LordDarthYoda - I love the idea of Sidious going through the Jedipedia and just adding the cause of death for all of the different Jedi. I think the great thing about the Star Wars Universe is that there still is a lot of area to explore, whether it is the Force or the Jedi, or so on and so forth - so it is in these unexplored areas that I like basing my stories.
Speechbubbleme - Yeah it was nice to include some humor in this chapter (the hijinx may or may not have been inspired by some real life events). Sadly the Jedipedia does not exist, but if you figure that we have the Wookiepedia for Star Wars (and the Star Wars Universe doesn't 'exist') then someone would make something similar for the Jedi in the Star Wars Universe. Yeah the Tyra thing was a low blow, but Nara's sometimes a bit careless with her words. Glad you enjoyed the song, because I really toyed with not revealing the lyrics at all.
Bodare2- Ha, sorry I broke your immersion! As someone who has played around with Arduinos, and resistors, I should have been more careful to use the correct term. Glad you enjoyed the rest of the chapter though.
TheAdamBomb505 - Well you just got 3 Sascha novels for free so don't complain :). I'd love to be able to write any sort of Star Wars novel, but something tells me I'll have to settle for doing this :). Thanks for the kind words.
A/N -Nothing from me this time.
As always, Please enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter 7: Orientation
The rest of the two Padawans trip to Estimar was uneventful. Sascha and Nara picked up their bags in the spaceport on Estimar and hailed an air taxi to take them to their temporary home for the duration of the mission. As the driver made their way to their destination, Sascha tried to take stock of the city of Apren, which they were in.
Trying to get a sense of a city while whizzing through it late at night on an air taxi was something of a fruitless task, but it allowed him to get a general sense of things. The architecture of the city tended to be artistic and flowing, certainly unlike the more brutalist architecture of places like Coruscant. That was very much unlike say, Ubrora where even the buildings were colourful. By contrast, Apren's buildings tended to be dull grays and browns, though they were often lit up with fancy holographic signs on the outside. In the distance, he could see an impressive looking mountain range, one that the Estimarians had left unspoiled from technology.
Their driver dropped them off outside an unremarkable looking apartment building that was close to their new school. The apartment itself was dull and gray, though it was probably eighty-five stories tall and reasonably well maintained. The apartment was generally student friendly and was occupied by many students of the nearby Universities. Thus it was a perfect place for he and Nara to stay, a place where they would be nothing more than two average looking students.
After quickly getting their keys from the attendant at the front, the two Jedi made their way to their apartment on the 21st floor. They stopped outside the door and he gestured to Nara, "Ladies first."
Nara shot him a look and shook her head before using her keycard to open the door. Nara pushed open the door and Sascha was immediately greeted by the strong smell of disinfectant.
"What a wonderful smell you've discovered, Nara."
Nara's nose was wrinkling as she tried to deal with the overpowering scent. Then she sneezed. Three times in a row. "I think I'm allergic," Nara said.
"Allergic to disinfectant, that'd be a new one," he replied.
Nara sneezed loudly, and then shook her head, "I think I'll be fine. "
Sascha unslung the pack he had been carrying around his shoulders put it down. Their apartment was quite a basic one. One bedroom, a living room, refresher, and a small kitchen. He pointed to the couch in the living room, "Guess that's my bed."
Nara padded slowly into the bedroom and turned on the lights, "I mean, the bed is quite large, we could both sleep in it," she called from the adjoining room.
"Yeah…no. I'll take the couch."
Nara emerged from the other room, "That couch wasn't designed for sleeping, Sascha. And it's pretty small."
"So? I'm sure its fine."
The Togruta seemed exasperated, "Don't be so pigheaded! We once slept with me cuddled around you. I'm pretty sure that we didn't magically fall in love with each other afterwards! I sleep fully clothed, you sleep fully clothed. The bed has two pillows. What's the big deal?"
He held his hands out towards her, "Just no, Nara."
Nara stomped her foot on the floor, "You're such an idiot sometimes, Sascha."
