A.N: Okay, I swear to god I am working on chapter two of Han Solo: Jedi Knight, but I'm
also working on revising chapter one to address the concerns of some of the reviews on it. It's slow going because I dislike editing and college is really the worst place to work on anything but classwork. Sorry guys, having something I cooked up in the meantime!
A Hard Day's Night
(Prompt 14: Tease)
Luke sighed as he dejectedly walked back to his apartment he held at the Academy with his wife and family. He had spent the entire day attempting to teach sullen teenagers how to clear their minds and feel the Force, a task as futile as trying to convince a Rancor to live on a vegetarian diet. Honestly, the Jedi Master was having second thoughts about his 'summer camp' plan.
The core idea had been sound; even though the Jedi Order wouldn't formally accept students until they turned twenty-five, the growing number of Force-sensitive youths in the wake of the New Republic Imperial Treaty needed some form of instruction before they stumbled into the dark side and were lost. So rather than compromise his need for Knights with previous life experience and skillsets to draw on, he'd created a season-long program for children aged ten to eighteen which taught them the basics of controlling their budding abilities.
Portions of the plan were working wonderfully, namely location and timing. Following the Exar Kun fiasco, Luke had relocated the main Academy to Kashyyyk, another planet steeped in the living fabric of the Force and also located on a major hyperspace lane. This change in location made many more parents willing to send their children since not only could they visit easily, there was a New Republic patrol fleet within a four-hour jump of the planet at all times. The Wookies didn't mind this arrangement either since the students brought in credits, both in the form of visiting parents and traders adding Kashyyyk to their routes in order to horn in on the action for the Wookies (which only made the Wookies more money anyway since every spaceport was owned and operated by them). Though more important was the fact that Kashyyyk now had access to its very own Jedi Master 24/7 for when emergencies struck. Luke had seen more of the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk than he ever thought existed since he'd come to here, but even the nightmarish beasts of the twilight world were a small price to pay for not raising generations of Jedi Knights on top of a Sith stronghold. Thankfully, the beasts of the Shadowlands were a well-kept secret to the galaxy at large, or Luke would never get another student there no matter what he tried.
The other stroke of luck had been timing. One of the lingering remnants of the Empire was a standardized education system, which meant that come each Coruscant summer, the entire galaxy was swamped in rambunctious children with nowhere to be and nothing in particular to do. Parents of Force-sensitive children everywhere praised his name just for giving their children something to do all summer and children were ecstatic to meet the great Luke Skywalker, even if they technically had to have more school to do so.
Where Luke seemed to be having trouble was teaching all these children. Some of them were fascinated by what Luke showed them, but others wanted to use their abilities for their own ends. The latter group was very disappointed when the only thing he taught them in depth was Sensing, which required sitting and meditating for hours at a time. Rather than pay attention, they'd started to horse around and Luke had spent most of the day just trying to keep order and rebuffing any and all demands to be taught 'the good stuff'. It was absolutely exhausting work and right now, the only thing Luke wanted to do was sleep.
As Luke keyed the door code for his apartment, he hoped that Kyle and Kam were faring better on Ruusan and Yavin (both locations set aside for advanced students). When he entered, the apartment was silent and empty, far more so than a home that housed four children and a very vocal wife should be. For a moment, wild fears flashed through his head based on his sister's experiences and accentuated by holonet horror stories, but then he saw the note on the entryway table. It was a flimsiplast sheet attatched to a wooden paddle and read
"Farmboy,
The kids are off with Leia and Han for a few days, they agreed that seeing the twins and Anakin would do them good. More to the point; we have the place to ourselves. Meet me in the bedroom.
Bring the paddle, I've been a bad girl.
Mara"
Luke hefted the paddle for a moment and grinned.
FIN
It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog.
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log.
But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do,
Will make me feel okay.
"A Hard Day's Night" – The Beatles