章 37: Oblivion
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***
Eight months of training had not been in vain.
The teacher really turned out to be an excellent specialist in light saber combat and power abilities. Her arsenal of Jedi techniques was not large, but her use of them was extremely sophisticated.
After living in the forest for almost a year, I had already begun to forget human speech, but from the first weeks of my stay, I had beaten my teacher into teaching me the Togrutian language. It could be a useful skill in life, and I had to speak something besides basic and Togdarian.
In my case, I chose a language that no human can master - the Togrutians made many sounds and their tones that no human throat can produce. But I didn't cry in my waistcoat, I started a new wave of experiments with medical techniques, the purpose of which was to modify my vocal cords. Quite a difficult, but very interesting task - I had already mastered the treatment of injuries and most of the diseases and started the medicine of body modifications, which was perceived by Toshi not so enthusiastically. I had to reassure the teacher that I would not do anything not tested on guinea pigs, i.e. Thymiars.
After she took me hunting with her, we learnt the Togrutian language more and more often, because it was the fastest way to learn it, and my malleable mind allowed me to learn it faster than ordinary people.
I didn't tell Togruta that I wasn't quite human - she didn't need to know.
Hunting also diversified my techniques - at first I used stun, but then, realising that the goal was not the number of skins, I began to experiment with forms of hunting.
When I went out on a case, it was possible both to practice in abilities, and in their application - for example, to put one shark to sleep, and the rest to chase away, then cut the sleeping one and go to the camp with a clear conscience. In moments of boredom and irritation I allowed myself to have a good fight with them - against some of them I used trakata combined with ataru. I was able to increase my speed almost twice as much as before, and at the same time I began to develop my own style, taking as a basis the juyo style, which my teacher started to teach me after I had learnt enough ataru. It was already more difficult and I, at first, coped with it with difficulty - it was necessary to have the right emotional attitude. The trouble was that soon after a dozen of general training sessions with the basic stances, techniques, tricks, we moved directly to the fight. That's where the problems were waiting for me, which completely discouraged me from continuing my training. After the first sparring, it became difficult for me to concentrate on the fight at all, not to mention to make fine adjustments, getting excitement and adrenaline.
Juyo was a bummer for one simple reason - as soon as I let go of my self-control, the teacher became a girl. A pretty sexy girl that I wanted badly! Thank Force, I managed to hide these emotions from Tosya, otherwise it would have been a shame on my head, but she herself, having stopped sparring, started to reprimand me:
- You're too inattentive, Henia, as soon as you stop controlling, you immediately lose concentration. I think you should prepare yourself first.
- Um... teacher..." I started, not even trying to block out the embarrassment, "here's the thing..." I realised that style was hardly the best thing she could teach me, but on the other hand, admitting that to her... What am I, a snotty teenager, though? On the one hand, yes, but on the other hand, I was a guy of fifteen or sixteen, with a muscular body and a serious look, so Erdva often made vulgar comments about my sexual unrestraint. If I hadn't slept with Ali then, I wouldn't have had a problem, but you can't go back... and we're all backward-looking.
- Yes? - The teacher looked suspiciously at my embarrassed look.
- You see, you and I have been in the forest for almost a year now. I live in the woods, there's nobody around...
- И? - she demanded.
- My body has natural needs....
- You can move away," she nodded.
- No, it doesn't! There are other natural needs besides eating, toileting, and sleeping," I said unhappily.
- Speak up! - The teacher couldn't stand it. Judging by the emotional background, she could not think of such a thing.
- In short, I need a woman! Understand? I haven't slept with anyone for a year! - I resented such incomprehensibility.
- What? - the teacher took a step back and her eyes started to pop out of her orbits.
- Um... - I smiled a little guiltily, - when I remove the self-control, which I keep intuitively, I immediately lose concentration. After all, there's a beautiful girl next to me, and I have hormones, no sex for a year, and the stress of living in the woods, and even in your company... now do you understand what and who I want? - I smiled again, and the teacher blushed deeply, so much so that the thin white lines on her face stood out.
- Yes, you... yes, I..." she seemed to get agitated, but she immediately calmed herself down, remaining a little redder, "I... ahem. I'm sorry, I didn't realise that people grow up a little earlier than Togrut in that respect... I'm sorry.
- No, no problem, Master. Besides, I'm not human," I finally stunned her.
