Game3525-Thanks.

Chapter Two: School's in Session

Tionne held the stick out in front of her and thrust it forward, taking a step with each jab into the air.

Keiran stood by her, noting her exercises. "Not bad. Maybe later I can show you some hand-to-hand combat techniques."

Tionne stopped and wiped some sweat from her brow, her sleeve soaking in the sweat rather easily. "Why?" she asked. "I'm not that much of a fighter." She resumed her thrusting. "You, Kam, Luke, Gantoris. You're the fighters."

The green-haired trainee waved her off. "No excuses, Tionne." His tone was rough, but his eyes twinkled a bit. "Now keep at it, kid," he said, leaning against one of the ubiquitous trees dotting the training area.

The silver-haired trainee went back to her lightsaber practice. "I notice you and Gantoris have struck up quite the rivalry. I'm rather surprised at you."

Keiran stood up straight at that. "Well-he shows off a lot! And he makes fun of me so much." He leaned back against the tree and looked to the sky.

Tionne growled, an odd sound coming from such an unassuming woman. "How old are you two again? You don't hear about Kirana Ti and I arguing all the time and belittling each other."

Just then, Luke approached the pair. He wasn't wearing his cape and had on a short-sleeved shirt, black as usual. Keiran and Tionne could feel the barely-restrained power inside the young man, the last Jedi Master in Known Space.

Tionne swallowed and bowed her head. "Master, how are you today?" she asked, trying to control the trembling in her voice.

Luke returned the head bow. "My meditations have been… troubling, as of late. I feel a darkness, but it's diffuse right now." He noted the stick in her hands and smiled. "I trust Keiran isn't too hard a taskmaster?" he said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Keiran, meanwhile, had his eyes almost rolled into the back of his head. He had no objections to romance per say, but these two were acting fairly ridiculous. He motioned to Luke, breaking up their reverie. "Ah, Master Skywalker, you were saying something about a darkness?"

Luke looked up and over at him. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Yes, yes. It's unfocused right now, but I have a feeling it must be found. And soon. The future of what we're trying to create here might be at stake."

Tionne hesitated for a moment. "You mean what we're creating, right? Like Yoda told you, 'there is no try.'"

The Jedi Master let a full-blown smile cross his normally serene face. "I stand corrected, Tionne." He schooled his face into something more serious. "Perhaps you could do some research into the old temples here? I am rather curious about them."

Tionne nodded. "Yes, Master. That would be a rather good idea." She turned her head to Keiran, her long hair whipping about. "Keiran," she said, bowing slightly to him.

The undercover Corellian returned the bow before she walked off. He meandered over to Luke. "So, when's the date?"

Luke blinked twice and turned to Keiran, a look of confusion on his face. "Date? What date?"

"Never mind… So, how are the other students doing?"

"Kyle and Kam are in some odd machismo competition concerning the number of stones they can levitate. Gantoris is scaring Brakiss with his very presence. Kirana Ti is following Dorsk 81 around for some odd reason. Streen is on the rooftop." Luke shrugged. "All in all, a lot better than what I thought. I half-expected some of them to go to the Dark Side by now."

Keiran smiled at that, but stopped when he realized Luke was serious. "Hey, considering what you started with, I think you're doing a great job. What did you start with, nothing? Now you've got twelve students and an academy. Not bad for a start."

Luke fixed him with a stare. "Yes, but I must progress beyond 'not bad'. You all deserve a lot more than 'not bad'."

He fixed upon the Jedi's doubt, letting it feed him. How delicious such negative emotions tasted to him, especially after all this time!

Exar Kun let his senses drift, focusing on the various trainees about. All of them would make good candidates for Sith. Very good candidates. Still he had better not bite off more than he could absorb. Starting small would work best.

He focused on one student in particular… Gantoris, former leader of the mining colony of Eol Sha. Good potential, with a core of anger and arrogance in his being. Exar's spirit form coalesced briefly into human form, letting him directly observe Gantoris as he unconsciously intimidated the weaker Brakiss. Yes, perfect for my needs, he thought. He will be the first of my new Sith, but not the last.

Lessons in the Force and the nature of being a Jedi continued apace for the next few weeks, with each one beginning to forge their own path. Tionne began stringing together an odd instrument in her spare time, not even sure how she remembered the procedure.

Luke examined the instrument. "What's it called?" he asked.

Tionne shrugged. "Double viol-and don't ask me how I know that." She plucked at it a bit, tuning it by ear. "I wonder if I've got a talent for songwriting?" she asked, her voice light but emotions heavy.

Luke patted her on the shoulder, that simple touch sending an odd tingle through her shoulder and his hand. He took it back and shook it a bit, not sure where that came from. "Anyway… How is your research coming?"