"Thanks Nara, that makes me feel a lot better."
Nara growled, pivoted on her foot and returned to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Sascha ground his teeth and stared at the closed door. Why did Nara always test him about this? It wasn't like his opinion in the matter was going to change. He and Nara were friends, and neither party seemed interested in being more than that, yet Nara kept bringing up things that were pushing the boundaries of friendship. Besides, he was sure the couch would be fine to sleep on.
He took a deep, calming breath and walked over to the door. He knocked, "Nara? Can I come in?"
"No, I'm completely naked, stay away," Nara said sarcastically.
He activated the door, which whooshed quietly into the ceiling. Nara was fully clothed, unpacking her things in the small closet that the bedroom featured. "We have different definitions of naked, I see."
Nara huffed slightly and finished putting all her things into the closet. Then she turned and faced him, a surprisingly contrite expression on her face, "Look, I shouldn't push you on this, I know. But this was something totally platonic that we could do. And I think it would reaffirm our friendship instead of damage it. We could say that we slept in the same bed together and nothing changed. I mean, Sascha, we snuggled together for a whole night on Eredenn Prime. This would be the same thing…minus the snuggling."
"I…can maybe get my mind around the idea. But not tonight. Maybe later," he hedged.
"I won't force you into anything," she said. Nara gestured towards the door, "We should probably go shopping so we have some food to eat in the morning."
"Always with your mind on your stomach, Nara."
"Guilty as charged," she said as she bounced past him and into the main room. "Let's go Sascha."
The next morning was the orientation day for newly enrolled students at Apren Polytechnic, so Sascha and Nara put on their new outfits and walked to what was, amusingly, their first day at school. The sun was out shining brightly on this fine morning and it made for nice weather for their walk to the campus.
The one thing that was hard not to notice was how many people around them were obviously couples. He should have expected it, since he knew that this was what Estimar was known for a sort of 'couples culture.' Still, it made him feel self conscious that he wasn't holding hands with someone special.
"Do you think we should hold hands to fit in?" asked Nara, who certainly seemed to have noticed what he had.
"Nah."
Nara cocked an eyebrow at him, "Is this just you not liking physical contact again?"
"I mean we can hold hands if you want. But I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding how being a couple works on Estimar."
"Lay your wisdom down on me Sascha," Nara said sarcastically.
"I shall. So on Estimar, you can apply to have a partner and they'll use their computer algorithm to find what it feels is a good match. But while you might think that means everyone is in a romantic relationship, many people are more happy in more non-traditional relationships. Relationships that are more like strong friendships. The Estimarians don't judge, they just want everyone to have someone that they can talk to and rely upon."
"So why do we see so many people holding hands?" Nara inquired.
"Because younger people tend to desire romantic relationships. It's when their biological imperative is generally strongest."
"Hmm…" Nara trailed off and then picked up her thoughts a few moments later, "I just don't really get it."
"I'm not sure I totally get it either," he admitted. "I get the general idea – no one wants to be alone, so provide them with the ability to find someone to share life's experiences with. It's just odd that there is a whole bureaucracy dedicated to it."
"I agree. But we shouldn't focus too much on that. We should focus on our mission," said Nara.
Sascha punched Nara lightly on the arm, "Look at you staying all professional."
Nara shot him a look, "I'm always professional when I need to be."
"I know. Any ideas as what to look for?"
"Hope that one of the groups on campus is named the 'Anti-Jedi league?'"
He snorted, "I don't think it will be that easy."
"Then let's play it by ear for today. If we get absolutely nowhere we can start making more detailed plans for tomorrow."
The two undercover Jedi approached the campus of Apren Polytechnic. Unlike many times when the pictures he had seen beforehand failed to live up to reality, the University campus was almost exactly like the pictures he had seen, which was impressive because the pictures of the campus had been rather beautiful. The buildings were all well designed, with a mix of modern buildings built with many transparisteel windows along with older, venerable looking stone buildings, covered with assorted foliage. It was a nice contrast of the old and the new. Buildings on the campus were kept to a reasonable height, the tallest building might have been twenty stories or so tall. The overall effect was that the campus seemed both venerably old fashioned and suitably modern at the same time.
