Chapter 12: Preparation

Jedi Knight Arren Kae was annoyed. Something was irritating her, an itch at the back of her mind. What annoyed her wasn't the feeling itself, it was that she couldn't figure out what was bothering her. It was like she was forgetting something, something important.

She sighed and rose to her feet from the meditation mat in her small room in the Jedi Temple. She wasn't going to be find harmony there today. She snatched her lightsaber and slipped out into the hallway.

The gentle swish-swish of her robe was the only sound as she walked through the quiet lower levels of the Temple. What was it? What was it that was bothering her? What was she supposed to do? Arren sighed and slid the hardened, blaster-proof glass door aside and stepped out onto a small balcony. The roar of the Coruscant night sky filled her mind, loud with the sounds of millions of ion engines, from the deep rumble of bulk hauling starships barely capable of making it back out of atmosphere to the high pitched whine of quick little skimmers. The individual ships moved smoothly, but there were so many of them that the glow of their running lights made solid lines of gold across the sky, growing ever more prominent as night slowly closed in. Below them were towering skyscrapers, thousands of stories high, disappearing down into the clouds and darkness. But none were as high as the Jedi Temple, leaving Arren to look down on them all.

But there was more - as crowded as the sky and skyline were, it was nothing compared to teeming masses of people. They were everywhere, billions upon billions of them, all moving, interacting, feeling, thinking, and all of it was reflected in the churning hum that was the Force on Coruscant.

Yes, looking out on all of this, it satisfied the itch, at least for now.

Arren nodded to herself. It was no mental quirk then, it was the Force. She could ignore it, she knew, and it would fade away as the moment, the opportunity, was lost. But she'd heard enough stories and had experienced enough of the Force to know that that road often did not end well. No, she would follow this guidance, this prompting. Besides, when you got right down to it, Arren Kae was a Jedi Knight, and Jedi trusted in the Force.

She followed the feeling back into the Temple, down the hallway, up the turbolift. She followed it out onto the landing pad, to her assigned Star Saber strike fighter. She shook her head at the enthusiasm of the handful of Jedi up on the pad admiring the first set of Aurek fighters being delivered from Republic shipyards.

Arren slid into the fighter's cramped confines and set the engines warming up while she turned to the navicomputer and closed her eyes. Now, where was it she was supposed to go . . .

…

Two days later a disgruntled Arren Kae dropped out of hyperspace and settled into orbit around a golden-green planet. Dantooine? Really? She sighed and let go of the flight stick. Well, she was here. What was so important on Dantooine that she couldn't just com them?

. . .

Well, the Force wasn't being talkative today. Still . . . yes, this was the right place. She felt calm, at peace, and settled herself in to wait.

Slowly she drifted around the garden world, watching through her transparent viewport as the world spun beneath her, it's clouds rolling across giant oceans of golden plains. The Force reached out to her, easing her into the meditative trance in a few moments that had eluded her so in the crowded skies of Coruscant. But out here it was calm, quiet. She relaxed in her pilot's couch, the cramped confines forgotten as she slid into the Force. This had always been her safe place, her special talent. Where others felt the Force, she could look on it, could see it before her, and it was beautiful.

She picked out the secret Jedi Academy on the planet below effortlessly, it's force presence a bright light against the darkness just as the sun was setting over it.

There . . . what was that? It was a blip, a tiny pinprick, a tiny light in the darkness. She focused on it, peering far closer through the eyes of the Force than she ever could have hoped to see with her natural eyes. She came closer, closer, and in an instant she was there. There was a Force presence, no, two of them. They were deep, far deeper into the Force than she, gazing into the depths, listening to the whispers of the galaxy itself. The boy was strong, a solid light of strength and faith, but the other . . . the other was like nothing she had ever seen.

The Force swirled around her, and after a few moments of hesitation she reached out for it. The way she used the Force, it was different. It was impossible to describe the Force, impossible to understand it without coming up with mental images to make sense of the madness, and Arren had always thought of herself as reaching out and grabbing hold of the Force, pulling and pushing it to fit her design, but this girl, it was like the Force moved around her, like she was the center around which the Force flowed.

