The Jedi Adventure
--sparkvallen
All Star Wars characters are -of course- copyrighted to
Lucasfilm. I don't own them, in case you wondered. Other
"RL" folk are borrowed with permission!
Far beyond the Outer Rim stood the Unknown Regions… areas of space which had not been charted for a variety of reasons. From chaotic maws to spacers disliking the sheer emptiness where space was devoid of sentient life… the land beyond known space and Chiss territory was a mystery. There were pockets of sentients, solar systems whose sun did support life. So dramatically cut off from and far away from even the Outer Rim though, these lives were technologically backward and sociologically eons behind the known galaxy. Still, there was life. And there were Force users with untapped skill.
With that latter reality in mind, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker stared at a holomap of the known galaxy at the edge of the Outer Rim, comparing data against Chiss records he'd been able to procure on a previous mission to their homeworld. The blue-skinned, red-eyed Chiss had always been hostile toward the rest of the galaxy – humanoid and haughty with their self-described superiority, Luke was surprised he'd been able to obtain such data. He opted not to question his fortune in that area but instead focus on what the data told him as compared with his visions of the Unknown Regions. With eyes blurry from a lack of proper sleep, the sandy-haired Jedi Master walked through the holomap, tracing lines with his fingers as they pointed toward a particular system…
College Campus
"…no, to change this password, I need to see your student ID or your class registration and a photo ID," came Ebony's voice from her office.
Spark quirked her lip up in a knowing smile as she passed by Ebony's office and waved. It was another day in the trenches as the saying went. They both worked for a local university and both were involved with the computer accounts and daily access for the students. Ebony's work related to the accounts in particular while Spark sat in as the daily lab proctor. With it being the beginning of the term, they were both swamped and doing the best they could to remain sane and service-oriented.
Ebony nodded and smiled back at Spark as she passed by, then turned back to the student in front of her. Spark made her way to her desk which overlooked seventy or so computer stations. Signing in and punching in for her shift, she also quickly made contact with a long-distance friend, Sapharin, by computer. After exchanging their usual antics of greeting, Sapharin brought up one of her intuitions.
Just as Ebony and Spark were, Sapharin was highly intuitive and interested in developing a greater spiritual sense in her everyday life. While Ebony and Spark saw each other on a daily basis, they'd never met Sapharin face-to-face. Still, the connection between the three women was strong.
Sapharin: Something big is going to happen today… I feel it in my bones.
Spark: Big how?
Sapharin: Not sure yet… something though. I don't think it relates just to me either. Might have some involvement for you? Not sure. Be mindful today!
Spark: I will… man, it's swamped here already…
Sapharin: hugs to you and Ebony
Spark: Thanks…
Sapharin: brb – someone's at the door
Spark: kk
Sapharin's Apartment
Standing up from her seat at the computer, Sapharin turned and walked over to the front door. She ran through a mental list of possible people who'd be paying her a visit… and came up blank. Who would be at my door right now? she wondered. With a shrug, she stood on tip-toe and looked through the peep hole. The man on the opposite side of the door was unfamiliar but instinctively, she felt no danger in opening the door to greet the gentleman.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"Sapharin?" Taller than Sapharin by over a foot and light-skinned with a dark brown beard and hair, the man radiated calm and compassion from every pore and how he'd asked her identity.
She felt nothing odd at the stranger knowing her name for some reason. "I am Sapharin, yes. You are…?"
"My name is Corran Horn. I've come to speak with you about something important. May I come in?"
Sapharin's first thought was of her family – had something gone wrong? Corran noted the lines on Saph's brow from momentary stress and was quick to speak.
"There's nothing wrong, Sapharin. It is an important matter but not one of harm."
"How did you--?" she started to ask.
"That is what I wish to speak to you about, as a matter of fact," Corran replied.
With an inward shrug, guided by her own instincts, Saph let Corran in and had him sit down on the sofa. She was a gracious hostess, offering the stranger some of her coffee which he referred to –curiously- as stimcaf. She didn't know that word but shrugged it off, eager to here what this Corran had to say.