- What?! - she was even more surprised and even louder.
- Um..." I ruffled the hair on the back of my neck, "I'm a half-miraluka. Of course, the only thing that makes me different from humans is my non-human psyche, but still... miralukes grow up even faster than humans.
- Yes..." Toshi stretched out, "that's something... it's the first time I've seen a padawan openly tell a teacher that he wants her..." she blushed again. - 'I hope you're keeping your cool? - she asked.
- Yes, of course I am. - I nodded, "Only when I'm in control of my mind. When I loosen my grip, I want to..." I glanced at her breasts. Toshi, realising what I was getting at, was embarrassed again, like a schoolgirl, and bit her lip. During our stay in the forests of Shili, men didn't come to her in hoards, so she also had a call of nature, but probably much weaker than mine.
- I... I don't even know how to solve this problem..." she said sadly. - You can't go with a togruta... and I wouldn't agree to it," she sighed heavily. - So you'll either have to put up with it or find a human woman.
- You can be a Miraluka or a Twi'leka. I don't do well with human women. Psychologically, they're not really my thing.
- Besides, you're picky. Oh, power, how will Juyo teach you now? - She raised her eyes to the sky in prayer. - It's unreal when you're drooling.
- Hey, hey! I took offence. - I'm not a child! I can't do anything about my psyche, nature made me like this.
- Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, I realise it's even harder for you..." she sighed heavily again.
I had to postpone the training in Juyo until I got back to the Order, though Toshi said it was better to just drop by the brothel. The only problem was that the local brothel only had Togrutians, and if they catered to anyone other than locals, the brothel would be torn apart and kicked off the planet. Though according to Tosi, there are Togrutians with the oldest profession in the galaxy. But at those words, she became agitated again. She could have removed her emotions, but unlike me, she did not practice constant suppression of her own emotions and desires. The problem was that I'd grown a whole head during my training, and now I was up to Tosi's chin, and if you add to that impressive, muscular, though not like a bodybuilder, but still noticeable, like an athlete, then... I could see why she blushed. It was easier when she thought of me as a child, and here it turns out a fully sexually mature male lives with her, and also with experience of sex, and not an innocent boy with hormones.
I got over this conversation quickly, the next day I didn't pay attention, while Tosya started to have problems. Having strengthened my empathy, I could almost read all her thoughts, and they were not different from the initial conclusions - she no longer looked at me as a child, but as a man. Despite some biological differences between humans and Togrutians, our races were clearly attracted to members of the opposite sex. Humans had no compatibility issues, but for the Togrutians, sex with a human/alien was severely punished. As a result, the problems that had started for me, because of our conversation, had spilled over to Tosi, whom I was catching more and more often for furtive glances, or sometimes unconscious signs of attention, which she herself carefully avoided.
This depressed me even more. If there were no rule, and if Jedi could lie, I would have suggested we go to the tent and save each other the trouble for the night, and then forget the whole thing. But that was impossible. Although...
There was one way, but Master would never agree to it. Never. No, I said never!
In the evening, as dusk fell, Erdva, who was standing guard, noticed that his master had approached him. I looked round cautiously and stood in front of the droid.
- Is something wrong, Captain? - he refused to call me by my first name, preferring my actual position on our ship. But that is a peculiarity of the astrodroid's spaceship-specific programming overlaid with his personal preferences.
- Yes. There is one request. First, let's experiment - show me one of your instruments at random. Any of them.
- OK, - a manipulator with a light cutter emerged from the hull barrel.
- Good. Put it away, and then you can tell me if I said it right or wrong.
- I don't understand anything, but okay," the droid said. I sat down in front of him in a seiza pose, falling into my own consciousness. During my time at Alderaan Academy, I'd trained myself to work with my own memory, and now I was going to experiment with it. I found the memory before it was stored in my long-term memory and carefully removed it from my mind, leaving it empty inside. I simply forgot it, willpower squeezing it out of my mind. When I surfaced, I saw the droid looking at me with its sensors and continued the experiment:
- You showed me..." I wondered. And really, what did the droid show me? It felt like a presquel - the word was stuck on the tip of my tongue as I stupidly couldn't say it. I couldn't remember it. Presqu'u is the kind of state you might get when you forget a word, get stumped in a conversation. I realised that the droid had shown me some kind of tool, could even tell that he'd used the first manipulator for it, but... I couldn't remember, like a white spot on the fabric of memory.