This, this was the reason Arren Kae was called across the lightyears to be at this place, at this time. This girl, this child, she was going to change the galaxy, and in one of those rare moments of absolute clarity, the Force whispered that she, Jedi Knight Arren Kae, would be the one to train her.

…

Akima was aware the moment the sky started to brighten, but there was so much information, so wide a view, that she didn't realize what that meant for nearly an hour. When it did, her concentration broke and the universe collapsed in on itself in an instant to crash down on her at its center. Her hand slipped out of Alek's and raised up in a hopeless attempt to ward of the cataclysmic impact of the galaxy crashing onto her, but it never came.

After a few moments Akima peaked open her eyes and looked around. That nearly omniscient viewpoint was gone, but not entirely. No, she could still see, still feel the area around her. It was like the ocean had shrunk, and she was sitting in a pool of water while reading a datapad – she was focused on herself and what she was doing, but she could feel if someone else moved nearby in the water.

She focused on those presences now. They varied somehow, not so much in size as in the intensity of the ripples they sent out around her. She felt Alek's presence, strong and solid, then the smaller ripples that must have been younglings, then smaller still were distant Kath Hounds and Iriaz, then smaller were the rodents and countless insects, all of them in that same pool, that same web of life.

Beside her Alek, too, was slowly returning to himself.

"Wow, that was . . . ouch." He winced and pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead. "I've never meditated that long or gone that deep before. That was intense." He glanced at Akima. "Either I'm a much better teacher than I thought, or you're a natural at this kind of thing."

Akima laughed aloud at the absurdity of it all. She was going to be one of the legendary Jedi, she could feel the Force for crying out loud – of all people, her. To think this could happen to her, a slave just trying to stay alive and be free.

She sucked in a deep breath and stretched her arms to the sky. She was free. With the Force her mind could never be trapped in a box again. A huge weight had lifted from her shoulders and she was walking on air.

She felt great, with only the most distant touch of the exhaustion she should be feeling.

"Oh Sithspit, look at the time!" Alek jumped to his feet a little unsteadily, eyes on his chrono. "Master Zhar is going to kill me! I've got to run, talk to you later Akima!"

And with that, Alek charged back inside, leaving Akima alone to try to get a handle on just how much her life had changed forever.

…

"You're late, and you look exhausted. Have a late night, did we Initiate?"

"Master Dorak, I can explain . . ." Akima's voice trailed off as Dorak's stern gaze broke down and the smile he'd been struggling to contain broke out.

"Sorry, the opportunity for my best Master Zhar impersonation was too good to pass up. Relax, Akima – though we do our best to help, ultimately everyone discovers the Force on their own, and it can be an overwhelming discovery. Let's put the lesson aside for the day, shall we?"

Master Dorak settled himself comfortably down at their customary spot on the grass.

"There. Now, why don't you talk me through what happened, and I'll do my best to help you understand, and hopefully, get used to the idea, which for most of us is the harder part. It certainly was for me at least. So, let's start from the beginning."

Akima gave Dorak a grateful and relieved smile, then joined him on the grass for the long story and hopefully a little explanation.

They spoke for hours, Akima describing her feelings and impressions from the night before, while Dorak listened and in turn offered explanations and his best guesses. They broke for lunch and together walked to the cafeteria.

…

"I believe it is clear to all of us that it is time for Akima to begin her formal training with a Master."

"But it's early, far earlier than is normal. She won't be able to handle it."

Master Dorak suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as Master Zhar made the expected objection. Still, his heart didn't really seem in it. What the four Masters alone in the Counsel chambers had seen the previous night was hard to deny.

"Agree with you, Master Zhar, we might. The Force, however, has made it's intentions clear."

Master Zhar gave Master Vandar a surprised look, and he wasn't the only one. The tiny Jedi Master nodded his head gravely. "Receive word, we have, of the arrival of Knight Arren Kae. The reason for her arrival, we asked. Guided by the Force, she was."

