Broken code
Laika knew she was an odd girl. She was unusually lanky, was always hunched over with her knees bent, head down and always held her hands in front of her, never to the side or behind.
She could never explain why she was like this to the other padawan's, she just was and there was no greater reason. None of them would ever get an answer from her, she was how she was, and she wasn't going to justify that to anyone.
Still it had gotten to the point that most of the younger Jedi's didn't think she could talk. (this tends to happen when you talk to yourself more than other people) Combined that with her scraggly grey hair and sickly skin many believed she was older than she actually was, it was often met with shock when she revealed herself to be fourteen.
Still she was as worthy to stand among their ranks as any other Jedi, she might be odd, but she wasn't hopeless… even if she felt like that right now.
She'd felt something calling her here and her master had seamed surprisingly unsurprised, taking her to an entrance and giving her a box of stuff, telling her to open it when she had found what she was looking for… Failing to mention what it was and being generally unhelpful; not that that was unusual.
Admittedly now she sat in the strange temples centre and discovered what was calling her that it made sense, sitting in front of her was a Kyber Crystal and it was pissing her off.
It was a dull lump of yellow and rather large. So large in fact (about five centimetres across) that she wasn't sure how she was supposed to fit it into a lightsabre hilt.
Around her was the opened box (Which had been full of saber parts) and none of them were helping.
She arranged them in as many ways as she could think of and so far, all she'd done was waste her time. Half a dozen shattered hilts lay scattered across the floor, one of which sparked and buzzed loudly about a second before she could get back into her meditation.
One with the Force, be one with the…
BBZZZZZTISKSSS!
"FUCK!" Laika screamed, throwing her arms into the air and sending her latest attempt flying. Standing up she turned around and slammed her head repeatedly into the nearest wall.
"Why!" Thwak! "Isn't!" Thwak! "This!" Thwak! "Working!" Thwak!
Rubbing her head, she stood away from the wall and went to sit back down again. Her master always told her any problem could be solved if you approached it calmly, rationally and used the force as a guide.
Sadly, the Force had never been super clear with her, it would listen to her and she was great at floating things, but it never seamed to warn her of anything and in this case: Failed to alert her that one of the hilts she'd made was currently lying underfoot. As such she then proceeded to slip up on it and fell on her ass in a rather undignified manor.
"Fucking dammit!" She screamed! Forcing herself upright she looked at the boxes. Proceeding to kick the box of parts and send its contents scattering, before looking down at her overly large Kyber crystal.
She pulled the offending rock up into her hands, looking down at the stupid lump of crystal.
Why are you so difficult!?
Angrily she threw the Krystal across the room, hoping the stupid thing would disappear and be lost forever. Unsurprisingly the somewhat magical Force rock didn't break, it just bounced.
"ARGH!" Laika cried, grabbing her head and pulling on a clump of her overly long hair and pulling on it.
She span around and kicked the wall, promptly regretting that decision as she fell over and clutched her throbbing foot.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She hissed as she lay on her side.
She knew full well her Master would be pissed at her for using such language. Funny seeing as the man never shut up about controlling your emotions and not giving into rage.
Actually, that was one of the main reasons she didn't like the man. Jedi Master Leon was many things to many people and she could easily say she didn't care what they thought, the man was a hypocritical pain in her ass, always.
It was just a simple fact that neither really liked the other and Laika knew full well that the only reason she'd been stuck with him was that the council hoped his stubbornness might be enough to counter hers.
It had not.
Laika's knew what the problem was, it had been repeated at her so many times over the years: 'You Don't respect the code' And this was right, she really didn't respect the code and there was a reason for that: 'The code has never given me any reason to respect it'
She really didn't get the code, no matter how many times it was 'explained to her' it continued to be gibberish.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
Yes, that's why I still feel them and get pissed off every time I hear this stupid thing chanted at me.
There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge.
Well clearly whoever wrote this has never gone to a bar and had some drunken idiot pull a blaster on them… Twice. With the same person.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
Someone really ought to tell that to Sha and Krita then… after prizing them apart with a crowbar.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
Again, head down to that bar on any given day, that story just didn't fly down there, especially when the pod racing was on.
There is no death, there is the Force.
