Young Cal Marek sat cross-legged in the middle of his floor. His quarters
were small enough that he'd had to push his bed back to one wall. A mobile
of his home system that he had constructed by hand hung over him; given to
students to practice using the Force in a precise manor. In front of him
lay a newly made lightsaber. However it was still not complete, if he
tried to activate it now nothing would happen. Cal had built it properly,
students were trained to have at least limited technical expertise, but he
could never craft it into an elegant weapon through tools alone. In fact
no known machinery could construct a lightsaber, bind its parts together so
they were interconnected with each other and the focusing crystal contained
within. A true lightsaber was more than the sum of its parts, but could
only become such by the use of the Force.
However, this final step was beyond Cal's abilities. He had never been able to use the Force to manipulate objects, as he needed to for this task. It was this deficiency in the Force that had plagued him all his life. He could feel the living Force around him better than most of his peers, but couldn't wield it to lift even the lightest feather.
To compensate Cal had been aggressive in his studies. He had read about and tried to learn new skills and abilities before his masters felt he was ready. They continually frowned upon this behavior. Whether he succeeded in his studies or not, the point was they felt he was pursuing it too aggressively. Cal didn't realize it but it was this, not his shortcomings in the Force, which had caused him through the years to be looked over by masters searching for a padawan learner.
Well this time would be different, Cal decided. Tomorrow Master Lee Fortuna would be judging students eligible to become padawans. Fortuna was the last eligible master scheduled to arrive at the academy before Cal's thirteenth birthday, his last chance of becoming a padawan. Once he reached the age of thirteen Cal would be too old to start the last steps of his training, and would be rejected by the Temple, sent off to the Agri- Corp instead of with a master. Cal thought he needed something make him stand out, so he'd built his own lightsaber, a part of training that came much later. To finish it though he would have to try something entirely new for himself.
Cal closed his eyes and stretched his perception through the Force. He could see through it each component of his lightsaber and sense how he needed to meld them together. This was a task that he knew was impossible for him though. So Cal widened his sight through the Force even further, seeing the entirety of his quarters. Reaching out farther, Cal sensed two students in the dormitory's hall, laughing at a joke one of them had told. Even farther down in the temple Cal felt the presence of his friends. They had gathered in Keera's room to spend their free time as usual.
Cal focused on Keera's room. He felt his friends through the Force and made his presence known to them. Cal made direct contact with the three of them, one at a time, his thoughts were open to them and he could feel each of theirs in turn. By refocusing his grasp on the Force he was able to make the connection not just between him and each of them individually, but let them use him as an anchor point to make the miraculous connection through the Force with each other as well. Somehow the four of them were being bound in this moment by the Force, in all their years of friendship Cal had never felt as close to them as he did in this moment.
Realizing he would not be able to hold this connection forever Cal beckoned their attention with the Force. He allowed them to see clearly the lightsaber sitting in front of him. Cal felt his mind flooded with the surprise of his friends, he hadn't let them know what he'd been working on these past weeks until now. A surge of pride, his pride, could also be felt through their connection. Cal tried to keep it in check, pride he'd been told, was unbecoming of a Jedi. After composing himself Cal used the connection to show his friends how to alter the lightsaber in order to finish it. Through him they each focused their energy on the task.
When Cal finally broke the connection he wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the effort had exhausted him. He sat, staring at the lightsaber, his lightsaber, wondering if it really would work. After a few moments he heard the sound of children crashing through the halls and with a smile he reached out and picked up his weapon.
"Cal!" Keera shouted as she burst through his door. "That was amazing, simply amazing!"
"I knew such connections were possible, but for students our age... I had no idea!" Dar'shek, a small fury Bothan was right on her heels.
"Something like that has got to be hard even for Jedi Knights, Cal. I'm sure Fortuna will pick you for his padawan now!" Last was little Dack, only nine years old, who idolized his older friends so much he didn't understand why Yoda hadn't already declared them Jedi.
