About five months after last chapter

Stella was working on her accuracy. She had gone up 45 of the 50 points the Grandest Master had wanted. Stella kept shooting with the blaster but continually missed a different one of the targets each time. She growled at herself in frustration as she grabbed the bow next to her. She aimed and shot all fifteen shots in under three minutes. She hit each one on or near the center.

"Now, why can't I do that with a blaster?" She asked herself.

"That's a good question." said a man's voice behind her.

She turned quickly ready to shoot the man but lowered her weapon when she saw it was Grandest Master.

"Sorry, sir, I didn't realize it was you. I wasn't able to raise my accuracy score 50 points."

The Grandest Master nodded. "I see that. This accuracy with the bow should be adequate, but remember, a bow will not do the damage a bullet or laser blast can do."

Stella nodded, "I know, sir, I've been shot with arrows and lasers."

He nodded. "I merely do not want you in battle shooting at heavy infantry with a longbow. Crossbow, maybe, but an arrow will not stop battle-mad soldiers."

Stella said, "Yes, sir. Is there another reason why you are here?" under her breath she added, "Besides scaring me to death."

"I can hear you, and yes, I have come to take you to the Flagship."

Stella hung her head as he said the first part then raised it back up smiling as he finished, "Really? You don't want me to duel someone again or try to blast you?"

"You could duel me, if you wish."

Stella vigorously shook her head, no. "No, I'm okay."

"So I thought. Now, are you ready?"

"I suppose so."

"Good. We will take the transport. There is a group of Republic Troopers I would like you to meet."

"Sir, flying doesn't agree with me."

"Yes, but you need to learn to agree with flying. Landing port A-1."

"Yes, sir." She picked up the blaster she had sat down. He sighed.

"Please keep your finger off the trigger."

Stella said, "Safety first."

"Well, this will be interesting." he said to himself

"What?" She asked.

"Training you should prove interesting."

"Hmm, So who are these republic troopers? Why do you want me to meet them? What's the difference between a blue and a green lightsaber besides color? Someone told me that you only knew one language I said that they were wrong how many languages do you know?" Stella seemed to run out of air. She took a deep breath "Has anyone ever told you that you're really tall? Have you ever had a purple lightsaber? Who came up with the word Purple? Purple is a weird word don't you think? Some people think I ask to many questions. Do you think I ask to many questions? Who came up with a question mark? Why not make it a dot above a squiggly line? Can you teach me how to spin my lightsabers really fast? I tried one time and nearly cut my head off. Have you ever almost cut your head off? Who made the song head-shoulders-knees and toes? Have you ever thought about why shoulder and soldier are so close or cavalry and calvary?" Stella stared at him intently waiting for his answers.

"Republic troopers are the main infantry of the Army of the Republic. You need to learn how to fight land battles. Nothing. I know every language. Yes. No. God. No. No. A man with too much time on his hands. Why would they? Yes. Yes. Someone else with too much time on their hands. No."

"Oh, I don't know." said Stella stunned. "I didn't really have anyone to ask all of those questions till now. Should I just call you sir or is there a different form of address you would like me to use?"

"Choose something and I will approve of it or disapprove."

"So If I called you GM instead of Grandest Master would that be okay? Or I could call you Jimmy."

"Approval on the first, I believe you can guess on the latter."

"So I'm guessing Jimmy, Billy, and Bob are out of the running. How about Joe?"

"Why would you call me Joe?"

"Joe with a G for giant of excellence."

"Much like G.I. Joe for Greatest Intellectual Giant of Excellence? No."

"If I were gonna call you G. I. Joe I might as well call you Grandest Master, but that was a good acronym."

"GM was fine."

"Okay. But can I call you Joe on Mondays?"

"No."

"What about Mondays that fall on an odd day. Like Monday the 13 or 15."

"No."

"Why don't you like the name Joe?"

"No, that is not my name."

"Okay." Stella said mildly disappointed that she was not allowed to call him Joe. "What about Steve, super tall educator verifying excellence?"

"No."

"I guess I'll stick with general motors then. Wait can I call you General Motors?" She said excitedly.

"No. A name or title is one of the highest honors we have in life, because we keep it even if we lose everything else."