- I don't remember," I said. - 'Give me a clue.
- You made this tool yourself,' said the droid. I only made the scanner and the cutter. Scanner or cutter? Even with a hint, I couldn't remember!
- Which tool?
- The cutter,' he said, 'are you having memory problems? Broken cells? Maybe testing would help?
- No, Erdva," I said, smiling, "testing won't help. I'm doing great! All right, take your instructions. Stop watching Tosi's tent now, and in the morning you will tell us that we had memories that we mutually agreed to disown. Nothing more. You can also tell us there should be no problem learning about Juyo now!
- Aye, Captain! - Erdva said, and redirected the sensor towards the forest.
Toshi was lying on her sleeping bag, getting ready for bed. I couldn't knock, for there was nowhere to knock, so I asked loudly enough:
- Tosi! Can I come in?
- Come in, Henya," the girl sighed from the other side. I was about to do something incredible by the standards of a Jedi....
- Master," I began, ducking down to enter the tent. Toshi sat down on her sleeping bag, turning her attention to me, -I don't even know where to start...
- Do you want to talk about your problem? - she asked boredly.
- About our problem, - the teacher turned a little pink at these words, - and you are no longer a girl who blushes when someone says such things, but... - I threw an expressive glance at her pink face.
- Is it so noticeable? - she asked excitedly.
- Yes. I... I could offer you an option that you would probably refuse.
- Oh, yeah? You're not thinking of something obscene, are you? - She gave me the eye. - Mind you, the laws.
- I know the laws. I know about rules and customs. The beauty of any law is that you can get round it.
- Oh, wow. How?
- I'm pretty good at memory work," I made a big hint. - Enough to erase a memory without a trace.
- Me too?
- Considering that working with your own mind isn't much different from working with someone else's..." I stretched out.
Toshi thought for a moment, then blushed deeply. I sat across from her in a seiza pose and gathered my courage to continue:
- I think you've already understood what I'm suggesting. It is, of course, a little strange... especially against the rules of the Order, but... I don't see any other way out, unless we leave the planet.
- You could leave," she said. - The money from the sale of the skins would be enough to--
- Would you go to a brothel? - I asked her bluntly. Obviously, she felt more than squeamishness towards the representatives of the oldest profession. - At least you and I are not strangers to each other.....
The girl was in a state of affect, it is obvious, because the next phrase was devoid of logic and meaning:
- But after all, the rules of the order forbid ...
- The rules of the order do not explicitly forbid it. Moreover, it is done so that an adult teacher does not seduce a young student, and this is not our case. I... I still think, - I put my hand on her shoulder, which made Toshi shudder, - that it would be better. For both of us. Especially since you won't be able to remember anything and won't have to lie.
- Are you... are you sure about that? - The Togruta was struggling with the most contradictory feelings. I, realising it was a yes, said yes, immediately moving closer to her, removing all my mental restraints and sinking my lips into hers. A couple of seconds later she responded to me, and a minute later we were already pulling each other's clothes off.
It was unlike anything else in this life or the last-after I removed my shields, I felt a beastly instinct that pounded and demanded a woman. As soon as I saw the breasts and the embossed, but quite graceful abs of the Togruta, I lost control of myself, simply cutting the lacing of her trousers with a small blade and pulling them down. Toshi helped me by pulling herself up. She wore no underwear and it started very quickly. So sexy Tosi was finally mine.
That's when you feel like a man, after sex. One time was not enough either for her or for me, and the first contact was followed by two more, then with a short break, during which she talked to me about something, we changed the position, although it was not quite comfortable on the hard sleeping bag.
We felt finally exhausted and satisfied with each other only when it was getting light. Tosi, falling on top of me and breathing heavily, said as soon as she took a breath:
- It's a pity...
- What?
- It's a pity I won't remember anything, - Tosi looked at me in a different way, and reached out and kissed me passionately. Once we had kissed enough, I responded:
- I'm sorry too. But memories aren't the point. The main thing is that now we can be ourselves, not two sex-crazed men and women....
- 'That's right,' the teacher said sadly. - How will you erase the memory?
- That would require you to trust me, teacher," I said, but got an unexpected answer:
- And this is coming from a man who is lying on top of me...where is the world going.....
- I mean complete trust, Master.
- I trust you, I trust you.
- In that case, we'd better get dressed.