She walked over and picked up a holocron, activating it. "Not so good, actually. Ever heard of a Sith Lord named Naga Sadow?" Luke shook his head, prompting the trainee to continue. "I learned from gatekeeper Vodo-Siosk Baas about him. He built the temples about five thousand years ago. Exar Kun took them over a thousand years later and used them as his secret headquarters for his attacks on the Old Republic. Ulic Qel-Droma eventually betrayed the location and it was attacked."

Tionne's voice dropped to a whisper. "the entire jungle was leveled and all the Massassi were killed. Exar's body was never found, though."

Luke shrugged. "A Base Delta Zero wouldn't leave that much…" His voice trailed off as his hand went up to the ancient stone blocks. "But how are these temples still here, then? Why weren't they turned to rubble?"

The silver-haired trainee thought for a moment, her brow furrowing. "I… don't know." She looked around. "Even Old Republic ships should've been able to leave more damage than a burnt forest, right?"

Luke nodded. "You're right. Something's wrong here. What, I'm not sure." He looked to the door. "I'll be back. Please continue working on the instrument." And with that, he left.

Tionne's head tilted as she watched Luke stride out, her eyes never leaving him. She reluctantly went back to her instrument and restarted her stringing of it, although her mind soon began to unconsciously wander.

Luke, meanwhile, found himself outside at the main landing field. Gantoris and Keiran were sparring with lightsabers ignited. The hum and whine of the striking plasma blades filled the air as Brakiss and Kirana Ti looked on.

Keiran ducked an overhead swing while Gantoris almost mechanically pressed on. Keiran sent several mid-level thrusts at Gantoris' gut, but each one was batted away with relative ease. A rare smile crossed the miner's stoic face as he advanced. Luke's brow creased as the duel continued.

He stepped forward. "That's enough, you two. We can't serve the Force if we kill each other before our training's done!" He raised his hands and gently separated them with a slight Force push.

Both trainees turned to Luke. Keiran nodded in compliance, but Gantoris turned his eyes to him. "But Master, we need to push ourselves to the limit. If we are to be defenders of the New Republic-"

Luke interrupted him. "No, Gantoris. We are not defenders of any government. The previous Order seemed to be heavily tied to the Old Republic and was hamstrung by politicking and red adhesive. We will defend the defenseless and help the helpless."

Gantoris stood there for a moment before nodding in compliance. "Very well, Master." He turned and walked off, away from the Temple.

Kam began going after him, but Luke stepped in front of him. "Don't. I'll talk to him later, Kam." His eyes turned ice-cold. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Keiran smirked, despite the seriousness of the situation. "Do all the Heroes of Yavin have bad feelings about everything?"

Luke turned his eyes on him, causing the undercover fighter pilot to visibly flinch. "Only when they're justified, Keiran." And with that, he moved off and back to the Temple.

Brakiss shook his head. "I think those feelings are catching. Gantoris creeps me out, and I was taught by Vader's apprentice Lumiya!"

Kirana Ti arched an eyebrow. "You got that much training in the Dark Side?"

The handsome trainee held up his hands and backed away. "It didn't stick! I swear!" He motioned to where Gantoris had disappeared to. "Besides, we've got bigger problems than that."

The Dathomirian warrior nodded. "Aye, Brakiss. That we do…"

Keiran cleared his throat. "Well, we've got to do something before Gantoris decides to start wearing all black and doing Force garrotes."

Brakiss nodded. "Yeah. Only question is what? I recognize his attitude." A shallow smile crossed his aristocratic features. "Most of Lumiya's cohorts in the Deep Core were like him."

Kirana Ti arched an inquisitive eyebrow at him, but said nothing. She turned to Keiran, her brown hair swishing. "We should at least keep an eye on him. Anyone know where he spends most of his time?"

The Corellian shrugged. "I've seen him with Dorsk 81 a few times heading off in the direction of some other temples. Not sure which ones, though."

Kirana nodded. "All right." She widened her stance and began pointing at everyone in turn. "Keiran, move into the jungle and try and get a tail on Gantoris. Brakiss, find Dorsk and ask him which temples Gantoris visits. I'm going to get Master Skywalker and talk to him about Gantoris."

Keiran turned his eyes to Brakiss before turning back to the warrior. "Ah… Kirana, this isn't Dathomir. You realize that, right?"

Kirana fixed her quantum armor stare onto him, causing him to flinch. "Do you have a better idea?"

"…No."

"Then good. Let's go, gentlemen." And with that, Kirana Ti strode off to the Great Temple.

Brakiss let out a sigh. "Well, this'll be fun." He slapped Keiran on the shoulder. "Have any experience with guys like Gantoris?"

Keiran smirked. "Oh, a few times in my former line of work…"