Tell that to literally anyone who'd been on the receiving end of a lightsabre.
Ultimately her problems boiled down to this; the Code acted like Jedi were not what they were and that was bullshit. Laika, despite what her master said; Did pay attention and what her observations had taught her was this: The Jedi order had just as many fuck ups as any other group of people.
Some were kind, some were decent, and some were just crappy people through and through. It sucked but it was the truth and trying to deny that fact wasn't doing any good to anyone. They just weren't the peaceful all-knowing group they wanted to be, never were and never could be.
Not that she ever bothered to voice this opinion, she knew they'd never listen. That was her other problem with the Jedi order, it was stuck so far up its own ass she was doubtful anyone could ever retrieve it without a centuries long expedition.
They would never admit they were wrong, they were always sure the Force would guide them and that they could trust their feelings. Which was funny to her as they actively tried to repress their feelings to be more at peace and talk to the force.
She sighed as she walked over to where she had tossed her crystal, picking it up and returning to the centre of the room. Leon's instructions in her head again. Which she promptly ignored, she knew what she was going to do.
"I don't like you." She said simply, looking down at the rock. "I really, really don't like you, I mean, you're too big, I don't really like the colour and you're making it extremely hard to do my one frigging task, I've lost track of how long I've been in here for and all I know is that its far to long for it to be healthy. You're a dumb rock and I really fucking hate you."
The rock said nothing back.
"Seriously why the hell are you so big!? I mean, look at you, you're fucking huge! No saber could house a crystal that big! Are you seriously telling me that you expect me to do this!? Do you want me to fail!?" She yelled, looking down at the rock as something suddenly hit her.
"Did, did you want me to fail?" She asked nervously, looking down at the rock, which being a rock didn't respond.
"I, did you want me to fail? Is that why I'm here? To be told I shouldn't be here?" She asked nervously, looking down at the rock.
It sat there, doing nothing, it's dull yellow shine reflecting up at her.
She sat down, looking at all her attempts, was this all just a way of fucking with her?
"No." She decided, looking down at the rock. "No, you haven't got me yet!" She declared, looking down at the rock in front of her, pulling it to her hand. "You aren't getting me, you are not getting me. I may not like everything they do but I'm a fucking Jedi! You hear me!? I've been training for years and I'm not giving up here! Now come on!" She declared triumphantly, looking down at the rock, which failed to do anything helpful still.
"FUCKING FUCK!" She screamed, pulling the rock closer and staring at the thing with burning hatred. "Fuck you, you stupid heap of magical fuck!"
It was funny, the Force had never worked with her the way it was supposed to; she never really felt it flow, she could use it and it would listen to her if she asked it to, but this time was the first time the Force seemed to flow through her easily and happily as she gripped the crystal; digging deeper into the crystal and gripping it as tight as she could.
She wanted nothing more than to dismember the rock, letting the power flow through her she ripped the rock apart, shattering it into shards that flew of in random directions.
Panting she looked around at the ground, wondering what happened.
She was happy, she'd shown that crystal what for, being all big and stupid and… Now…
"ARGHHH!" She cried, she'd fucked up, she was meant to build a saber with crystal, not break it!
"What am I going to do!?" She asked, looking down at the ground in worry as she floated up one of the shards. Noticing something was now different; it's dull yellow colouring had changed slightly, now it was a distinctly more vibrant shade of orange…
"What the hell? And what does it matter!? What am I going to do, I can't make a saber with this!"
Why not?
That wasn't her, she didn't think that! Did she? she didn't know where the thought had come from and…
"Could I?" Laika asked, looking down at the shard she was holding and one of her failed hilts. Carefully she raised the hilt, slowly unscrewing and disassembling her past work, carefully slipping the smaller crystal into place.
"Hope this works…" She muttered quietly, igniting the blade.
She gasped as the Orange beam surged to life in front of her, pulsating and rippling around the edges. This wasn't normal, had she done something wrong? Did it matter?
Carefully she moved to one of the rooms pillars and gently pressed the saber into it.
Well it cut like it was supposed to, but how would it react to another saber, could she find out?
It was then that she looked down at the ground, she had more shards and she hadn't been given a limit on the parts she could use…
Grinning slightly, she retrieved another broken hilt and began to work on her second saber.
