While Tera waited for her assignment she figures Kyle had enough time to recover to start their training session. With all the chaos of The Clone War provides, Tera never had a one-on-one session with her student. It's been a while since she's been teaching anyone that isn't a Youngling, so she knows Kyle knows the basics.
"From what I seen from you in the battlefield you're calm under pressure and far more confident than your abilities would suggest." Tera summarized her judgment to Kyle like a teacher meeting with the parents of a struggling student. Kyle knew a thing or two about those kinds of meetings.
"What usually follows these conversations filled with backhanded compliments is me being told I'm going to be held back a grade." Kyle remarks humorously, though he did wonder if that was a thing the Jedi actually did.
The closest demotion Kyle could think of in the Jedi Order was the Jedi Agricultural Corps. Resembling a community outreach program on Kyle's home planet. Mostly helping the poor and vulnerable citizens of the Galactic Republic, protect their farms and even provide children after school programs to help their overworked parents. The JAC acted more like a charity than an organization of peacekeeping warriors. It made sense to Kyle. No matter how well you did in the JAC, once you're demoted to there you can never leave.
"No." Tera had to chuckle at that utterance, forgetting Kyle came from a different background than the other Jedi. When Anakin came into the Jedi Order he was nine-years old. A bit rough around the edges, but young enough to instill the values of the Jedi into him. Kyle didn't have such a luxury.
"What I'm saying is, we need to work on your lightsaber and Force augmentation skills. They're poor."
Kyle shrugs. "I tried asking for a raise, but-"
"No time for jokes!" Tera hushes, having no use for insolence. "Here, put on this helmet." She fits it on his cranium for him.
"Am I deflecting blaster shots again?" He groans. This routine hardly helps somebody whose above the rank of Youngling. Kyle already knew how to deflect blaster bolts coming from a flying ball. Turns out, deflecting shots from a flying ball is far less difficult than doing the same only with a droid marching towards you. People are often quick to deride the C.I.S droid army as "easy" to beat. There's nothing easy about fighting an enemy with no attachments to his or her life. That's the whole point of having an expendable army.
"No. This is a simulation helmet. I'm going to dial up a battle from the Old Republic era and you're going to assume the role of a commander." She explains.
"Am I role-playing as a real or fake person?" He asks, genuinely curious. The premise of this exercise did tickle his interests.
"If you want I can give you a list of... oh, how do you say this... playable characters?" Tera felt icky comparing this exercise to a video game and Kyle could sense it.
"Eh... surprise me." Kyle only knew the big names in Jedi history. Like Bastila Shan, or her father Darth Revan.
"You'll be Aryn Leneer, apprentice to Ven Zallow, and we'll transport you to the Sacking of Coruscant over 3,000 years ago."
"Swallow?" Kyle couldn't believe that was somebody's real name.
"Zallow." She corrected.
"So did we win this battle?" He asks.
"It's titled 'Sacking of Coruscant', what do you think?" Tera snaps back.
"Uhh... no?" Kyle guesses sheepishly. Tera nods though Kyle could not see it.
In mere moments Kyle was seeing the historical, galaxy shaking battle play out right before his eyes through one of the participants. A tall man with a blond crew cut called for him to pay attention. "That my Master?" He asks Tera.
"Follow him."
He can hear the bombs going off, coupled with the roars of Sith Warriors slicing their way through the Jedi Temple. They venture into the higher levels of the temple, his master making quick waste of the Sith soldiers. They found themselves pinned down, only by themselves as the soldiers applied more pressure to the little cover the Jedi had keeping them alive. On the floor, Kyle notices a discarded blaster. An old model, the grip wasn't as smooth as its successors would be.
"Put the blaster down, Kyle." Tera ordered. If he could, he'd look at Tera like she was Insane.
"Why?"
"A Jedi does not use blasters or any projectile weapons when a lightsaber is available." She tells him again to put the blaster down. Kyle complies and withdraws his weapon, which is green in the simulation, not blue. He managed to keep his head, it helped to have an experienced hand guiding him through this virtual reality.
"You're doing good." Tera encouraged. "Remember, be mindful. Push out all noise and focus."
"I will, Master." He kept his weapon activated, as did his master. They made it to where all the action is. A Sith destroyer crashed right through the main entrance of the Jedi Temple. Master Zallow told Kyle to wait here while he confronted the leader of the operation searching for a challenge. "Who's that guy?" Kyle asks.
"Which one?" Tera asks, monitoring the scenario through her computer.
"The tall, pale, crinkly skinned guy with the respirator."
"That's Darth Malgus. Leader of the Sith. A fantastic general. Broke the republic stronghold on Korriban and as you are seeing, lead the successful sacking of Coruscant. It's best not to engage." She describes.
"Why? This isn't a time machine." Kyle was about to give himself the challenge of a lifetime, figuring the risks were nonexistent.
"Tread carefully during these exercises, the makers of this technology prided themselves on 'hyper realism' meaning a confrontation with such a personality like Malgus could result in mental deterioration." She warns.
