The Light Renewed: Chapter 2
Early the following morning, Luke stepped into the massive hanger bay of the Rebel flagship and walked rapidly to a small personal transport shuttle. Scanning the authorization key General Madine had provided that permitted him to use it, he quickly climbed in and pressed the ignition switch. The shuttle rose and hovered gently, then moved forward through the shield covering the hanger bay's entrance to space as Luke pressed forward on the yoke. Once outside the flagship, Luke accelerated toward a medium sized, rather nondescript-looking ship that was, none the less, one of the most legendary ships in the entire Rebellion. Known as the Ghost, it, and its formidable crew, had delivered hundreds of blows to the Galactic Empire during the course of the war. Its crew had formed one of the very first Rebel cells and been responsible for the formation of multiple more on countless planets. Under the combined command of Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla, the crew of the Ghost had flown relief missions, retrieval missions, supply missions, and a thousand other operations; all to designed to further the cause of the Rebellion and bring freedom and hope back to an oppressed galaxy. Shortly before 0700, Luke docked the shuttle to the Ghost's hatch and exited the airlock to find Ezra waiting for him.
"Welcome to the Ghost, Luke."
"Thanks, Ezra. I hope I haven't kept you and Master Jarrus waiting?"
"Nope. Haven't even seen him yet this morning. He'll be out soon. Come on, I'll introduce you to anyone else who's up."
Luke followed Ezra up the ladder that led to the crew lounge. A large, purple-skinned Lasat sat in a chair, cleaning an exotic looking weapon and grumbling at two droids who ignored him and continued their spirited argument about which of them had won the game of dejarik they had just played.
"Morning, Zeb. Luke, this is Zeb; Zeb, this is Luke Skywalker." Ezra pointed from the Lasat to Luke and back again before disappearing into the galley.
"Luke Skywalker, eh? Heard of you. Good shot on that first Death Star. Would've been a whole lot more systems ended up like Alderaan if you hadn't taken that out."
"Thanks, Zeb. I wasn't the only one out there fighting, though. Lost my best friend in that battle."
"Ehh, man, sorry to hear that. Guess we all have our reasons to be glad the Empire's gone, don't we?"
"Yeah, we do." Luke sat down and leaned his arms on the dajarik table. "I'm glad it's over."
"We all are, kid." Zeb rose from his chair and stretched. "Think I'll find me a snack before breakfast."
Ezra ambled out of the galley, popping the cap on a carbonated beverage. He shook his head at the two droids. "Chopper. AP. C'mon, guys, give it up. It's WAY too early for this." He held up his drink. "Hey, Luke, you want one?"
"Sure, sounds good."
"Hey, Zeb; throw me another of those cold drinks out of the conservator, will ya?" Ezra called.
"Sure. Catch." Zeb tossed the can over his shoulder without looking, causing it to go in the completely wrong direction. It changed course inexplicably in mid air before coming to rest in Ezra's hand. He handed it to Luke.
"Here you go. Drink up."
"Thanks." Luke popped the cap and took a sip.
"No problem. Kanan should be out any time; he never eats or drinks anything before meditation, but I've got to have some form of sustenance." Ezra leaned back in his chair and took a long swig. "Ahh, that's good." He let out a loud burp, then jerked forward holding the back of his head. "Ouch, Sabine! What was that for?!"
"For being disgusting, Ezra. Ugh." A young woman wearing Mandalorian armor and short blue and purple hair with white tips walked around the dejarik table and greeted Luke. "I'm Sabine."
Luke nodded to her. "I'm Luke. Nice to meet you, Sabine."
"At least one of you has manners. Wouldn't hurt you to learn some, Ezra."
Ezra rolled his eyes and took another drink. He smirked at Sabine. "I bet you wouldn't have minded if it had been a certain Mandalorian, would you, Sabine? I might have to have a talk with Jassar the next time I see him; tell him how bossy you are, how hard to please you are, how-"
Sabine launched herself across the room, vaulting easily over Ezra's chair to put him in a choke hold.
"A Mandalorian man doesn't want a woman who lets him walk all over her. And no Mandalorian woman would want a man who's that easily dissuaded. He's got to put in some effort or it will never work."
"Well, he's definitely got his work cut out for him. Maybe I'll send him a sympathy holo instead." Ezra twisted his head, trying to dislodge Sabine's arm from his neck. "Hey, Luke; how 'bout a little help here?"
Luke leaned back in his seat and raised his hands. "Nope, I don't think I want to interfere in this fight, Ezra. Think I'll stay right here and keep my hands where Sabine can see them."
Sabine smirked. "Smart guy. You really should spend some time with him, Ezra. Maybe you could learn a few things." She relaxed the choke hold and stepped back from Ezra's chair.