…
"You have been gone a while." Master Leon said as she walked out of the temple. "Were you successful at your task?"
Laika nodded, reaching to her belt and retrieving the saber.
"Let me see it." He snapped instantly, snatching the blade and scrutinizing the hilt, his eyes seaming to focus on the scratched exterior from when she had initially discarded the handle.
"Turn it on." He said, throwing the blade back to Laika, not even attempting to aim it at her as she pulled it back to her and turned it on.
Leon's reaction was…. Well other than proving Jedi did indeed feel emotion as he backed off in a panic.
"That, that… is that the crystal as you were given it?" He asked nervously.
Laika didn't like the way he asked that, she could stand him being rude (that was basically the norm for the man depressingly) but, was he accusing her? and why was he so scared?
Before she could answer however she was interrupted.
"Leon you will not believe what I, Oh Young Laika you're finished!" A new voice said. Another Jedi was walking towards them, a cooler full of meat being dragged behind him.
"Master." Laika forced out, unable to look at him directly and wishing her spine would straighten up instead of staying hunched over, why was she standing like this? what was wrong with leaving her arms at her side?
"No need for such formality's Padawan." He said with a warm smile as he sat down next to her. "Come, you've earned something to eat, you've been in for over a day now."
I have?
Laika eagerly moved over to the cooler before Leon said.
"Master Kayaba, have you not noticed something wrong with her saber?" He said, pointing towards the blade.
Looking intrigued Kayaba turned to Laika expectantly, who somewhat nervously ignited her blade, letting the orange glow flow from the hilt.
"Orange…?" Kayaba asked curiously, walking closer. "May I ask? Are they all like this?"
Laika nodded and began to reach for the others when Leon called:
"What do you mean 'all like this?'" He asked, looking at her with a disgruntled look.
"Can you not tell?" He asked as Laika reached with the force and freed the saber's she'd built with the other shards.
All eight of them.
"What!?" Leon gasped in alarm.
"Impressive, to make so many blades in such sort time, you must be very proud." Kayaba said as he looked at the Padawan, who forced out a nod. She couldn't say she was honestly, she just did what felt right to her, was that all it took to impress a Master Jedi?
"Well, can we see them turned on?" He asked, smiling at her as she activated the blades one at a time, a row of Orange sabers floating behind her.
"Interesting." Kayaba commented. "Nine fully functional sabers with dodgy crystals, I must say that's impressive for one so young."
"It is?" She asked in such a small voice she was sure he hadn't heard her.
"Yes, and your control of them, the force flows through you." Kayaba said with a grin as he put a hand Leon's shoulder.
"Master… Are you not concerned that maybe she is letting too much of the Force flow through her?" Leon asked.
"No, after all, a great teacher like you would hardly let that happen to one of his students." He said with what Laika was sure was a slight smirk.
"I, well… are you sure this is okay?" Leon slowly asked.
"Oh, come on Leon, I know you take the rules seriously, but I don't think you need to worry about her creating nine blades even if the brief was only to make one." Kayaba said, definitely smirking this time.
"I, we should return to the temple, I'm sure the Counsel would like to see this." Leon eventually said, gesturing for Laika to follow.
"Oh, come on, she's only just gotten out of the temple, let her at least eat something before you go." Kayaba said, gesturing towards the fire he'd lit and was currently roasting meat over.
"I… Laika, watch the food; Kayaba I would like a word with you…"
"Oh, come on, surely you can have a talk with your Padawan around? It can't be that bad." Kayaba responded, looking up at Leon.
"I, I believe it would be better to talk about this alone…" Leon eventually said after a few seconds of thought.
"Uuuurrrrrhhh…" Kayaba sighed, a distinct tone that implied 'I am so sick of this man's shit' (Although Laika was convinced that was just her misreading his expression) " …Very well, Laika I'm sorry, can you watch the food?" Kayaba asked as Laika responded with a simple nod as she took his spot near the bonfire, not actually sitting down, just remaining standing in a squat pose without actually putting her butt on the ground.
As she was waiting for the two masters to come back (One Master and a Knight if you wanted to be precise) Her communicator suddenly lit up, it was transmitting and by the sounds of it she wasn't supposed to have hear any of it.