College Campus
At the very same moment that Saph was welcoming Corran Horn into her apartment, a similarly drab garbed man approached Spark at her desk. He was sandy-haired and by Spark's estimate, several years older than her. She fully expected him to be a returning student or a grad student coming to inquire how to use the lab, based on experience as a proctor.
"Hello. I'm looking to speak to a Spark and an Ebony. Do you know if they're working today?" he asked politely.
Spark cocked her head to the side, studying him more closely. Not a student then – they'd ask for Ebony, but not me… who is he then?
"I'm Spark. Ebony is tied up with students right now—" That was no lie; she could hear Ebony down the hall and knew that she'd sent people down to her office. "—what can I help you with?"
As the man turned to survey the lab, Spark realized she saw a particular item on his belt that she'd never thought she could ever truly see. Her eyes widened as she looked back up at him with dawning recognition. This has to be a joke. It has to be!
"It would be better if we could speak in private," he said, looking back at Spark. He saw her astonished expression and paused.
"You're Luke Skywalker, aren't you?" she barely whispered.
With his nod, Spark ran around her desk and down the hall to pull Ebony from her office.
Sapharin's Apartment
About the same time that Spark was realizing she was speaking to Luke Skywalker, Sapharin's mind was reeling with the dawning awareness that she too was speaking to a real Jedi. It took everything in her not to start dancing around. Or faint. Or both. The more Corran had explained who he was, why he was there and the details of his mission, the more Saph thought she must be dreaming.
"This is no dream," Corran said sagely, again glimpsing her thoughts. "You broadcast pretty loudly, you know that?"
"So I've been told," she answered wryly. "Now… forgive me for thinking this is all too good to be true, but… why me? Why are you here, really?"
With the patience of years as a Jedi Knight, Corran locked his gaze on Sapharin's dark brown eyes. "Sapharin… there are many of us on this mission, stopping in at particular locations across your world and making contact with potential Jedi. You are one among many who are being contacted. I'm surprised you would ask why you in particular though," he said. "From what I sense of you, your talents are recognized and semi-developed. You know who and what you are."
"Yes, but—"
"We know there are others," Corran repeated. "And they're being spoken to at the same time."
Giddy with anticipation and curiosity, she asked, "But what do you want?"
College Campus
It had taken a bit of work to extract Ebony from her desk and her duties. Where it was easy for Spark to simply put up her "on break" sign, Ebony had to arrange for the students who waited in line. After a few minutes of speaking with her office colleagues and shifting the line of students one door down, Ebony, Spark and Luke made their way outdoors. Ebony led their small party down to the pond on the campus where picnic tables and benches provided a place to sit.
All Ebony could think of was her comments to Spark's interest in the fictional Jedi and the Force: I'm not into Star Wars, but I believe in energy. She felt a little dumbstruck too that fiction could be truly reality in more ways than she'd ever considered. Ebony had many questions related to just that that she hoped to ask.
"This must be a great surprise to you both," Skywalker began, looking from Ebony to Spark. "From what we have already learned, your world seems to be aware of the Jedi Knights and the New Republic… even though to you, we are but fiction."
Spark shook her head in amazement. "How is that? Do you know?"
"No… the fact that we'd exist in your media and fiction is astonishing though. I can only say that the Force works in mysterious ways. Perhaps you were being prepared for our eventual arrival," Luke suggested.
Spark and Ebony exchanged knowing glances.
Luke continued, "We have come—"
"We?" Ebony interrupted.
"Ah, sorry. We refers to the team of Jedi I'd hand-picked to make the long journey to your system and planet in the hopes of seeking out those with the potential to become Jedi themselves. While I am speaking with you, there are a handful of Knights across your planet who are also in conversation with other likely candidates."
Spark's jaw dropped, thinking of the various intuitive people she knew either in person or by virtue of technology that could qualify as "candidates."
"These candidates… we're hoping will be willing to uproot the lives they've known and travel with us to Yavin IV, the home of our Jedi Academy—"
"Where you set up shop in one of the Massassi Temples. We… well, I know that much," Spark interrupted, speaking quickly. She'd just been reading of this reality in paperback! "Are you serious!"