"Okay. So where are the men we are meeting? Also what is your real name?" Stella said not thrilled with Grandest Master's responses.

"I told you my name once, not again. They are in the barracks."

Stella racked her brain it had been something unusual, 'Rumplestiltskin? No Judah that was it'

He turned to her. "Don't refer to me by that name again."

Stella looked up confused, "I didn't say anything, sir."

"You thought it very loudly."

Stella was extremely confused, "How can a thought be loud?"

"A thought has massive impact in a person's mind. It is a concentration of mental energy onto a single topic. I could feel your concentration and simplify it."

"Hmm someone once said to me that their mind was like a house and each thing they needed was in a cupboard or drawer in that house. I think my brain is more an organ in my head."

"I was not talking about your brain, I meant your mind."

"Well in that case it's like a pile of spaghetti. Speaking of which I'm kinda hungry."

"Your thoughts may be, but your mind is different. You are three things: body, mind, and soul. Your soul is eternal, your mind contains your rationality, and your body is the housing."

"Hmm...have you ever had meatballs with raisins?"

He sneered and walked in silence.

"I'll take that as a no. So you mind contains your rationality and your thought or is that the same thing?" Stella looked up at him inquiringly. She waited about a minute before saying "Sir?" Stella looked into his eyes.

"Thought is a product of rationality."

"What about irrational thoughts?"

"You are using the word in a different way. Rationality is your ability to use and logic and determine problems and think. Irrationality is when something is not logical."

"Oh. Okay. So If I said,' Pudding steak lasagna' like it's a sentence it would be irrational?"

"No, it would be nonsense. Irrationality would be like saying, "All pudding is steak, all steak is lasagna, therefore, all clouds are white."

"Mmmm Steak. Do you like steak?"

He kept walking in silence.

"Are those the barracks?" Stella said pointing to the barracks.

"Yes. At the moment they are quartering some 5,000 men."

"That seems like a lot."

"At the moment the Flagship is quartering 250,000. The Grande Army of the Republic contains around 2,500,000 men. The barracks hold only the Jedi Temple Garrison, but yes, 5,000 men is a lot."

"How many men can the Flagship quarter?"

"At full capacity, twelve and one half million. At present, it holds one million men and women."

Stella's mouth fell open she shut it quickly, "Woah, how many does it hold on average?"

"Around one and a half million. Growing all the time."

"That's a lot. Uh so do you want me seen and not heard and such when we meet the men?"

"Do as you see fit."

They walked into the main hall, where nearly two thousand men were eating noisily. They all became quiet as soon as the Grandest Master entered. "Go get a plate and eat with them.", he said, "I have to speak with their commander."

"Okay." Stella was thinking that is a lot of men and they are all quite large. She walked off to get a plate. She had a problem though she was not tall enough to see over the counter. When she stood on her tippy toes her eyes were just visible over the counter.

The cook gave her a critical look over. "You can eat with Mess 3.", he said. "Here's your food." He slid a platter across the counter and pointed out the table for her.

"Thank you." She said, disappearing as she went back to standing flat footed. Her arms appeared as she grabbed the plate and walked over to the table.

Mess 3 was composed of all humans. They grunted and gave her a space as she came up. "And who would you be?"

"I'm Stella Starcatcher." She said. She ended up sitting on her feet to be able to eat easily.

They grunted. "I'm Nikto. This here is Zander and Skygar. We are in Squad 40. You a Jedi?"

"Well I'm a padawan, but yeah"

"Same thing. Hear you are moving out with us to the riot zones."

"I don't know. I just do what I'm told. I haven't been told anything yet."

"Well now you have. There is a riot on Level Two near where the Senate is sitting for their meetings. They are moving us in to bolster the 3,000 riot police already there."

"Must be quite a riot." said Stella while deciding what actually looked like food on her plate.

They all burst out laughing. "Quite a riot! There are 15,000 people and aliens screaming their bloody heads off and burning stuff! I would say it is quite a riot!"

Stella nodded. "Sounds like a riot to me. On Mustafar there was a riot they tore down 3 factories and contaminated the water supply of half the planet, which was impressive because there was only about 100 people rioting."

They nodded. "One hundred can do a million times more damage than one."