We got dressed pretty quickly. Tosi was furious:
- What have you done with my trousers??? - she was indignant. - How am I going to wear them now?
- Wear the ones you flew in," I shrugged, though I felt a little guilty - I had pounced on her like a hungry animal on prey... maybe I had done something else wrong?
The teacher went off to wash off the tracks, and then returned to the tent dressed.
- What should I do?
- Sit across from her," I said briefly, and so formally, as if we hadn't just given ourselves to each other many times.
She sat down and I put my hand on her head and fell into a trance. I could feel the other's consciousness as well as my own, and I was sure it would work. After a couple of minutes I managed to forcefully connect with her mind... I couldn't help but look at what it looked like from her side... and I almost flew out of my subconscious - such uncontaminated emotions, and when we started for the first time, it felt fantastic! I didn't know that women were like that, it was not for nothing that Tosi woke up the whole neighbourhood, if someone had thought of sleeping near the camp in the forest! As soon as the predators didn't run to the noise....
One by one the memories were covered with a white haze of oblivion, from the moment I knocked on the tent to the moment I put my hand on her temple. It was useless to contact the montarals-they had no midichlorians and no power. Almost none. After a minute of final tweaks, I put her to sleep, and Tosi fell asleep sitting up. Now it was my turn - it was much easier than with Toshi - I trusted myself completely. If Toshi had put up the slightest bit of resistance, I would have been thrown out of my mind.
Strange... what am I doing in the teacher's tent? And why is she asleep, sitting up and facing me? It's getting weirder and weirder.
I laid the teacher on her bed, figuring we were just practising meditation and fell asleep... or some power ability had caused temporary amnesia and sleep. But it couldn't have been anything else, could it? Intuition was silent. And I wanted to sleep just monstrously, so I put the girl, who never woke up, covered her with a blanket and went to my bed. And in the morning there was a surprise message from Erdv. Tosi didn't understand what it was about, and thoughtfully scratched the tip of her lekku, deciding that if it was so, then let it be... though she had a vague doubt in her heart....
========== 35. Temple One ==========
The new day began with packing. It was time to leave Shili for good. The abandoned yacht was waiting for us, as was the Jedi Order.
Toshi seemed to soften somewhat after what had happened and began to teach to her conscience, so we quickly flew through the basic programme of the seventh form of combat in a couple of months.
Oh, yes, by mutual consent we didn't talk about what had happened between us. We understood everything, but we could honestly say that nothing had happened - suspicions and circumstantial evidence could not be used in the case, and we could tell everyone that we were studying diligently, without breaking any rules.
While the teacher was running around the camp, collecting everything that we had gained by hard work, i.e. shark skins and fangs, I was phlegmatically adjusting my clothes. When we bought them, they were a bag, but now they even felt a little tight. And in general, teenagers grow surprisingly fast - a year ago I flew here, I was a head shorter than I am now. Not to mention I'm a lot broader in the shoulders now.
We didn't clean up everything we'd gained in the camp, and there wasn't much here, so there was no point in taking anything apart.
When I got dressed, I went out and found Tosi carrying a huge bale of skins.
- Hennia, will you carry the spoils? - she said, dropping the bale to the ground. It was heavy, judging by the impact.
- All right, Toshi," I shrugged, "it's no problem for me. I wasn't going to carry it in my hands anyway - telekinesis was still a thing.
We set off in the direction of the village at a hunter's pace, much faster than we'd walked here, so it shouldn't take more than three or four hours to get there.
After half an hour of walking through the forest in silence, Toshi couldn't bear it:
- What are you going to do?
- Return to my own time. I have nothing to do here. I never wanted to become a soldier in another confrontation.
- Whatever you want," she said. - I'm guessing Lex will either order you to help or scatter you all over the place. He can do that.
- I hope he doesn't do something stupid like that," I shivered, "I haven't even finished my training yet, and you guys...
- I know, I know," she said. - But a master is a master, you can't argue with him.
- Why not? You can try to change the chief's mind. He's not so inadequate, so in case of anything.....
- You don't have to go on, Toshi said. - So, whatever he decides, that's what he'll do. He knows best, and if he asks, you decide.
- Yes, Master! - I answered cheerfully, starting to think about a plan to return to my home time.
