance to the Force? Fuck!' That was something I had honestly not considered but it looked like others had. I guess my ease with learning the Force – because of my other powers – and my appearance from another time and link to one of the Jedi's most infamous members probably meant others had discussed whether I fit the prophecy.
"To become a Jedi you expect not, hmm?" Yoda asked with a faint smile.
I shrugged once more. "Well, there's always a chance I'm not taken, right? So why shouldn't I have plans for that possibility?"
"If only other Initiate and Padawans were able to see that truth," Vilbum said quietly with a shake of his head. "Very well, in the event that you are not taken as a Padawan by your 13th cycle, we will grant you credits equal to the amount the museum has paid for the freighter. Is that acceptable?"
I nodded slowly. I'd prefer to take the old ship if only to scrap it to ensure no-one could recover anything from the computers, but I guess I could always find out which museum bought the ship and ensure it suffered an 'accident'. No point leaving a loose end after all. And I'd only need that money if I couldn't find a good match for a Jedi Master, I thought. Though while having it regardless would be useful, I doubted I could change their minds on this.
"Then I congratulate you on setting a new record for the Initiate obstacle course but ask that any new abilities you discover are reported to a Master immediately and order you not to teach any controlled abilities to your fellow Initiates. You may go." Vilbum said, and I heard the doors opened behind me.
'Fat chance of that. You'll probably just say I can't use those powers either.' I thought as I turned only to stop and turn back to the Council.
"You have something to ask?" Vilbum asked as he saw that I had stopped.
"Yes. I was wondering if you could tell me how exactly I arrived on Coruscant nearly 4000 years after I left Talravin." I said slowly. Mentally I had just put it down to the PtB playing with time, but perhaps there was a technical reason as for why it had happened.
"Ah, yes. We had forgotten to inform you of that." Vilbum replied before shuffling a little in his seat. "I am unsure of your exact understanding of hyperspace mechanics and the mechanical component of a starship, but in simplest terms, the console in the cockpit that was damaged during your struggle with the Sith was a temporal compensator. Truthfully, the exact technical understanding is beyond me, but our technicians assure us that the damage to that is what caused you to travel thousands of years forward in time inside a few days."
I bowed a touch, more for show than to give thanks for the answer. "Thank you, Master Vilbum." With that, I turned and left the chamber and quickly crossed the I exited the Council chamber and crossed the small antechamber outside.
As I entered the elevator, I dropped Player's Mind and growled. The order to not teach others was unexpected, but I could see the reasoning behind it, though I imagined a normal 8-cycle old child would not.
I'd managed to avoid getting into trouble for using my powers and gotten something sorted out on the chance I didn't become a Padawan – or choose to leave of my own volition.
Now I just had to let Serra and the others down gently about not being able to teach them until they were Padawans. 'He should've been clearer in his instructions.' I thought as the anger gave way to a small smirk.
…
Now before anyone suggests that Cameron got off easy.
Did he?
The Council is now going to watch him closer, especially since he has hinted at leaving the Jedi Order and it seems some may think that he's the one to bring balance to the Force.
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