Still smiling broadly, Cal stood, and with great pride activated his new lightsaber for the first time. The glow from the deep green blade filled the room and washed over the students' faces, which were filed with awe. There was something intangible about it that set it apart from the training sabers they were all used to.
Dar'shek was the first to break the silence, "You don't actually plan on using that tomorrow do you?" The image of Cal sparring against another student with a real weapon danced across his mind's eye and his cream colored fur stood on end. Dar'shek had always been the worrier of the group.
"No, of course not," Cal said with a laugh. "I don't think it would go over well if I chopped off my opponent's hand. I'm just going to wear it on my belt, so that Master Fortuna can see that I've already made one."
"Too bad. It would be funny listening to the kid you faced talk about how surprised he was to have you pull a real lightsaber on him." Young Dack had just recently started training against other students himself, but still clung feverishly to older students' exploits during training.
Cal noticed that Keera was staring at him, not his lightsaber. "Cal," she started, "just how did you do that? I thought only blood relatives could make such... such strong connections through the Force."
Cal deactivated his lightsaber and looked down at the hilt, studying it. "I guess I just wanted a chance to be a Jedi so badly, this seemed like the only way I wouldn't blow my last shot at it." He looked up at Keera and smiled, "I needed the help of you three and it seemed like an appropriate way of asking."
The four continued talking for several minutes. Cal could sense they wanted to try making that connection again, but he felt too drained from the first time. Keera, always able to read Cal even without using the Force, had to use a sharp elbow on Dack when he started insisting they try it again that same night.
"It's already late," she pointed out, "you need to get at least a little rest before tomorrow Cal."
"Yeah I guess that's true," Cal replied, yawned, and then continued. "It would be awfully embarrassing to fall asleep out there in front of all the masters."
They laughed and Cal's friends started to file out. Cal put a hand on Keera's arm before she exited, and waited for the door to close behind Dar'shek.
"Keera, you've been old enough to start trying to get a master for a while now. I know you haven't tried for one because you don't want to steal one of my chances, but you need to be noticed by them. You don't want to..." Cal didn't finish but both knew what he'd been about to say. You don't want to end up like me, with barely one shot left.
Keera started to answer Cal, paused, and smiled back at him sadly. She opened back to the door and headed to her own quarters leaving Cal to guess at what she'd been about to say.
However, this final step was beyond Cal's abilities. He had never been able to use the Force to manipulate objects, as he needed to for this task. It was this deficiency in the Force that had plagued him all his life. He could feel the living Force around him better than most of his peers, but couldn't wield it to lift even the lightest feather.
To compensate Cal had been aggressive in his studies. He had read about and tried to learn new skills and abilities before his masters felt he was ready. They continually frowned upon this behavior. Whether he succeeded in his studies or not, the point was they felt he was pursuing it too aggressively. Cal didn't realize it but it was this, not his shortcomings in the Force, which had caused him through the years to be looked over by masters searching for a padawan learner.
Well this time would be different, Cal decided. Tomorrow Master Lee Fortuna would be judging students eligible to become padawans. Fortuna was the last eligible master scheduled to arrive at the academy before Cal's thirteenth birthday, his last chance of becoming a padawan. Once he reached the age of thirteen Cal would be too old to start the last steps of his training, and would be rejected by the Temple, sent off to the Agri- Corp instead of with a master. Cal thought he needed something make him stand out, so he'd built his own lightsaber, a part of training that came much later. To finish it though he would have to try something entirely new for himself.
Cal closed his eyes and stretched his perception through the Force. He could see through it each component of his lightsaber and sense how he needed to meld them together. This was a task that he knew was impossible for him though. So Cal widened his sight through the Force even further, seeing the entirety of his quarters. Reaching out farther, Cal sensed two students in the dormitory's hall, laughing at a joke one of them had told. Even farther down in the temple Cal felt the presence of his friends. They had gathered in Keera's room to spend their free time as usual.