At the entrance there were a throng of young men and women that were cheerfully greeting people as they entered. Sascha and Nara made a beeline towards one of the unoccupied greeters, a cheerful young Devaronian female. Sascha noted that she was wearing a shirt in the school's colours (royal blue and gold) with the crest of Apren Polytechnic emblazoned across the front.
Sascha gave her a little wave, "Hi, we're here for the orientation?"
If at all physically possible, the buoyant Devaronian's smile widened further, "Of course! You're in the right place! Welcome to Apren Polytechnic!"
"Thanks…"
"We have tours leaving from this spot every five minutes, but one just left, so you'll have to wait. Otherwise if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them," the Devaronian replied perkily. How much of her emotion was faked Sascha didn't really want to know.
"I think we'll try wandering around on our own for a bit," said Nara.
The Devaronian dimmed slightly, "Well just let me provide you with all the information that you'll need for today. Please hold out your datapads for a file transfer."
Sascha and Nara did so and the Devaronian almost squealed in delight, "You've got such cool datapads! Where'd you buy them?"
"Calvais Station," said Nara, thinking quickly on her feet. Somehow Sascha suspected that the real answer, The Jedi Temple on Coruscant, would lead to further, unwanted, questions
"Super awesome," the Devaronian said, holding out here datapad, which seemed to be a top of the line model from one of the newer manufacturers. "If you ever want to make some quick credits, I'm sure there'll be many aficionados that would love to have something as unique as that."
"I'll keep it in mind," he replied, still waiting for the file to be transferred.
After a moment, the perky Devaronian finally realized the same thing and pressed few buttons on her device. "Okay, looks like you have everything for now. Enjoy your day!"
Sascha and Nara thanked the Devaronian and then slipped into the campus proper. Once they were out of earshot, Nara leaned in and whispered to him, "So, what kind of drugs do you think she's on?"
"Some people are naturally happy and enthusiastic, Nara."
"Not that happy or enthusiastic."
"Since when did you become a cynic Nara?" he asked as the two strolled at a leisurely pace taking in their surroundings.
"I'm not a cynic," she protested. "I just hate it when people put on such an obviously fake front to the world. Like, what's the point?"
"Fitting in, I guess. She's expected to be an ambassador for the school, so she tries the only way she knows how."
Nara grumbled some more but didn't vocalize anything so Sascha assumed that this discussion was over.
The two Jedi wandered around the campus, using their datapad to navigate their way around and find sites of interest, like where their classes would be (classes would be starting tomorrow. As they wandered, they tried to pay attention to what the other students were talking about, in hopes that someone would let slip some anti-Jedi comments in public. Unfortunately for Sascha and Nara, the new students were much more interested in finding out all they could about their new school then slandering the Jedi Order.
The Jedi stopped for lunch at one of the cafeterias on campus. The quality of the food was...not the best. "I miss the Temple," muttered Nara at she picked at her food unconvincingly.
Sascha was finding that his soup was very watery, especially considering the exorbitant price that he had paid for it. "I don't say this often, but you make better food than this."
"I cook okay," Nara said defensively.
"You cook meat well. Everything else..."
Nara managed a smile, "Sorry, I can only cook what I know. Vegetables mostly all taste the same to me, so I probably don't put much effort into preparing them properly."
"Well you haven't killed anyone with your cooking...yet."
"Very funny, Sascha."
"I thought so."
Nara shot him a 'Don't push it' look which effectively silenced him. He knew when to tease Nara and when not to tease her. The two Padawans completed their lunches in silence thereafter. As they returned their plates, Sascha asked Nara, "Where do you want to go now?"
"Well, you saw the open field in the middle of campus where all the campus clubs were advertising?"
"Yeah?"
"I have a feeling that we should go there."