The ship was still where we'd left it - a whole year in a bad earthen mooring - after such an extreme experience I'd have to do an early inspection, because I'd bet that the year hadn't gone without a trace for it. Nor for me, really.
In the village we were not welcomed with bread and salt, but they looked at strangers more than closely. Only villagers can do that. The bale of skins behind my back received a lot of interested glances. The Togrutians were talking among themselves, discussing us. I understood them perfectly well now - I had learnt the language well enough thanks to Tosi.
The teacher came together with me to the ship and looked at the "crown" and decided:
- So, I'll go to sell all the trophies, and you get ready for departure. We won't be delayed too long.
- Yes, Master," I said cheerfully again. I was not used to arguing with her.
Erdva was most happy to be back on board - he immediately landed on the floor and went to the cabin. I caught up with him and asked him:
- Will you look at the condition of the ship?
- No offence, Captain. Already plugged in.
- И?
- No damage. The rest we'll have to see for ourselves, the self-diagnostic system is powerless.
- Understood.
Leaving the droid in the cockpit, I went to my quarters. The tightness of the ship pressed me, though it was not too tight, but it was unusual to see the sky above my head.
The first thing I did was to take a shower, the holy of holies, for it was impossible to find a shower in the forest. There was still enough water in the reserves to wash myself, and the rest we could buy here or in the nearest spaceport.
Tosi didn't wander long, quickly finding me when I got out of the shower.
- I told you to get the ship ready to go!
- Erdva's doing it. He's a big boy, he'll figure it out on his own.
- All right, then. Here, - she handed me a credit card, - your money.
I accepted my honestly earned money with gratitude, as the shortage of money was decent. Tosi handed me another card.
- What's this?
- Your salary. In a year of self-sufficiency you've accumulated a decent amount of fifteen thousand credits.
- Thank you," I accepted the card. - Tell me, how much did we make on the hides?
- About 100,000. Fifty each.
- That makes my balance sixty thousand. Not bad... - I thought that this money would be enough for a small ship. It's expensive to live, but apparently a hundred or two credits a day is enough to get by on Coruscant. On the periphery worlds, prices are much lower, and the same couple of hundred would be enough for a week. Capital city. I decided not to bother my head with price calculations, so I went to change my clothes, but I couldn't find anything. Nothing that fit me - everything was smaller, and much smaller.
- Toshi, have I grown so big? - I asked, peering out into the corridor. Her quarters were next to mine. Toshi peeked out, too, and answered:
- You have no idea how much.
Judging by my reflection in the height mirror, I was a sixteen-year-old teenage athlete, with a decent tan, straw-coloured, sunburned hair that, for lack of a hairdresser, had grown to an obscene size and fell to my shoulders, just like my hairstyle during the Clone Wars.
I couldn't find any clothes, so I had to get into what I had, which was a Shilis shark hunter's hunting suit. Toshi had already cleaned herself up when Erdv's voice came from the speakers:
- 'The ship is ready for departure.
- Roger that," I answered into the void, "I'll be right there.
Erdva must have been watching the whole ship, so he heard me.
The way back, as they say in the assembly-disassembly instructions "in reverse order". That is, we entered orbit, said goodbye, Tosi sat in the co-pilot's chair, looking at the readings of sensors and instruments, and then decided not to interfere with my "very important business" - power navigation.
We travelled to Coruscant even faster than we had flown to Shili - I ate, slept, and chatted with Erdva about the ship and plans for our return. Tosi rested idly - lying in her cabin, reading something on the terminals, taking regular showers and massage baths, and then freshening up. She didn't bother me, which was a relief.
When the ship finally broke out of hyperspace, we were both relieved. Erdva in our campaign only made a sound that could, with a fair amount of imagination, be mistaken for a sigh of relief. Descending to Coruscant in the right place, Tosi, who was sitting in the co-pilot's chair, turned to me:
- Okay, now let's get down to business. The Master will probably want to test you. A year spent on Shili should not go to waste - I have taught you everything, but not everything you have mastered as well. You will have to start training in swordsmanship with renewed vigour and preferably with knights-fighters. Your style is more of a rudiment of his, and I'd hate to see you lose to Lex in the first minute. What about Nova's assignment? - teacher squinted.
- It's all right, teacher, I got through her assignments in the first six months. After all, I modified my voice to speak Togrutian... - I said in the named language. - So I won't have to blush in front of Master Nova.