Stella took a bite of a grayish blob that was on her plate. She shuddered, it was horrible. She swallowed it and said, "What is that?" trying to keep as much nausea out of her voice as possible. She thought that it was the consistency of a slug mixed with snake with the taste of skunk sprayed tire.

The man laughed, "That, Stella, is eel."

Stella said, "Oh, that's nice." and didn't eat any more of it. She tested her luck with a hard square of something. She nearly broke her tooth.

Zander laughed, "Stella, you don't eat that like that. You have to crack it open." He cracked his open to show her.

Stella said, "Huh." and cracked hers open inside was a greenish blob. "What is it?" She asked before putting it in her mouth.

"It's a fruit it's a little sour though."

Stella put a tiny bit in her mouth. A little was an understatement. Stella's face contorted and the men laughed. After she swallowed she said, "That was sour but yummy." and ate the rest of it. She finished her food, and as Stella just started playing with the gray glob with her fork Grandest Master walked over, "Stella, do not play with your food."

"Yes, sir." She said as she immediately stopped jiggling the gray blob, which continued to jiggle anyway. "What are we doing, sir?"

"You are accompanying these men to the rioting zone.", he said, and appeared more solemn than usual. "You will be there for several hours."

"What about you, sir?"

"I have business to attend to with the Council."

"Is there a problem, sir?" She said looking up at his stern face "You seem solemner than before. Is solemner a word?" Her last question was muttered to herself.

"No."

"No, it's not a word?" Stella said not understanding.

"I gave an answer to both of your questions."

"Oh, okay." Stella said content with life for now. There was a pause, "So what am I supposed to do at the riot zone? What do you do at a riot zone? I've been in a riot but I've never tried to stop one."

"You will do what the police do."

"Which is?"

"Am I the police acting in the future?"

"No, but I thought you might know from previous riot situations what the police might do," Stella said.

"Every situation is unique."

"I was just asking what a possibility was." Stella muttered. "Have you eaten eel?" She asked looking down at the still jiggling blob of gray.

"Yes."

"Why is it so jiggly?" Stella said staring at it.

"That is the way God made it. I believe your unit is preparing."

Stella looked at him not convinced, "I guess. Uh so what do I do?"

"Go join them."

"Oh, right. That would be smart." Stella said standing and looking up at Grandest Master, "I guess I'll see you later then." She bounded away after the men turning back to watch him walk away. "Well I thought my first mission would be with him but I suppose this will work."

Stella was with a different cluster of men now, She was looking up at the faces all of which looked concerned and concentrated on their task. Only one man looked down to see her, "And what may you be doin here, girl?"

Stella looked at him and said, "I'm coming with you." like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

He raised his eyebrows. "You are coming with us?"

"That's what I said." Stella said returning his look. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes."

"And that would be what?"

"There are 15,000 people ready to kill anyone they see and some are armed and it is a labyrinth of mazes and confusing situations with smoke and blood everywhere."

Stella interrupted, "You know a labyrinth is a maze, so you literally said a maze of mazes."

"No, it is a labyrinth of mazes. Every twisting maze is a maze in and of itself. A labyrinth of mazes."

"So I was right by saying a labyrinth of mazes you meant a maze of mazes. Also my master told me to go so I'm going."

"I don't give a flip about what your master said. I was just askin if you were a comin."
"I am coming. I already told you that." Stella said.

"Fine," he said in a huff.

Stella looked around by this time more men were looking down. A younger man looked down and said, "And who might you be?"

"I'm Stella. Stella Starcatcher." Stella said. This man was taller than the other and she had to look up higher to look him in the eye.

"Ok, well, what are you doing here?"

"I'm going with you. Grandest Master told me to."

"Ok, well, who are you getting deployed with?"

"You, I guess. I guess I should have asked."

"Ok, well, come on then."

"Okie dokie." Stella said going with him.

"Going on the transport with us?"

"Well I don't have another way to get there so yes."

They boarded the transport and went to the second level. Stella heard the noise long before they got there. People yelling and screaming, bombs exploding, and shaking buildings. The police forces began strapping on gas masks, tossing one to Stella. They also took up shields and electric batons.

Stella strapped on the gas mask, which looked like it ate her head. Her vision was greatly hampered by the mask.