Well, that about sealed the deal. While it wasn't unheard of for the Force to actively take an action when it came to specific Jedi, it was far from common. Master Dorak nodded thoughtfully, pleased that the bright young pupil would have a bright future before her. He shot a glance at Master Vrook who doing his best not to look pleased with himself. And failing.

Master Zhar caught Dorak's glance and rolled his eyes, then shrugged. Yes, the Force had spoken. And when that happened, what choice did any of them have?

". . . and then the entire thing collapsed out from under her in mid-speech!" Alek and the rest laughed as Akima finished her story with a smile. She was still a little hesitant around them, though she used all her training and experience to hide it. Her reasons for being in this little group remained the same, to give her some cover from the Jedi Masters, but now there was something more. It was hard to explain, hard to pin down, but now she was starting to feel like she belonged. Maybe it was that now she, too, could feel the force. She saw them, Alek, Kanthor, Fenton, and Desir, but she also felt them, their presence, the life inside of them.

The mirth slid from Alek's face and he prodded his vegetables. "Man, I can't wait to get out there, to really start doing things instead of just sitting here training."

Akima twitched. She didn't just hear the sentiment, she actually felt it, felt the edges of it at least. She wasn't sure why, but her connection with Alek was stronger than it was with the others. But that just made it more jarring. The galaxy was a very hard, very unfair place. She felt like she had escaped it to get here, to this little private paradise where none of the harsh reality could penetrate. Why would you ever want to leave?

But he did. "Well, at least you're a lot closer than I am. You've been a Padawan for what, two years now? Give it another year or two and you'll be Knight yourself."

The thought seemed to settle him down. "True, but missions with Master Furlone are so boring. We go to meetings to get ready to go to summits to get ready to go to negotiations to get ready to sign treaties. Talk, talk, talk, that's all we do."

"Hey, at least you get to leave, right? You get to go to all sorts of interesting places."

The thought mollified him. He opened his mouth to speak, then abruptly clamped it shut as his eyes slid over Akima's head to something behind her. She turned on the mess hall bench and looked over her shoulder to see an unusually short cerean Jedi Knight approaching their table.

"Ma-Master Furlone, did you need something?" stammered Alek, as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Had his Master heard his less-than-respectful comments about their time together?

"Yes, Padawan, though not from you. The Masters have requested Apprentice Akima's presence in the Great Hall. I believe they wish to talk to her."

Alek paled, so intimidated by the little cerean he almost matched heights with while sitting down that Akima had to strangle the grin that threatened to break out. As she started to follow the Knight, however, her levity quickly vanished. Why did they want to talk to her? What had she done wrong this time? Was it about staying out late with Alek?

She stepped back into her white box and banished all emotion from her face as she stepped into the big hall. It was much as she'd seen it before. The Masters stood in a line together, but unlike times prior, their faces were masks of seriousness. Instantly Akima was on guard. What was happening?

Master Furlone led her down the gentle incline to the floor, and it was only then that she noticed there was someone new in the room, someone she'd never seen before. Was that the reason the Masters were so formal?

Akima sized up the newcomer as quickly as she could. It was a human woman, just starting the transition from beautiful to stately. Her age was hard to judge, in part because of her straight white hair, but it was somewhere in her late thirties or early forties. Her eyes were a stark blue, with a gaze that met hers with confidence. She stood straight and tall, arms crossed in front of her. Akima stared at her intensely for a moment, but she gave away nothing.

"Apprentice Akima," said Master Dorak, and Akima whipped her eyes back to the Masters, "we have brought you before us because we feel that you have progressed in your mastery of the Force to the degree that you require more focused, individual training. As such, we have decided that you are prepared to take the Initiate Trials to determine your future with the Jedi Order. The Trials shall begin tomorrow. Report to Master myself for the first trial at dawn."

Akima was somewhere between shocked and stunned. She had expected something, but she'd never have guessed in a million years that this was what they had in mind. She'd only just barely figured out how to feel the force, and it wasn't like it came to her every time. There was no way she could be ready to face trials!

She glanced at Master Zhar, alert for some sign that she'd been set up for failure again, despite having come to a sort of truce with him. His face was blank and calm, giving away nothing. In fact, he gave her a little nod of respect.