"Master how could you be so blind!" Leon's voice called, a note of frustration in his voice. "Her sabers…"
"Are an unusual colour." Kayaba retorted. "That is no crime."
"She infected those blades with the Dark side!" Leon cried.
"Yes, truly she is the next Darth Raven, what with her near none existent force corruption and perfect control over her blades, truly we should be cowering in fear." Kayaba shot back in a tone that implied he was rolling his eyes as he spoke.
Laika couldn't believe this, was a Jedi master on her side?
"But!" Leon shot back before she heard actual anger in Kayaba's voice, something she'd never truly heard in a Jedi masters voice, why was this shown to her?
"No! Since day one you have feared this 'Darkness' you see in her." Kayaba shot back, his voice drowning out Leon's protests.
Laika froze, they saw darknness in her? Was she, did that mean? Could she? No, no it couldn't be…
"For gods sake man, you're a powerful Jedi but you're wasting your time, and by the looks of things have been for the time you've been training the girl!" Kayaba snapped before Leon tried again to protest.
"Master I promise you I have been trying my hardest to swerve the girl away from the Dark side…" Leon began to say in a desperate effort to defend himself before Kayaba yelled back louder.
"Then you failed. Badly I might add." He explained brutally. "If she had achieved balance those blades wouldn't have happened. Orange blades are made with Dark Side corrupted Kyber Crystals. The Dark side comes from anger and for someone who never interacts with other people that anger could have only come from one person."
"Master!" Leon cried out. "I couldn't have, I have been teaching her everything I could and she just won't listen and has failed to learn anything…"
"And yet the girl can control nine lightsabers easily, yes clearly she has failed to learn anything." Kayaba growled before letting out a loud sigh. "Listen Leon, you're a skilled Jedi Knight and I truly believe you could be a great teacher, I do not however think that Laika was a good choice for your first." Kayaba explained gently. "I advised the council against this decision; but they had decided and there wasn't anything I could do."
"But, her sabers… I couldn't have, mine are uncorrupted…"
"Oh, for goodness sake man!" Kayaba cried, the tone implying he wanted to grab the other Jedi and shake him. "Stop focusing on the colour of her sabers!"
"But they are evidence that she is falling to the dark side!"
"No, it isn't." Kayaba shot back. "All it shows is that she's human and felt a burst of anger, this clearly wasn't intentional on her part."
"And how can you prove this!?"
"Simple, if she had actively forced the Dark Side into those crystals then her blades would be Red, all Orange shows is that she let it pass though her while she was working, it's not a crime to be angry especially with such negligent results."
"But…!"
"She's a human, emotions are a part of her, and given the way you've been talking about her I think I am right about where the anger comes from." Kayaba sighed. "Listen, just try and do better with the girl, she has heard all of this talk and I would really…"
"What!?" Leon cried in shock, his voice getting so high and loud the communicators speakers mangled it when Laika heard it.
"Our communicators have been broadcasting this entire talk, I never believe it is a good idea to leave Padawans out of talks about themselves." Kayaba said as he walked back towards the bonfire, smiling at Laika slightly. "Sorry you had to hear that, while his fears are mostly unfounded it would be wise for you to discuss your sabers with the council, they will be worried and shooting down their fears early will do you a world of good." He explained as he pulled one of the strips of meat off the fire and took a bite out of it.
"…He said he felt a…" Laika began to ask, so quietly she was amazed he actually heard enough to cut her off early.
"He felt anger in you, that in its own right doesn't mean much." Kayaba explained simply.
"But, anger leads to hate and…"
"Hate leads to suffering, I know. In all honesty I would say to some extent you are suffering with his way of teaching. However, here is the detail that matters and is often overlooked in matters like this: you are not letting it dictate your actions." He smiled at her as he said that. "The Sith are just people letting hatred and anger control them, doing what they want because they want it with no concerned for others, tell me Laika would you ever attempt to kill your master?"
"…No…" Again it was quite, but only slightly so this time.
"Well there you go then." Kayaba said with a smile. "You have nothing to fear, the Dark side is only dangerous if it has total control over you and it clearly doesn't."