Cal focused on Keera's room. He felt his friends through the Force and made his presence known to them. Cal made direct contact with the three of them, one at a time, his thoughts were open to them and he could feel each of theirs in turn. By refocusing his grasp on the Force he was able to make the connection not just between him and each of them individually, but let them use him as an anchor point to make the miraculous connection through the Force with each other as well. Somehow the four of them were being bound in this moment by the Force, in all their years of friendship Cal had never felt as close to them as he did in this moment.
Realizing he would not be able to hold this connection forever Cal beckoned their attention with the Force. He allowed them to see clearly the lightsaber sitting in front of him. Cal felt his mind flooded with the surprise of his friends, he hadn't let them know what he'd been working on these past weeks until now. A surge of pride, his pride, could also be felt through their connection. Cal tried to keep it in check, pride he'd been told, was unbecoming of a Jedi. After composing himself Cal used the connection to show his friends how to alter the lightsaber in order to finish it. Through him they each focused their energy on the task.
When Cal finally broke the connection he wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the effort had exhausted him. He sat, staring at the lightsaber, his lightsaber, wondering if it really would work. After a few moments he heard the sound of children crashing through the halls and with a smile he reached out and picked up his weapon.
"Cal!" Keera shouted as she burst through his door. "That was amazing, simply amazing!"
"I knew such connections were possible, but for students our age... I had no idea!" Dar'shek, a small fury Bothan was right on her heels.
"Something like that has got to be hard even for Jedi Knights, Cal. I'm sure Fortuna will pick you for his padawan now!" Last was little Dack, only nine years old, who idolized his older friends so much he didn't understand why Yoda hadn't already declared them Jedi.
Still smiling broadly, Cal stood, and with great pride activated his new lightsaber for the first time. The glow from the deep green blade filled the room and washed over the students' faces, which were filed with awe. There was something intangible about it that set it apart from the training sabers they were all used to.
Dar'shek was the first to break the silence, "You don't actually plan on using that tomorrow do you?" The image of Cal sparring against another student with a real weapon danced across his mind's eye and his cream colored fur stood on end. Dar'shek had always been the worrier of the group.
"No, of course not," Cal said with a laugh. "I don't think it would go over well if I chopped off my opponent's hand. I'm just going to wear it on my belt, so that Master Fortuna can see that I've already made one."
"Too bad. It would be funny listening to the kid you faced talk about how surprised he was to have you pull a real lightsaber on him." Young Dack had just recently started training against other students himself, but still clung feverishly to older students' exploits during training.
Cal noticed that Keera was staring at him, not his lightsaber. "Cal," she started, "just how did you do that? I thought only blood relatives could make such... such strong connections through the Force."
Cal deactivated his lightsaber and looked down at the hilt, studying it. "I guess I just wanted a chance to be a Jedi so badly, this seemed like the only way I wouldn't blow my last shot at it." He looked up at Keera and smiled, "I needed the help of you three and it seemed like an appropriate way of asking."
The four continued talking for several minutes. Cal could sense they wanted to try making that connection again, but he felt too drained from the first time. Keera, always able to read Cal even without using the Force, had to use a sharp elbow on Dack when he started insisting they try it again that same night.
"It's already late," she pointed out, "you need to get at least a little rest before tomorrow Cal."
"Yeah I guess that's true," Cal replied, yawned, and then continued. "It would be awfully embarrassing to fall asleep out there in front of all the masters."
They laughed and Cal's friends started to file out. Cal put a hand on Keera's arm before she exited, and waited for the door to close behind Dar'shek.
"Keera, you've been old enough to start trying to get a master for a while now. I know you haven't tried for one because you don't want to steal one of my chances, but you need to be noticed by them. You don't want to..." Cal didn't finish but both knew what he'd been about to say. You don't want to end up like me, with barely one shot left.
Keera started to answer Cal, paused, and smiled back at him sadly. She opened back to the door and headed to her own quarters leaving Cal to guess at what she'd been about to say.