"Traitor," Ezra grumbled good-naturedly, rubbing his neck. "I thought we were supposed to stick together, Bro's Honor, all that kind of stuff."
"Only a fool picks a fight he knows he can't win, Ezra." Kanan stood in the doorway of the crew lounge. "I think Luke has shown he's no fool."
"Nice. Thanks, Kanan." Ezra slumped in his chair. "You know it's going to be a great day when the first thing your master calls you is a fool."
Kanan raised an eyebrow. "Is that what I did? Or did you simply reference the situation the way your mind saw it?"
"Wait, what?" Ezra shook his head. "Really not sure what you're saying here, Kanan."
"I never called you a fool, Ezra. I simply gave you a maxim to live by. It was up to you to interpret it for yourself."
"Sooo...what you're saying is, because I knew subconsciously that I was acting foolish, I accused myself?" Ezra smiled ruefully. "Yeah, guess I did, didn't I?"
Kanan dropped his hand on Ezra's shoulder. "It can be easy to take what others say personally, but if you do, it usually means, deep down, you actually feel the same way." Kanan shrugged and chuckled. "To be honest, I was only teasing you, Ezra. I had no intention of turning this into a teaching example."
"Ehh, it's fine. I'm used to it by now." Ezra stood and stretched. "Are you ready, master?"
"I am. Are you joining us, Luke?"
"Yes, Master Jarrus." Luke rose from his seat.
"This way." Ezra waved a hand at him and walked out of the crew lounge and down the hallway between the crew quarter doors. "The Ghost isn't the most private place in the galaxy, so Kanan and I use my room for meditation." He stopped at the last door and pressed the button to open it. "This used to be Kanan's room, but when he and Hera finally got married, he moved into the Captain's quarters with her. There's plenty of room here and no distractions." Ezra rummaged in the drawer under the bed and pulled out two sturdy meditation pillows, tossing them onto the floor. He sank easily into a cross-legged position on one of them, while Luke lowered himself to the other. Kanan knelt on the small, cushioned platform that he had always used. Kanan and Ezra wasted no time, simply closing their eyes and taking an almost simultaneous deep breath, comfortable in the ease of long practice. Luke also closed his eyes and allowed his mind to clear.
Luke came out of meditation and slowly opened his eyes. He felt refreshed, as he always did after meditation. Kanan and Ezra weren't done yet, so Luke sat quietly, waiting and thinking. He couldn't help but compare his own Jedi practice to what he had already seen of Kanan and Ezra's. The difference in his own sporadic training and the structured education Ezra had received at the hand of a dedicated master was painfully clear. Even this time of meditation emphasized the lack. He had meditated on his own, of course, during the last few years, but without a master to stress the importance of it, he had often allowed it to become less of a priority. His endurance wasn't as high as it could be, and he vowed to work on changing that and to learn as much as possible from Kanan while he had this rare opportunity.
As he waited, Luke curiously observed the two Jedi still deep in meditation. Ezra reminded Luke of a felinx; tall, lithe, and muscular, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He had pulled his shoulder-length, blue-black hair away from his face and ears into a short ponytail at the back of his head, allowing the rest to hang loose. Kanan wasn't quite as tall or muscular as Ezra, but he didn't appear diminished when standing next to his Padawan, and he exuded an aura of calm authority. His brown hair was smoothed back into a ponytail at the base of his neck and he wore a short, full beard, but the most remarkable thing about him was the scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose and on each side of his eyes. It almost looked like a burn mark to Luke, but what could have burned a straight line right across the eyes like that? It was obvious a terrible accident had taken Kanan's sight from him, but Luke had already seen that it didn't hinder Kanan in his daily living. On the contrary, the Jedi Knight seemed to function as easily as any seeing person, but Luke couldn't even comprehend how close of a connection to the Force Kanan must have to be able to accomplish this feat. He was unaware that he was staring at Kanan until he heard a light cough and turned his head quickly to see Ezra looking at him.
"What were you thinking about?" Ezra asked quietly. "Looked like you were out in orbit somewhere."
"Just about how easily Master Jarrus seems to move through life even though he's blind." Luke didn't notice how Ezra's eyes darkened briefly with grief and pain at the reference. "I was thinking about how close he must be to the Force to maintain that level of ability."
Ezra chuckled dryly. "Well, if you're impressed now, wait until you see him in combat. I still can't beat him most of the time, either unarmed or lightsaber." Ezra looked up to see Kanan's eyes open. "Oops, sorry if we disturbed you, Kanan."
"No, I just got done, Ezra. Let's go get some breakfast. I can smell it from here and I'm ready for it." Kanan rose from his cushioned bench and started out the door, the two young men following close behind him. As they entered the crew lounge again, an attractive, light green Twi'lek woman looked up and smiled warmly at them.