"But, my sabers…" She muttered, loud enough that Kayaba didn't have to struggle to hear what she was saying at last. "The Crystal, it was yellow, I made it turn…"
"You are falling into the same trap most masters do. Stop only thinking about what happened, think about Why what happened, happened." He said simply. "Did you jump straight to anger, or was it something you tried after the traditional methods didn't work?"
"I… The crystal, it was too big; I couldn't fit it in and I got frustrated, I wanted to rip the thing apart, I wanted it to stop getting in my way, I'm a Jedi, I want to be a Jedi and I wasn't going to let some dumb rock stop me…"
"Not a Sith?" Kayaba asked with a distinct smirk on his face.
"No!" Laika cried, her voice the loudest it had ever been in front of someone. To her shock Kayaba was laughing, eventually he got his laughter under control and said:
"Then you have nothing to fear. Now go get some sleep, I will keep watch here while I wait for my Padawan to finish her task." He said, gesturing towards her tent which sat a few feet away.
Nodding she stood up, her legs as usual keeping there usual bend in them, she set off, but then before she could stop herself she called out: "Thank you! For the talk and…"
And being the first person to listen…
"No problem, now get some sleep." He said, the smile still in place on his face as Laika curled up to sleep, another one of her habits.
…
It had been a week since Laika had constructed her Lightsabers and in that time she had barley seen her master. He had retreated to his quarters as soon as they got back to the temple and had asked her to hold off talking to the council until he was ready to talk to them. Happy to have an excuse putting that meeting off Laika had agreed and had been mostly been sat in the archives reading to pass the time.
She was never good at meditating, she needed something to do and books were her thing, even if the current entry wasn't helping her think straight at the moment.
"History of tha Sith? Why are yall reading that?" A voice asked from across the desk. Looking up Laika recognized Master Kayaba's Padawan who had come out of the temple just before the two had returned to the temple. The Twi'lek was called Kyla and her pristine blue Lightsaber had clearly annoyed Leon when she first showed it off.
"Because I'm interested." Laika responded simply, looking at the Twi'lek girl as if she was mad, why else would she be looking at this book? Did she really need to explain this?
"Yeah ah figured, what ah meant was why were yall interested." The girl explained as she flicked her blue tentacle over her shoulder to look at the other Padawan with interest.
"I.. I… Do you think it is possible for a Sith to use the lightside…?" Laika asked hesitantly.
"Ah don't follow." She said simply, looking at Laika with a certain degree of confusion in her eyes.
"I've been reading, the way this book talks about it; they are never presented as anything more than… well… Monsters… I can't find anything that says the Sith are anything more than monsters."
"Erm, Yeah; that's cause they are." Kyla said simply. "I mean my kind aren't sold as slaves for their health."
"I don't mean I think they are good people." Laika shot back with a hint of annoyance. "I am aware the Sith are monsters… I just… I wanted to know, was it possible for a Jedi to… it's stupid."
"Ah come on." Kyla said with a smile as she leant over the desk. "Don't leave a girl hanging like that!"
It was her dumb grin that convinced Laika to answer the question.
"Have you seen my saber?" She eventually asked, trying to find a way to explain what she meant without misleading the young Twi'lek.
"Yeah, it was that pretty orange." Kyla said with a smile. "Why is it important?"
"My crystal was yellow when I found it." Laika explained. "I got so angry when I was trying to make my sabers that I accidently let the Darkside enter them."
"So you're worried that yall might turn evil or something?" Kyla asked in confusion, apparently not getting her point at all.
"No, I want to know if it's ever possible that anyone acknowledge I was a Jedi who let even the smallest bit of the dark side in because the light didn't work, in case… in case someone else is like me…"
"Laika!" Leon suddenly called from the door, jolting she span around to look at her master. "Our meeting with the council starts soon, come we must go."
Laika nodded before sending another nod at Kyla, pushing herself of the bench and heading towards the door.
…
"This is… Unexpected." Jedi Master Torlone finally said, having finished his inspections of Laika's sabers.
"Yes I know." Leon quickly said. Was he trying to save his own neck again.
"Young one." Torlone interjected. "come here please."
Wishing for about the trillionth time in her life that her spine would straighten up she approached the master who carefully moved her fringe out of the way and took a look at her eyes.