Sapharin's Apartment
"We wouldn't be here if we weren't serious, trust me," Corran replied, thinking of the weeks long journey they'd all endured aboard the transport. Charting the path by their Force senses alone had been difficult and demanding.
"I… alright. You're saying you want me to pick up my life and become an actual Jedi?" Sapharin could hardly believe her ears. This was what she and so many others had always dreamed but she'd never imagined that it could ever be reality!
"That's right."
Saph's mind was whirling with possibilities. To be free of this apartment… to have a fresh start as the person she'd always dreamed of being…
"What about our family here?" she asked.
Corran's expression was guarded. "For now, you'd have to go alone. That was the one fallback in this mission – the transport we needed in order to navigate such chaotic space is only large enough to contain the Jedi hopefuls and our own team… Just a moment."
From his belt, Corran produced what he explained to Saph was a comlink, a sort of walkie-talkie.
"Master Skywalker… Luke, it's Corran. I'm with Sapharin and have a question for you."
Saph barely heard the exchange when she heard Corran address Luke Skywalker. Her blood was pounding so loudly in her ears, she thought she was deaf from shock!
Corran looked back to Sapharin. "Master Skywalker says that if your family will also choose to relocate to known space, they will be given that option and opportunity once we've arrived on Yavin IV. It's a trickier situation because of the space lanes and the need for focus as a Jedi Trainee, but accommodations will be made for family at a later time."
Sapharin nodded. "I'm… definitely going with you. But… I do need to speak to my family and let them know. You're not – you don't want me to jump immediately, do you?"
Corran shook his head. "No. We understand the shock that this is for all of you. This is a little different from finding Jedi candidates in known space where the reality of the Jedi Knights is… reality. I'll stop by tomorrow morning to speak with you again."
College Campus
After fully explaining the mission the Jedi were on, the opportunity and the drawbacks (where family was concerned), Luke also left Spark and Ebony the time to make their decision and choices. The two friends walked back toward the computer lab slowly, recovering from their initial shock.
"I'm doing this," Spark said confidently. "This has been my dream since childhood."
"This… sort of idea is amazing," Ebony admitted, "but do you really think you could leave behind everything here? Really?"
Spark made a face. "All my life, I've joked that I've waited for the Millenium Falcon to take me 'home.' This is that once-in-a-lifetime chance. To be the Jedi I've always said I am… I know this is different for you, Ebony, because you aren't into Star Wars and all of that like Saph and I have been. I… what are you thinking about this?"
Instead of answering directly, Ebony said, "I wonder if Saph was also one of their candidates?"
Spark nodded emphatically. "When Luke got that comlink transmission… I'm sure that's where the speaker was 'calling' from. I'd bet on it."
Ebony sighed, thinking. She knew how important this was to Spark and would be to Sapharin. "I have to think on this… and see where my intuition guides me," was all she could say.
Back in the lab, Spark bolted for her computer, eager to get in contact with Saph. She prayed that her instincts were right and that the man who'd spoken to Luke was indeed at Sapharin's apartment. She wouldn't have known how she could face her friend if Saph wasn't one of their chosen too!
Spark: You back?
Sapharin: in shock I'm here…
Spark: Are you in shock for the same reason I am?
Sapharin: I think so… the Jedi are real, Spark.
Spark: I know. Thank goodness you were contacted to.
Sapharin: What're you going to do?
Spark: What do you think? grin
Sapharin: Same as me then. Jedi Horn is coming back tomorrow morning to hear of my final decision.
Spark: Any doubts?
Sapharin: No… I just need to put things in order with my family.
Spark: Understood. LUKE is granting the same for me and Ebony.
Sapharin: faints Ebony too? Did she say yes?
Spark: She's thinking about it.
Sapharin: nods I hope she seizes this opportunity.
Spark: Me too. G2G for now – I'll see you on the transport off this rock, huh?
Sapharin: Can you believe this?
Spark: No… not one bit.