Sascha turned and headed for the exit of the cafeteria, "Is this a premonition from the Force, or is it a 'I saw I cute guy over there and I want to flirt with him' excuse?"
"Oh come on, that only happened once."
"And what happened?" he asked teasingly.
"He wanted to flirt with you not me," Nara said dejectedly. "I swear he was making eyes at me!"
"So much for your vaunted Togruta eyesight."
Nara smiled slightly, "The power of wishful thinking in action, I guess. But seriously, I think we should check it out, even if I didn't have a premonition. Think about it, these anti-Jedi people need a way to organize, communicate and recruit new members. What better way to do that than through an official club?"
Sascha shrugged, it was about as good of an idea as any other. "You take the lead, Nara."
The two Jedi walked back to the open field that they had passed earlier, one that was filled with various groups that were trying to get new students to join their club. Some were quietly advertising, using signs to show what their club was about and hoping interested parties would come up and talk to them. Some were using a more direct approach, trying to sell their club like they were salesman at a bazaar. And some were trying to attract people by demonstrating what their club was about.
So it all made for a rather interesting experience.
"Hey Togruta," someone called, "Join the Togruta Student Alliance!"
Nara's head whipped around to find the source of the voice, "Um, I was just browsing…"
"You have five minutes, come see what we are all about," said the female, red skinned Togruta that had sprung in front of them to block their path.
"What do you guys even…do?" asked Nara, who clearly was too polite to shove her way bodily past the interloper, though Sascha could tell that was exactly what she wanted to do.
The other Togruta brightened, "Well, we coordinate activities with other Togruta student groups across Estimar. We have events where we serve food from Shili. We also get together once a week and discuss current events revolving around Togruta across the galaxy. Oh, and we also try to show a classic holomovie from Shili at least once every few weeks. It's quite a lot of fun."
As Nara tried to weasel her way out of the conversation, Sascha quietly slipped away. There was very little chance that the 'Togruta Student Alliance' was some sort of front for anti-Jedi activities. As a species, Togruta were extremely loyal, and Shili was one of the Republic's strongest backers. Combined with the fact that there was a fair number of Togruta Jedi, it seemed unlikely that they'd find anti-Jedi sentiment within the group.
Sascha wandered around aimlessly for a minute until Nara reappeared by his side. "Couldn't get them to take no for an answer?" he asked his friend.
"I tried to say that I wasn't interested about fifteen different ways," Nara complained. "Some people just can't take a hint."
He ignored that last comment and gestured, "Let's keep looking."
The two Padawans wandered around the open field, enduring recruitment pitches from quite a number of campus clubs. Despite the vast number of clubs being advertised, nothing seemed to quite fit as a front for those harboring anti-Jedi sentiments. Even a brief investigation of the 'Conspiracy club' revealed little more than your standard 'The Chancellor is bought and paid for by xyz corporation' and 'The invasion of Naboo was a distraction by the Senate to take attention away from their own corruption.' Boring stuff.
Even when he and Nara approached the 'Free-thinkers League' which was the sort of club that Sascha thought might have exhibited some more revolutionary ideas, they simply seemed to want to convince them of the foolishness of religion. When Sascha tried to steer the conversation towards the Force (considered by many to be a religion) the response he got was, "Of course the Force exists. It's not a religion. It exists."
If there was a campus club that was a front for an anti-Jedi organization, Sascha was becoming increasingly sure that they wouldn't find it today. Which was unfortunate, but not unexpected. This was going to require some real sleuthing to find these people. And probably liaising with the local police as well.
The two Jedi had almost made their way past every club when he felt Nara tug on her arm. "Let's check out this one."
Sascha looked at the sign that had been posted at the front of a small, upraised stage, which read 'Apren Polytechnic Debate Society.'
"The debate society?" he said.
"Sure, what's the worst that could happen?"
One stage a human with a rather gnarly looking beard stepped to a microphone, "Get a taste of debate! Debate one of our school's top orators! See what it's like to experience verbal jousting."