"Hmm…"
"Master…?" Leon carefully asked after a minute or so of looking.
"Are you aware your Padawan has a slight yellow tint to her eyes?" Torlone asked, looking up and letting Laika's fringe fall back across her face.
"What!?" Leon cried in shock, looking at his student frantically.
"Yes she does, it's a small circle around her iris, did you really not notice? Because this is a very serious matter and I must ask why you have never noticed it? It is a serious indicator she had been letting the darkside into and frankly I find that a little alarming."
"…I didn't mean to…" Laika muttered, however unlike master Kayaba Torlone didn't seam to posses the same level of hearing… or just didn't want to respond.
"Sir I did not notice anything until her she constructed her lightsabers and…"
"You failed to notice this? Leon I am disappointed in you, the Jedi I trained…"
"I didn't notice any corruption because there wasn't any in her!" Leon blurted out, causing Torlone to freeze for a second before asking:
"Explain what you mean, your reports have not given any such impression."
"I know, and there is a reason for that. I do not believe my student has ever shown any dangerous dark side potential before, she might not have complete control of her emotions and powers; however, that is my failing as her teacher, not her own."
"What do you mean? Your teaching has been perfect as far as we can tell based on your reports…"
"Perfect for another, however; I do not believe I have been doing what is best for my student and as such the responsibility for her corrupted Saber's fall on me."
Torlone sat there in thought for a second before asking:
"Can you confirm nothing like this will happen to her again?" He evenatual said.
"No, but I will not let her fall, I know… she is a Jedi, not a Sith."
…
Laika was in shock as the two left the room, looking up in shock at her master, he'd supported her… but why?
"You want to know why I defended you?" He asked, looking down at his Padawan who nodded back as best as she could.
"Because Kayaba was right." He said simply, walking along. "I have been thinking hard the last week and could only conclude I have failed you. I am sorry, it was my job to train you and all I did was push you away…"
"I…" Laika began to say before he cut in.
"Don't, you did nothing wrong. I can foresee a great Jedi knight within you, all we need to do is figure out how to free her and if you are not the most conventional knight… then it doesn't matter. You will be great, I know you will."
"Master I…" Laika began.
"Don't, it doesn't matter. Come, we should be going, a friend of mine has requested help on a mission and your skills could come in handy." Leon said simply, leading her onwards.
It was strange, for the first time in a while Laika smiled under her tangled over long fringe, moving forwards with a small smile creeping onto her face.
"Oh, and about the question you proposed in the archives…" Leon said, causing Laika to jump, he'd heard that?
"Chances are the council will not preserve this information, the Dark side corrupts easily, and they wouldn't want anyone to be misled, they fear students wouldn't have the context to use it properly."
"They're scared?" Laika asked, unable to not see the irony in that statement.
"Yes, Darkside users can be dangerous and we would prefer to create as few as possible." Leon explained. "Someone with second hand knowledge on your teachings has a very real chance of mangling what you've learnt and corrupting students."
"…Oh…" Laika muttered, her spine slowly returning to its hunched position.
"Yes, it is a shame." Leon said sadly. "That is why you must try your hardest to become a Knight and pass on your teachings personally."
"What?" Laika asked, jolting up to look at her master. "I don't…"
"You will have your own Padawan someday, chances are if you have proven yourself as a great knight they will assign you a student. They will probably be like you are now and I only hope you can teach them better than I have you."
Laika stood there for a second, thinking hard before she eventually said:
"I'm not a Knight yet, you still have time."
Leon let a smile break across his face as the pair walked.
"Well then. My first lesson is this: Being late is the first step towards the dark side."
"…No, it's not…" Laika responded quietly.
"Let's not test that theory." Leon said with a smile as he lead her towards the hanger, Laika following behind, finally feeling like she might actually learn something from Master Leon; or at least she hoped so; she wanted a Padawan, she refused to be forgotten or possibly ruin other Jedi.
Along the way they passed Kayaba, who smiled at the pair as he walked, happy with what he had done for both of them.
He was a Jedi, that was the point of being one wasn't wasn't it? Helping those who needed it, even their own if they ever found themselves lost.
Those two weren't lost anymore.