Spark and Ebony stood side-by-side. Each carried a single travel bag of clothing, small mementoes of home and toiletries; the morning after the first contact with the Jedi, the Knights had given them suggestions on what to pack. The two friends were filled with nervous energy as they stood behind Luke Skywalker at the transport. All around them were other small groups of Jedi hopefuls that had been contacted. Spark scanned the crowd, trying to see who she might recognize from her online adventures. She gasped and squealed with glee to see Sapharin standing behind a Jedi dressed in green robes. They waved to each other but knew that the face-to-face greeting would have to wait while Skywalker prepared to address the entire party. Spark continued to seek out familiar faces, and smiled with delight when she saw Falco Volt too.
A hush fell over the assembled grouping when they sensed an energy shift. Skywalker glanced around the circled group of Jedi Knights and hopefuls, a smile on his features.
"Greetings everyone. From what I've learned, you already know that I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master and leader of the Academy stationed on Yavin IV."
There was a smattering of cheers and applause.
"You also know why you are here, by now. Look around you. These are your fellow trainees; fellow Jedi apprentices who have decided to take a step into a much larger universe. I can imagine how exhilarating this must seem right now as you embark on a new journey… one that you never dreamt possible. It's important for you to remember that your skills to this point brought you here. Your interests in spirituality and… even fiction—" Luke winked at that truth, "—made your energy notable to us through the Force.
"This will be a challenge, a quest and not as simple as you might think. The trials of becoming a Jedi may be more difficult than you anticipate for all that you knew as fiction was not necessarily the reality we've lived. I wish you welcome and a congratulations as you begin your training. May the Force be with you."
A boulder could have dropped in front of Skywalker at that point and none of the Jedi hopefuls would have noticed. They stared and trembled in awe at the reality of what was happening in their lives. The Jedi Knights paused, allowing them to take in the moment then began individually providing instructions for how they'd all manage inside the relatively small transport for the journey back toward Yavin IV. Training would begin immediately with instruction in Jedi meditations and the mindset of the Jedi, small group instruction led by the various Knights and Skywalker himself.
As they broke up and prepared to board, Ebony and Spark darted over to Sapharin, embracing her in a tight bear-hug.
"It's YOU!" Spark giggled, unable to control herself.
"It's me!" Saph laughed back.
"Um… don't I get a hug too?" came a distinctly male voice.
Spark turned and threw herself at the person she knew had to be Falco Volt. "Of course you do," she whispered against his chest. "I am so glad to see you here!"
"Wha--? Like you thought I wouldn't be here?" he teased. "Like I wasn't Jedi enough to… train to be a Jedi? Wait, that doesn't make sense, does it? Um, anywho…"
Corran hadn't kidded Sapharin when he'd said the transport was small. There were over a dozen trainees on this journey, some that the four friends recognized, others that they did not. The transport was cramped with not enough berths for the Jedi Knights and the new students. Spark, Ebony, Sapharin and Falco ended up taking up a corner in the small common area of the shuttle by camping out on the floor with their travel bags. They chatted animatedly, often talking over each other as they told their stories of how they'd been "discovered" by the Jedi.
Falco explained his history.
"Well, see… I was working, okay? I had just finished installing these drives at a company that was known for its own computer repair business. Go figure, huh? And so… I was walking out and all the sudden, boom, there's this Jedi standing in front of me! Said his name was Kam, and I was like, 'Hey, I know you from the books and stuff!' and he was like, 'So I am aware. I'm here to teach you to be a Jedi. Interested?'"
Having known Falco by the computer only, Spark and Sapharin giggled as he told his story. He spoke just how he'd always written of his life. It was wonderful.
"So, of course, I about fell over myself trying to get to my car and get out of there. What kind of weirdo would say he was Kam Solusar right? I figured it had to be a joke… or something. But no! He talks to me and tells me all about their mission to find us, and I was like, 'Wow. You really want me to be a Jedi?' You know… I thought about it long and hard for like three seconds before telling him sure." Falco laughed, then added, "I just hope I don't get lost, ya know, piloting around the galaxy or something. I have enough trouble finding my way around with a map for work!"
Spark looked at Ebony. Though she knew her friend was familiar with the fiction, it hadn't been an obsession for her like it was for Saph, Falco or herself. Nudging her, she whispered, "Y'alright?"
Ebony gave her a cheery smile. "Just peachy! I'm just… taking all of this in and trying to convince my brain this is reality."
"Tell me about it."