AN – I originally published this little vignette on under my Star Wars alias, Jedi Linewalker. Its the story of a padawan, and her master, Mace Windu, on a fateful mission that taught her a valuable lesson in alternative diplomacy. Please read, review, and tell me what you think!
It was a day like any other day. The sun shone brightly on Coruscant, and the Temple was alive, even early in the morning, with activity. The various birds and other flying animal species on the planet, what few there were, flew overhead now and again, as Master Windu and I trained in the lightsaber arena. I was twenty-three then, nearing the time I'd be ready for the trials, but not quite there yet…though I had other thoughts at the time.
My arm stung from where Master Windu had struck me with the sparring lightsaber. It wouldn't cut, of course, but it would sting like hell, and remind me to keep my guard up. I could feel the fingers of my left hand going numb from where his masterful "cut" would have relieved me of my arm from mid bicep. Though I had made considerable progress at harnessing my natural Corellian cockiness and temper over the years as Mace's padawan, I still was angry with myself for leaving myself so open for the attack.
Master Windu sensed this, and stopped, the sparring lightsaber humming softly in the morning air, shaking his head. "Let go of your anger and impatience, Jenda. Those will only drag you down, tempt you to the Dark Side." He reached out and massaged my arm slowly for a minute, garnering a curious look from me, but it did stop hurting nearly as bad, and I was grateful, offering a smile as he did so.
His lightsaber came back up to the ready position, and he fixed his gaze on mine. "Now then," he said slowly, "stop trying to cut me and cut me!" His saber leaped at me out of nowhere. I'd heard other padawans saying that Master Windu may not be the strongest or the fastest Jedi, but none could surpass him in fighting prowess. Even Master Yoda only rivaled my Master with the blade. After having been his padawan since I was twelve, I could definitely attest to that statement, without question.
I tried to let go, as he'd taught me, to use my ability to feel the living Force to assume the state called Battlemind, and achieve clarity of vision and reaction in combat. The minor defeat in being cut, yet again, by my Master's practice blade held me back. Somehow, though, I managed to flow with Master Windu's attack, and keep my ground, while my blade moved his aside. My feet moved as if I were almost floating, and my actions seemed slowed down, as if under water.
My dark skinned Master smiled and nodded, changing directions yet again, a flurry of strikes this time, arcing and sizzling against my blade as I somehow found them all with my own lightsaber and deflected them. As if in a dream, I bobbed and weaved and moved around, deflecting his attacks, which were incredibly fast and strong, and with the dreamlike quality of slow motion, I saw my sparring blade strike at his right hip and cut to his left shoulder.
As I stated earlier, a sparring lightsaber isn't strong enough to actually cut, nor is it designed to, but being struck by one will give you a small shock and will sting badly for awhile. If you get struck in the chest with it hard enough, it has been known to actually cause your breathing to stop for a few seconds, which can be terrifying.
I'd just "sliced" across Master Windu's entire torso, from hip to shoulder, putting enough charge into him to probably make a nexu's hair stand on end for a couple of hours. He stumbled backwards a step, but retained his grip on his lightsaber. The look on his face was pure surprise and shock…and then morphed into a smile.
He grasped my shoulder fondly and shook it gently, coughing a moment, trying to get his voice back. Finally, he made it. "Jenda, excellent!" he exclaimed, genuine affection in his voice. "You're the first student of my fighting form that's ever managed to strike me so completely. I'm very proud of you."
Relief flooded my body when I heard him speak and knew he was all right. We extinguished our blades and put them away, unable to do much more than laugh for a few minutes, and then we heard footsteps, very light, approaching. Glancing up, I saw the fatherly face of Master Keiran Rann approaching us. He looked stern, not exactly grim, so that meant something wasn't quite right. Master Rann was normally a man with a friendly expression.
His somewhat gravelly voice carried easily to us, despite the fact that he spoke quietly, and his odd accent, common on his homeworld, rang through it. "Pardon my intrusion," he said with an apologetic half smile. "The Council needs to speak with you as soon as you're able to get to the Council chambers." He paused a moment, and looked at me, then he looked back towards Master Windu. "It will involve your padawan as well, Mace."
Master thanked him for the message and with me in tow, proceeded to the Council chamber, across the Jedi Temple compound. My mind was awhirl, thoughts of what could be happening, why would it involve me, did I do something wrong, and other things raced through my mind. Little did I know just how momentous this meeting would become in my young career.
The meeting didn't last very long. Master Yoda did most of the speaking. It seems there'd been a "disturbance" out on Tanaab. A group of nomadic mercenaries, for want of a better term, called Gank killers, had tried to extort the planetary government. Our directive was to go to Tanaab and resolve the situation. Preferably by obtaining the Ganks' surrender, with no casualties, and possibly negotiate something far more peaceful and better for everyone.