Sascha rolled his eyes and was preparing to make a witty comment when he noticed that Nara had disappeared from view. "Nara, what are you doing," he muttered under his breath. Nara and he were a good team, but he really hated it when she decided that she was just going to do something without informing him what she was doing. He would try to work on that with her. Maybe he could even get her to listen to him. Doubtful.
He took a brief look at the small crowd that was seated on the ground nearby the stage, evidently they were watching the debates that were taking place. Some of them may have been members of the debate club for all he knew. Unlike some clubs, the debate club did not wear matching attire.
On one side of the stage, leaning against a podium was a bored looking Zabrak who was idly scrolling through his datapad, while the host tried to solicit passersby to get up on stage. He found a willing volunteer in Nara Nalto. Sascha watched as Nara bounded enthusiastically onto the raised platform and approached the open microphone on the other side of the stage, "I'm ready to debate!"
The host looked over to the unenthused looking Zabrak, who nodded distractedly to go ahead. The host looked at Nara, and then gestured towards the Zabrak on his other side "You will be debating on of our top debators, Zven Hitplik. He's well known across the sector for his debating prowess. But don't be intimidated, he doesn't bite. Go ahead, pick your topic."
Nara smiled, "Be it resolved, the Republic would be better off without the Jedi Order."
There was a small gasp from the audience that was present, and from Sascha himself. But Sascha immediately saw what Nara was trying to do. It was a very direct, very Nara Nalto-esque approach, but it had its merits. Sascha supposed it was now his job to see how everyone around reacted. It would have been nice if he'd had some warning beforehand...
The host forced a quick smile, "An interesting choice of topic. Miss Nalto, since you picked the topic, you will speak first. A one minute opening statement, please."
"Thank you," said Nara, speaking clearly and confidently. "The Jedi Order and the Republic have been intertwined for thousands of years. But any clearheaded analysis of the two institutions would show that they have been brought together by happenstance and only stay together because of historical inertia. The Jedi mystics at this point hold the Republic back from evolving. Simply put, because the Republic has come to rely upon the Jedi, the Republic has become stagnant in trying to solve its own problems. Whenever there is a crisis, the Republic simply dispatches a Jedi or five to fix it. In that way the Senate doesn't have to fix the underlying problems, because it knows that whatever happens, the Jedi Order will fix it."
Nara took a breath, and Sascha suppressed a smile. Nara, though she didn't choose to show it in casual situations, was a capable public speaker and solid debater. Sascha knew that Tiplee had worked with Nara quite often to refine her diplomatic skills and he was sure that Tiplee would have very much enjoyed the performance Nara was putting on. He didn't necessarily buy her argument, but at least it was well stated.
"Also, you have to take into account the fact that the Jedi Order is above the law of the Republic."
That declaration woke up the audience again. Sascha paid attention to the crowd, trying to see if anyone was seeing Nara as a potential new ally. The crowd watching the debate seemed as shocked by Nara's pronouncement as he expected.
Nara nodded at the crowd, "That's right. The Jedi Order defy the laws of the Republic on a minute-by-minute basis. Let us start with the obvious. The Jedi kidnap their initiates. Oh, of course it's all 'legal,' but parents across the Republic are pressured into giving their children to the Jedi. Then when they grow up, they might as well have diplomatic immunity! I tell you, when is the last time you saw a Jedi put on trial?"
Nara realized that she needed to close her opening statement quickly if she wanted to stay within the time limit, "In short, it is time for the Republic and the Jedi to part ways. Only by cutting lose the relic that is the Jedi Order, can the Republic evolve and strengthen itself."
Scattered, unenthusiastic applause came after Nara's opener.
The host was clearly trying to shepherd this whole thing along as quickly as possible, "Okay, Mister Hitplik, one minute, your opening statement."