"Ready to deploy!" someone shouted.

Stella looked around at everyone her field of vision limited to directly in front of her.

The ship hit the ground and opened and the police walked out into a mess.

Right in front of them was a line of police with shields and electro batons holding off a massive crowd. There were screams and fires going, along with earth shaking yelling and chanting. Down the line aways, Stella could see a Jedi standing behind the police.

Her thoughts were something along the lines of, why do I have to wear this? What should I be doing? Who is that? Why is Grandest Master not with me on my first mission as his padawan? Wow, these people are really mad.

The police moved forward and shoved their shields into the line. The crowd was hurling many tear gas canisters back at the police, filling the air with smoke. The Jedi in that section came over to Stella and pointed to a spot in the line for her.

Stella nodded at the Jedi in recognition then went to the spot in the line. Stella mimicked the actions of the other Jedi.

The police raised their blasters and began firing stinging and stunning vollies of bolts into the crowd. Rocks came flying back and knocking some of the police down.

Stella was seriously struggling against the weight of full grown adults pushing on her. One man knocked her down and stepped over her to receive a blaster bolt to the face. Stella stood and pushed back with the Force. The police began killing some of the rioters, which turned to a massacre as the rioters fought back. The Jedi began using their lightsabers. Police gunships began taking troopers away and providing support fire. The men next to Stella were surprised to see her still fighting next to them. All were sure she was crushed.

"We are getting out of here!" the man yelled. "We are being decimated! Get to the transports!"

Stella pushed with the Force even harder this time knocking down several people before running after the man.

The police, or what remained of them, climbed back onto the transports. "We will send in Republic Trooper," said one of them. "They can take them." The level was abandoned to the rioters.

Stella returned to the Temple to find the Grandest Master standing in front of a large screen and frowning. The news was playing.

"…. catastrophe looms…. Jedi knights have been deployed into rioting zones….. thousands dead….. knights evacuated safely…. police forces nearly decimated…"

"Sir," Stella said swaying uncertainly.

"What."

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the public side of the current affair."

"Oh," she stood beside him quietly. After a few minutes she leaned on his leg, exhausted. She was visibly shaking from the physical exertion.

The Grandest Master merely stood staring at the screen. "I sent you out there for a reason, Stella."

"You wanted me to fail?" She said still leaning on him not sure if she had any unbruised part of her body.

"Yes."

"Why?" She asked quietly.

"I wanted you to know what it felt like to lose, to know that the ground you fought for had been lost, that your fight was over, but unsuccessful. A leader must know failure in order to cope with it."

"Did you have to pick a mob?" Stella said shivering.

"The power of the common cause is a terrible power."

"It definitely hurts...everywhere."

"I know."

"Sir," Stella said not leaning on him, "what happens after you lose?"

"You get up and go to either victory or death."

"I think I'd prefer the first one."

"Sometimes death is victory."

"I don't understand, sir."

"Victory in death. A final stand, to give your life in exchange for the enemy's. The final victory."

"Hmm. So the choices are the same?" she said after a pause.

"No. Victory in life is powerful as well."

"Sir, why is life so confusing?"

"What is confusing? Why would it be simple?"

"Everything seems confusing after you go past the outer layer. I don't know why it would be."

"You live a simpler life, that is why this seems confusing."

"Are you gonna be there to explain as I go?"

"Not always."

Stella frowned, "Well I guess I'll have to ask all my questions as they come."

"I suppose."

"Sir, how are the Jedi supposed to keep peace through fighting? That seems like a contradiction."

"A man walks into your house while people are there. He begins killing each one of them. You have a weapon. What do you do?"

"Incapacitate the man."

"And if he attempts to kill you?"

"Defend myself." Stella said seeing where he was going with the analogy, "So we are defending the defenceless? We're like the security guards of the Galaxy?" She looked up at him her face already speckled with black and blue marks.

"You may put it that way."

"Oh okay." Stella said then stumbled and ended up sitting on the floor.

He stood and watched the scene unfold on the news. After a few moments, he sighed. "Go rest. You have another mission all too soon."

Stella struggled to her feet and nodded, "Yes, sir." and staggered off to someplace to sleep. Stella barely made it to her room before collapsing not even getting in her bed.