"Good morning, Ezra; and I assume this is Luke Skywalker? Kanan mentioned meeting you last night. I'm Hera and welcome to the Ghost, love. Breakfast will be ready shortly. Ezra, tell AP to make sure he remembers to make a plate for Luke."
"Oh, I don't-" Luke began.
"Absolutely not." Hera stated firmly. "You are having breakfast with us and I'll hear no arguments."
Luke smiled. "Well, since you outrank me, General Syndulla, then I guess the only thing I can say is Sir; yes, Sir."
"Exactly. Now sit down, all of you. AP will bring in the food as soon as we do." Hera sat down at one end of the table and Kanan at the other. The rest of them quickly found their places and AP brought them plates of scrambled nuna eggs, marrovian ham, biscuits with bluefruit jam and sliced pallie fruit. Silence reigned for a short time while the sharp edges of their appetites were being sated, but soon conversation began to flow freely around the table, creating a warm atmosphere that Luke thoroughly enjoyed. When everyone was finished, Ezra and Sabine got up and began removing the dishes from the table. Luke quickly rose to help, and the three young people, with much good natured teasing and laughter, made short work of the cleaning up.
After their morning work was done, the crew scattered to their various activities of the day. Sabine and Zeb took the Phantom and went to the Rebel flagship to see friends and socialize, Hera went to her quarters to work on reports for Command, and Ezra went to his room to get his data pad with his questions and notes on the Jedi text he was currently studying for the morning discussion time with Kanan. When Kanan had become Master Billaba's padawan, she had gotten him a data pad and downloaded several Jedi texts from the Jedi Archives in the Temple on Coruscant that she wanted him to have access to and study. Kanan had been very grateful for those texts many times in the last few years while overseeing Ezra's training, and he insisted that Ezra read at least some every day, record any questions or personal thoughts he may have, and present it to Kanan the following day for discussion.
When he returned, Kanan and Luke were already talking, so Ezra sat down to listen. Some of the questions Luke asked were basic stuff to Ezra, but he understood that Luke hadn't had resources to learn from as he had. Ezra often interjected his own thoughts into the conversation and Luke was grateful for his perspective. Sometimes Ezra was able to explain things more clearly to Luke than Kanan could, just because of his own experience, like Luke, of becoming a Jedi later in life. There were things about the Force and the Jedi Way that Kanan had always known; things he didn't ever remember not knowing, so it was easy for him to just take them on faith, but both Ezra and Luke often had to have a more definitive explanation before simply believing, or even understanding, the concept being presented. Ezra could guide Luke on the mental path he himself had walked that led to his own belief in the truths Kanan had taught him, thus helping Luke's understanding in a way that even Kanan couldn't always accomplish.
After a light lunch with Hera, the three took Luke's shuttle back to the flagship and went to the training rooms. They found a small one that was unoccupied and Kanan asked Luke to demonstrate whatever knowledge he had of lightsaber combat. Luke complied, and afterward came to receive Kanan's judgment. Kanan was kind, but also clear that there were areas in which he found Luke's technique to be lacking. He asked if Luke knew the first level forms from memory, and when Luke answered in the affirmative, set Luke to practicing them on his own, while he began guiding Ezra through a set of more advanced forms.
After a some time, Kanan called a halt to their individual practice and set Ezra to be Luke's sparring partner, telling Ezra to give Luke advice and instruction as they practiced. Luke winced slightly in embarrassment, but Ezra smiled encouragingly and motioned him onto the practice mat. The two young men circled each other, training sabers extended in readiness. After several minutes, in which Ezra had maintained a constant flow of both encouragement and constructive criticism, Kanan called a halt to their sparring and waved them both over to sit on the floor before him. Both young men came and dropped gratefully to the ground to rest. Kanan handed them each a canteen and they drank deeply of the refreshing liquid.
"What is your assessment of Luke's combat level, Ezra?" Kanan asked bluntly. Ezra blinked in surprise at the question and glanced quickly at Luke before answering.
"Um, well, I think he's proficient enough in his solo practice of first level forms that he can move on to the second level ones, no problem. He does need more sparring practice in the first level forms, though he is fairly confident in them and won't take long to graduate to the second level forms in sparring too. He learns quickly and only needs to be shown a technique a few times before he remembers it and even to begin to use it in combat. When fully trained, he will be extremely formidable with a lightsaber. That is my opinion."
"I concur with your assessment." Kanan smiled at them both. "I have to say, I have been impressed with both of you today. Luke, your willingness to learn and ability to take instruction is a credit to your character. I would be glad if you would continue to come and learn with us each day." Luke nodded eagerly. If Kanan was willing for him to be there, Luke would be. He had learned so much in this one day alone; he wasn't going to pass up any opportunities offered to him. Plus, he just enjoyed being around them.