The Zabrak, his body posture still suggesting boredom and annoyance, finally straightened and sauntered to his microphone. "Our bold newcomer has tried to propose a question so absurd that it could only be a hypothetical. Nonetheless, I will play her game." He paused significantly, "The Republic is going through a period of turmoil, that much is very much clear. However, to lay the blame on the Jedi Order is nothing short of scapegoating..."
Sascha tuned the Zabrak out. Not because he wasn't interested in the debate, because he was, but because he wanted to drop into the Force so he could sense the emotions of those around him. And that involved letting go of some of his sense of the physical world. Sascha slowed down his breathing, closed his eyes and entered the river of power and wisdom that was the Force.
Using the Force, he probed around, trying to get a feel of the emotions of the students and debaters around him. Nara was the brightest presence, just by virtue of being a Force-sensitive and his close connection with his friend. Sascha gently probed the emotions of some of the other students around him. Most were varying levels of bored and excited, and neither emotion seemed particularly out of place.
Sascha then focused his attention on the Zabrak, Zeven Hitplik, that was debating Nara. It was there he found something interesting. Not anywhere near as bored as his body posture suggested, the Zabrak was actually deeply annoyed. But was he annoyed at Nara? That didn't make sense. Sure, Nara had picked a provocative subject, but that didn't seem like something to be annoyed about. Maybe he was annoyed to be here at all?
Sascha returned his attention to the debate, where it was apparently Nara's turn to speak again, "I will keep this brief. When an organism cannot longer evolve it inevitably goes extinct. It doesn't take one day, or one year, but it is inevitable. The Republic no longer evolves thanks to the cancer that is the Jedi Order, and as such, it will die. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday."
Sascha hid a smirk. Nara was basically just regurgitating the talking points of the anti-Jedi faction at Apren Polytechnic that they had both studied in some detail on the way to Estimar. Figuring that Nara would be doing more of the same, he dropped into the Force and probed at Zven again. Now, the Zabrak seemed to be even further annoyed then he had been previously.
Sascha was now convinced that there was something deeper going on than what appeared on the surface. He dropped out of the Force to think about what he knew. What reason did Zven have to be annoyed? He tested out of a few theories before he found one that he thought made sense:
Zven Hitplik was annoyed because he was having to debate this side of the argument, Sascha realized. Zven didn't want to debate for the Jedi Order, he wanted to debate against the Jedi Order and its importance to the Republic. Sascha tested the theory against the evidence at hand and decided it was worthy of further study. And that it was possible that Zven Hitplik was one of the anti-Jedi dissidents as well.
As Sascha returned to full awareness of himself, the debate was ending and the host was tallying up the votes from the audience. "Okay! With 70% of the vote, our winner of this debate is Zven Hitplik!" The Zabrak dismissively waved to the crowd. Nara approached Zven, offering her hand out to him. Zven accepted the handshake, and the two appeared to share a brief, private conversation before Nara exited the stage and the next prospective debater hopped up on stage.
After a few moments, Nara found him again as he walked through the crowd. "You always did like the direct approach," he said to her
The Togruta grinned, "I thought it had merit. At the very least it would establish me as someone that these anti-Jedi people might be willing to recruit."
"I agree, I never would have thought of doing something like that," he admitted. It was partially why he and Nara were such a good team. Presented with the same task and resources, the two of them often would come up with totally different approaches.
Nara shrugged laconically, "I'm glad it seemed to work out."
"What did he say to you when you did that handshake?"
"He said that if that's what I really believe we should meet to discuss it further. I gave him my number."
"Was he trying to flirt with you or to recruit you?"
Nara cocked her head to the side and smiled, "A little of both, maybe."
He smiled, "Good work Nara. We now have something of a lead."
"I'm the best, what can I say?"
Sascha snorted derisively and Nara punched him on the arm like he knew that she would.
"No, but seriously, good job Nara."
"Thanks, boyfriend," replied Nara with an impish grin.
Sascha looked skyward, "Can we please not do this?" he replied half-seriously.
Nara laughed loudly as she headed back towards the main part of campus, "I suppose. Come on, Sascha."
He sighed. "Right behind you, Nara."