We got transport to Tanaab easily enough. The mission seemed off to a good start. Along the way, Master instructed me in a few of the finer points of his combat style, and made sure I was fresh minded about diplomacy and negotiation. He did tell me, though, that I should always be prepared for "aggressive negotiations," and that I should always be aware of the good use of "judicious intimidation." I asked him what he meant by the last, and he simply laughed.
Time passed quickly and soon, we were speaking with the Tanaabian government about their problem. We were informed that the Ganks were a ruthless group, with hundreds of them over the entire planet, perhaps more, and they were all heavily armed with powerful blasters. If they managed to take over a few more key locations, they'd control the planet, despite their far fewer numbers, in comparison to the Tanaabians.
Master Windu was confident we could achieve our goal and do so without issue. I, I'm ashamed to say, didn't share his optimism at that point. Everything pointed to the Ganks being bloodthirsty killers that cared for nothing and no one but themselves and what they wanted. Yet, he felt that we wouldn't have to destroy any of them.
"Trust in the Force to guide you, Jenda," he told me quietly as we moved slowly up the embankment towards an installation where the Ganks had vehicles and weapons under their control. "The Force is your ally. Let it aid you. Soon, you will feel its influence without trying."
"Yes, Master," I responded automatically, but not out of blind following. I truly heard and heeded his words. "I will do my utmost to do as you say."
He chuckled just as we reached the ventilation shaft, and spoke quietly. "You either will, or you won't. There is no in between," he said cryptically, and then slid into the shaft. I followed close behind, making sure my lightsaber was ready at hand, just in case.
We landed on the floor of a garrison hangar. There were a couple of speeders, and some equipment in it, but it was largely empty. Mace looked around and seemed sure there was no one around. "Go find the quartermaster's office," he told me quietly. "Disable all the hangar doors and the power reactor. That should get their attention, so we can talk."
"Yes, Master," I answered quietly. I slipped off from the chamber into the corridor beyond the door. The hangar's heavy blast doors were already closed, but we wanted to make sure they couldn't be opened. I moved quickly and quietly, and eventually found the right office, after two unsuccessful attempts.
Entering the quartermaster's office, I searched vainly for a couple of moments for the right set of controls before finally finding them. During one of my attempts, I must have triggered a silent alarm or something, because suddenly, I heard thunderous footsteps, moving quickly.
Alarmed, I forced myself to calm down. Master Windu had confidence, and I must follow his lead. I slipped from the office and made my way stealthily back to the hangar. Just as I came within sight, a noise rang up that made my heart leap into my throat. I heard perhaps fifty blaster power packs being slapped into place, as one.
Looking down the short hall that serviced the hangar, I could see Master Windu, standing in the center of the hangar floor, surrounded by the heavily armored and armed Gank killers. The leader sneered at Master, and demanded, "Give it up, Baldy. You're surrounded and definitely outgunned. If you play nice, we just might let you live."
They hadn't seen me yet, or simply didn't care. Whichever way it was, it was a moot point at this time. Master Windu said nothing. He simply pulled his robe back into a place where it'd be easier to fight, and looked each and every Gank killer in the eye, slowly turning a full circle. He didn't miss a one.
I've seen Master Windu's eyes and face when he's fully in Battlemind, and prepared to fight. It's not a sight I'd like to be on the opposite side of. The man's presence is uncanny when its time to draw lightsabers, or whatever weapon you're holding. That cold stare can unnerve a raging Wookiee, I believe.
He finally completed his circle of stare downs and his eyes were flashing with that look I knew so very well. Without a word still, which seemed to surprise the Ganks, he slowly reached and put his hand on his lightsaber. Instantly, every Gank's weapon was aimed at him alertly and ready to fire. He never unhooked it from his belt, or ignited it. He simply laid his hand on it, and looked them all over again once more, hand on it, then said, quietly and calmly, "It's your decision."
You could have heard a micro fastener drop in the dead silence that ensued after that. They still hadn't noticed me, and they hadn't fired on Master. I didn't know what to think. Master Windu had told me to trust in the Force, and that's what I was doing, but I admit it was very hard.
However, the harder thing to believe was what happened next. One by one, the Gank killers looked at Master Windu, and looked at each other, then slowly laid their weapons down on the floor, and surrendered to the Jedi Master before them. Not a word was spoken, not a sound was made.
After Master Windu received all of their surrenders, he marched them back to the governmental housing, with me in tow, of course. He presented them to the governing body of Tanaab, and established negotiations. It took perhaps two days, but the Gank leader was the leader of that group, by some twist of fate, and the rest of his men took his lead.
When it was all over, Master Windu and I boarded our transport and began the way back to Coruscant. We spoke at length about different things, and what happened. He chuckled softly, though, when speaking of the Gank killers. "That, Jenda," he said, "is judicious intimidation." Finally, I understood.