- I hope so. So, let's move on. By suggestion, reading, foresight you have climbed high enough, but I am still worried. Try working on those areas. The Master won't ask you anything important on the first day, so you can practice in the lower town for a few days.
- The lower city?
- Those are the levels of Coruscant closer to the planet's surface. It's where the natural light doesn't reach, and it's mostly low-income citizens. It's the biggest den in the galaxy, not counting Nil-Hutt, so if you show up there in decent clothes, you're bound to get a lot of "test subjects" clinging to you.
- That's great," I sighed, "I've got a place to practice.
The ship was down enough to see the Jedi temple in detail, a square giant towering over the ordinary houses.
- Erdva, take me to the hangar," I commanded. The droid obediently drove the ship into the hangar of the temple, where, as a year ago, there was a lot of small things, against which our yacht was one of the largest.
- Well, Master, here we are," I unbuckled myself and stepped out of the cockpit, followed by Erdva and Toshi.
Master Lex regularly met Jedi from missions, but this time was special - Tosi had taken the newcomer to the forests of her home planet for a year, so that they wouldn't be disturbed in their training. Given the newcomer's abilities, the Master was extremely curious as to what he could learn in such a short time. It was all the more interesting that one of the five adepts of the Juyo style, which was difficult to master and without a talent for self-control and emotional intelligence, was rather flawed.
The Master's expectations were fulfilled and exactly on the appointed date Skywalker's angular yacht flew into the hangar of the temple, which was immediately reported to him by the droid that the Master had instructed about the ship.
The ramp opened and Toshi stepped out of it, followed by... an astrodroid. It was flying, not travelling, like the astrodroids Master was used to. At the back of the procession was none other than Anakin Skywalker, aka Hennia. The Magister felt that it was not worth it to give a reason for gossip, so he did not greet the arrivals personally, although he watched them through one of the droids standing in the hangar of the temple. Toshi hadn't changed at all, though he couldn't say that about Skywalker - he'd grown a head taller in the intervening time, and was now the height of a short man, though Lex remembered well that he was seeing a teenager. The newcomer's gait had changed considerably, too, becoming smoother and more cautious, his eyes groping all around him. Anakin turned to the astrodroid and waved his hand, which made Lex, to whom the greeting seemed to be directed, hesitate. If Anakin sensed the surveillance through the camera rather than in person, he had the sensitivity of a Jedi council member or a knight specialising in sensorics. Smiling contentedly, the Master switched off the terminal and decided to put the newcomer to the test one of these days. But before that, the two Jedi would surely want to rest and regain their strength.
Tosi led Hanyia to the wing where the Jedi lived, explaining to him in passing how to get here from the hangar. Anakin listened and nodded, though he had no doubt that the Force would tell him if anything was wrong. There were times, however, when the Force took him to places he didn't want to go, but that was nothing. Only when he arrived in the ascetically furnished room did Skywalker shrug off the weight of his training and fall into sleep. As soon as the door closed behind him, Toshi was approached by a padawan unknown to her:
- Master Lex summons you to his office.
- Why doesn't he send me a message on my comlink?
- I wouldn't know. Please forgive me, service," the padawan bowed briefly and left immediately. Toshi sighed heavily and looked at the closed door to her apprentice's room, then gathered her courage and went to report to the commander. She had to make up the report on the fly, as she had been resting during the journey to Coruscant and had forgotten about such a small detail, thinking that she would have time to work in the temple. It did not fall out, the Master's impatience overriding the desire to give rest to those who had arrived.
The office welcomed her with the smell of fresh tea and a satisfied Magister, who was sipping from a large white cup that was steaming. He likes it hot.
- Well, knight, tell me," he said before Tosi could finish her greeting.
- What is it, Master?
- How is the student? Is he well?
- Yes, Master. He learnt incredibly fast, due to his ability to assimilate information quickly and control power quite subtly. However, at first there were problems with the abilities, they turned out to be overpowered, but practice quickly brought everything in order.
- What skills has your student mastered? - Magister poured himself more tea, not forgetting the cup for the togruta. But Toshi put it on the table, as she was not in the habit of drinking boiling water.
- In fencing, the first, third, fourth, and seventh forms.
- That's it?
- Yeah. That's all he needs. If he gets what he's got down to a decent level, he'll be invincible.
The Master gave a disappointed chuckle:
- Ai-yay, how so. There's no such thing as invincible, Toshi, you should know that.