"Ezra," Kanan continued, "I have been equally impressed with your patience and your teaching skills. I have complete confidence that when you become a Jedi Knight and take a student of your own, you will teach them as well, or better, than I have taught you." Ezra smiled as a warm feeling flowed through him, glad that Kanan had been pleased with his efforts. Kanan wasn't stingy with his praise, but he also didn't give praise that wasn't deserved, so it was doubly appreciated by both young men.
"Well, before your muscles cool down completely, Ezra and I will go through our unarmed combat forms. Luke, do you have any experience in unarmed combat?" Kanan asked.
"No, Master Jarrus," Luke answered. "Masters Kenobi and Yoda focused mainly on using the Force and lightsaber combat. They never mentioned unarmed combat at all."
"It was probably due to the shortness of your training time with them." Kanan responded. "They felt they had to prioritize what they taught you; that's why they focused on those two things. However, we were taught unarmed combat in the Temple and I feel it's an important part of a Jedi's combat skill set. Your lightsaber is extremely important, of course; but you can't depend solely on that. What if your 'saber is lost or destroyed? What if you're in an area where it's not safe to ignite your lightsaber, or you wish to conceal your identity as a Jedi in certain situations? You need to be able to defend yourself using only your body and the Force if necessary. We will begin teaching you the basics of unarmed combat tomorrow, but for now, occupy yourself as you wish while Ezra and I spar."
Luke nodded and moved to the side of the room, fully intending to go through the lightsaber forms again, but before long he found himself standing idle, watching dumbfounded at the display of skill he was witnessing. Ezra had been right; Luke was impressed at Kanan's combat prowess, made even more impressive by his blindness. Ezra was no slouch either, and both men gave and received lightning-fast blows as they circled each other in a deadly dance. The bout lasted for some time, but then came to a sudden end as Kanan spun, bringing his foot up and around before Ezra could block it, stopping with his heel just short of Ezra's cheekbone. It was a finishing blow and marked the end of the match with Kanan as victor. Both men stopped, breathing hard, and Kanan gave Ezra a hearty slap on the back.
"Good bout, Ezra."
"Yeah, well, I still can't block that kick. It's your best move and you give absolutely no indications that you're about to use it, so it's always a complete surprise to me. One of these days, I guess." Ezra responded.
Kanan smiled. "I've already told you I was proud of your work today, Ezra. No need to flatter me like that."
Ezra grinned. "No flattering intended, master, but one of these days I'm going to block that kick and knock you on your butt."
Kanan chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "We'll see, Ezra." Ezra smirked at his master; Kanan smiled, then continued. "I do have to be honest and say that it wasn't really a fair fight for you today. I was completely fresh and you had been training for a couple of hours. However, fights are often not fair, so best to practice that way sometimes."
Ezra grinned at Luke's face. "Pick your jaw up off the floor, Luke. I told you he was good."
Luke's mouth closed with an audible click of teeth. "Don't know if 'good' is the word I would use. Incredible, maybe. I've never seen fighting like that. You all give me some lofty goals to aspire to, that's for sure."
Ezra punched him on the arm. "You'll get there, no problem, and faster than I did. I can already tell just from working with you today." He stooped down to pick up his practice saber, then walked over and replaced it in the room's storage closet. Luke followed behind him to do the same. Kanan waited until they were done, then motioned them out of the room. He walked down the hall, Ezra and Luke on either side of him, then stopped at the corridor intersection. "Luke, are you coming back out to the Ghost for supper?"
Luke smiled wearily. "If it's ok with you, Master, I think I'll just head to the showers and then go to bed. Not sure I'll even get supper. I've not been this tired in a long time. I'll be out tomorrow morning at the same time. Please tell General Syndulla that she doesn't need to feed me, though. I can take care of it before I come out to the Ghost."
Kanan chuckled. "If I say something like that to Hera, she will skin me alive. Just plan on eating meals with us when you are on the Ghost, Luke. We enjoy your company." Ezra, standing beside Kanan, smiled and nodded his head in agreement.
Luke smiled again, feeling the connection of true friendship and camaraderie being offered to him. He bowed to them both, then turned and walked away down the corridor toward his quarters, twisting his body from side to side, hoping to loosen up tight muscles. If tomorrow was going to be anything like today; and he was pretty sure they had taken it easy on him, he definitely needed to get some sleep.
(Author's Note: I'm sorry for what I feel is a slightly boring chapter. However, I did want to give a basic idea of Kanan's training schedule so that if I mention something in the future, my readers will already know what is meant by it. I also wanted to highlight Luke's reaction to a structured training environment as compared to what he had received. I hope you will continue to read my little story as my characters grow and react to the changes awaiting them. May the Force be with you.)