She swallowed hard. She didn't know enough about how this all worked to really know if she was being played or not. Maybe this was normal, or at least close enough to normal that protesting would be held against her. Well, there was nothing for it but to move forward and hope for the best. "Th-thank you, Masters, for this opportunity." She hated herself for that little skip in her voice, but there was no fixing it now. Time to get out before she made more of a fool of herself.

—

Arren Kae watched as the young woman smoothly gave a well-practiced bow and walked away with all the grace of a queen. Impressive. And, frankly, surprising. She was older than Arren would have expected for an initiate as well, though after being in her her frankly incredible presence in the Force it was hardly surprising they would let her in. What was surprising is that she had slipped through their normally rather efficient net of contacts that watched out for potential candidates. All of which asked the question, the one she had been asking almost since first laying eyes on the girl. Where had she gained that kind of poise and self-confidence in the face of intimidation that was also beyond their gaze?

It was a mystery, if most likely only a small one, but Arren Kae lived to unravel mysteries. Well, at least the Force had given her something interesting to do. She nodded to the Masters and turned to find the quarters provided her.

—-

Akima headed out of the conference hall at something just short of a run. She had to get to the library and figure out what the deal was with these trials. It took only a few moments to get to the basement library in such a small complex. The library was cool and quiet, as always. It was a place of calm, and despite it all Akima felt herself relax a little simply by stepping into the room. The Chronicler's desk sat straight across from the entrance while rows of massive data storage units lined both sides of the room and the limited upper level. The Chronicler was out at the moment, as Master Dorak hadn't fled the scene quite as hastily as she, which left an assistant Padawan sitting at the desk. A handful of brown robes were scattered about the library, mostly Padawans on assignment with the occasional Knight preparing for a mission off-world.

"Can I help you?"

"No thanks, I'm fine."

The Padawan nodded and looked back down to his datapad to keep playing is game, or whatever he was doing. While he could instantly point her in the right direction, shoot, he could probably just give her the answer rote, she wanted to figure this out herself without letting word get out about what was going on.

She sat down at one of the tables and plugged her datapad into the system. Hmm… The first trial was laughably simple - memorize the Jedi Code. The second was a killer. She had to build a lightsaber? How in the stars was she supposed to do that? And the third was a bit of a mystery. Apparently it was personalized, and had something to do with facing the dark side. That sounded ominous, but was vague enough that she didn't have much to work with. She flipped back to the lightsaber schematics and settled in for a serious studying session.

—

One of the brown-robed studiers in the library turned slightly in her chair. The platinum blonde Jedi was clearly settling herself more comfortably as she studied the data pad before her intently. Ostensibly, at least. While her blue eyes studied the words on the screen, her real object of study was the worried Apprentice on the level below her. She took a slow, deep breath, and reached out with her mind.

—

Akima was deep into the schematics when she felt something, movement, in the Force. But it was more than just a presence like she'd felt out on the grounds with Alek. It felt . . . deliberate. It wasn't someone walking past in the water, its as someone splashing water in her direction. Her eyes narrowed, and she focused on it even as outwardly she continued to study the datapad. What was going on?

Slowly the, well, the presence started to coalesce into something more solid. No, that wasn't right. Something more directed. An feeling, an emotion.

Listen.

Akima managed not to gasp out loud in shock as that icy clear, utterly foreign thought dropped into her mind. She'd never even heard of Jedi having some sort of telepathy! Could all Jedi do this?

Do not be afraid. The Masters are not setting you up for failure, but for success. Confidence.

They were half words and half emotions, and they echoed in her mind even as the presence faded away. She tried to reach out, tried to somehow follow that presence, but she stumbled around, uncertain and lost in this new world of the Force. It was scary. The wonder of the Force was suddenly colored by the very first hint of all the things that others could use the Force to do to her.

The datapad had a much harder time keeping her attention after that. For every iteration of circuitry she looked at, she threw out a data search for mind reading. For every query about the properties of various crystals, she read an article by a long-dead Master on ways to affect the mind through the Force.

It was a late night.