- I'm sorry, Master," the knight apologised.
- I forgive you. Power abilities?
- From the ones he already had - forging, foresight, power vision, navigation by force, empathy, telekinesis, the ability to work with his own mind. The skills of suggestion of emotions and orders to animals and sentient beings, amplification and acceleration, healing, stunning, setting up barriers, - Toshi reported. In her opinion, the list of acquired abilities was not so great compared to what the student had achieved on his own, so she corrected herself: "And also honed the abilities he already had.
- Yes, I realised that," Lex said. - He sensed my observation when you were leaving the ship," the Master said with satisfaction. - And by the way, I was watching through the droid's sensors.
Toshi smiled contentedly - the coveted title of master was getting closer and closer, and such an uncommon student was a perfect way to get noticed. At least the Master was paying Skywalker a fair amount of attention as an interesting phenomenon.
- Magister, tell me, is the ability in forging... I've noticed that compared to everyone else, Hennia has it on an intuitive level...?
- Hennia? - The Magister raised an eyebrow, but nodded when he realised who he was talking about. - Yes, her forging abilities are phenomenal. Although I can hardly imagine how they can be used in battle, he is invaluable as a technician.
- You're not going to-" Toshi started to say, but the Master interrupted her:
- No, Tosi, I'm not going to turn your student into a technician. Of course, we have a shortage of technicians, but not so much that we should waste one of the most promising students on such a trifle. Though the Order may need his help in creating some very precise equipment.
- On another matter. Henya has asked to see the Order's armoury, to see the different forms of weaponry.
- He has a right to visit the armoury. We would take something original from there.
- That won't be necessary. I'm not a master at waving something exotic, and Hennia only uses a standard sword.
- So be it," the magister nodded. - In any case, he can enter the armoury whenever he wants. Shall we test his skills? - The Master asked with interest.
- Isn't it dangerous? Henya has learnt, of course, but there have been cases when he accidentally killed sharks instead of stunned them.
- Killed? How much force should be put into the stun to kill?
- A lot, Master. Hennia has a lot of power.
- That's what we've learnt. What's he like with swords?
- Juyo and ataru suit him well. He can match an average master in speed and strength. When combined with the other elements, it makes for an extremely dangerous style.
- Let's see that dangerous style," the Master smiled into his cup. - The day after tomorrow, at noon, in the main hall. Let's see what your disciple is worth.
- Are you going to test him personally? - Toshi asked.
- Of course. Apart from the two of us, no one knows about him and his abilities. The others know that there is a newcomer in the Order, but I don't publicise his case for obvious reasons. Any other questions?
- No, sir!
- I do," the Master smiled slyly. - He didn't molest you?
- No," Toshi replied in surprise. - What are you talking about?
- You know what I mean. The idea struck me as odd - letting a teenager and a young, beautiful woman go off together, into the forest, for a whole year... especially considering that it's for training in a style that requires an emotional attitude.
- Henya is not like that!
- You're going to tell me what he's like. I have three sons, I know better than to know what teenagers are like at his age. Especially at his age. Are you sure nothing happened? - Master asked sternly, listening to Toshi's strength.
- That's right. Nothing that violates the rules of the Order has happened between us! - Toshi declared. Inwardly, of course, she shrank, as she realised what had happened between them. And breaking the rules of the Order threatened her with a deferment of the next rank, but her own tribesmen would expel her and take away the name of the clan for this very serious offence. The Magister changed from anger to mercy, not noticing anything beyond mere excitement. To his subconscious and his own power, the existence of a relationship, or rather a relationship, was no more than a disputed assertion based on circumstantial evidence, not a proven fact, for neither Toshi nor Anakin remembered it. And we can argue about whether or not it did or didn't happen for a long time....
- You can go. How you spend your time is up to you," Lex let Toshi go and opened Anakin's file to make additions. He paused before filling in the fencing skills column and decided to continue filling out the file only after the exam. He wanted to see for himself that Toshi had not failed.
Toshi, having just left the office, decided that tomorrow she would make the most of the day and make her student spar with mentors and knights. The level of most of the Order's mentors was no match for her apprentice and even less useful in honing her juyo skills. Master Lex favoured the second form of combat, not sparing techniques from other forms, so Toshi decided to turn first to an adept of that style. Good thing she knew someone who was familiar with it....
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