Zallow engages Malgus in fierce battle. From the jump, Kyle could guess Zallow stood little to no chance. It wasn't that Malgus' sheer aggression was enough to overwhelm the accomplished Jedi Master. Zallow saw himself wear down dodging the obstacles thrown towards him. "Should I help?" Kyle asks Tera. Believing a Padawan must assist their master when they believe them to be in trouble.
"You have to decide." Kyle decided against it. "No. I'm going to find more Jedi and run the Sith out." His conclusion brought a smile to Tera's face.
"Way to look at the big picture." Later, Kyle felt a needle prick his heart. His master had fallen.
"What-" The feeling didn't go away, it only worsened with each passing second. "Master, I-" He couldn't, he felt his body shake before crumbling to the floor where he shivered madly. Tera quickly shut the simulation down. "Master, what was that?" His eyes began to water uncontrollably, dabbing the stream of tears streaming down his cheek with his tunic. "Why am I crying?"
"That was what Padawan Leneer felt internally when her master died. A bond between a Jedi and their student is sacred." Tera helps Kyle to his feet, using her strength to keep his legs from buckling again. "Though we frown on forming attachments, the Jedi cannot help but develop a kinship to one another. We are bonded together through the Force and can feel the passing of a fellow Jedi."
"Then maybe the code is wrong?" Kyle examines. The first day he arrived at the temple and attended Master Yoda's class, he stressed the importance of limiting ones emotions. Kyle thought that was to avoid giving into the raw unpredictability emotion provides, that leaves you or your allies vulnerable. At least, that was his interpretation of the line "There is no emotion, there is peace" How can there be peace without emotion? How are emotions the cause of conflict?
"Far be it from me to criticize a code that's served our order for over a thousand generations." Tera replies softly. "It's best not to question it." Kyle didn't know how to feel about that last part, but worked out this wasn't the time to start a philosophical debate about the Jedi.
The shivering past and Tera told Kyle that was enough training for one day.
(Scene break)
Tera searched for Anakin, finding him in the war room overseeing the land the Galactic Republic and the Jedi spilt blood for be taken over by the soulless droid army. "This went from a war of attrition to a race against the clock." Tera summarizes, getting Skywalker's attention.
"It'll take all of our cunning to make up for these loses." Skywalker bemoans.
"We have some great minds coming to our aide straight from the War College. They'll strategize our way out of this predicament. Probably take a year or so." She allowed herself to show optimism, seeing as Skywalker adopted the contrasting option of pessimism.
"How's mentoring Kyle going?" Anakin wished to change the subject to a topic more lighter.
"It's only been a brief while, but I'll tell you, I've come to miss teaching." Tera confesses. "He's a very gifted student." Tera then expressed interest in Skywalker's Padawan.
"Ahsoka's far exceeded what I've expected of her. She's crafty with a lightsaber and I know she can handle herself against all variations of battle droids." He says confidently.
"That's my problem with Kyle, he's too reliant on his blaster. His lightsaber skills are subpar."
"Make him quit cold turkey." Anakin casually throws out the suggestion.
"Knowing Kyle's luck, he'll run into General Grievous his first mission I tell him not to use a blaster." She chuckles.
"I heard he handled himself against Ventress." Tera shakes her head.
"Your Padawan fared better, she stood her ground in lightsaber combat. Kyle evaded death by sheer happenstance." She bewailed. "You can't bring a wrestling move into combat." Tera didn't want to break the poor kid's heart, but eventually she'd have to tell him the move wouldn't work and that one time was a fluke.
"I've been kicked in the face tons of times, so I wouldn't say it's totally useless." Anakin chortled lightly. "She captured Ventress, not many can say that!"
"Sometimes I wonder about the mysterious ways the Force works." Tera thinks deeply.
"You worry too much. Listen, I'm sending Ahsoka to Mandalore to tutor children at the academy. Maybe you should let Kyle go. He's been taken a beating these last couple of weeks." He offers.
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Tera agreed.
"Tell him to pack, they leave tonight."
(Scene break)
"I don't know anything about politics!" Kyle protests the assignment, saying he's a bad fit for it.
"What do you mean? You're constantly critiquing the senate." She retorts.
"I call them a bunch of corrupt clowns. The most apolitical tripe description anyone can give them. The only reason you think it's a quality opinion is because Jedi aren't supposed to comment on political matters."
"Well, then this'll be a good opportunity for you to learn and listen to Ahsoka." She tells him.
"Ahsoka doesn't know anything either." He shoots back.
"Oh, hush. This'll be good for you. A nice, quiet mission."
"Yeah, because as we all know, there isn't a terrorist group on Mandalore causing all kinds of problems." Kyle responds not withholding his snark.
"How did you hear about that?" Tera asks.
"I watch the news." Songin isn't too far from Mandalore, so the headlines of his home's publications usually contained stories about what the group "Death Watch" was up to and them threatening to overthrow the Duchess Satine's rule.
Tera didn't want to tell Kyle the main reason why he was accompanying Tano to Mandalore. Skywalker trusts Ahsoka to work undercover to investigate the corruption within the government.
"There's another reason why I'm going" Kyle prodded. He could see the look in Tera's eyes. "This isn't just a simple tutoring job. This is a mission. A mission to..." He rubs his chin, pacing around his master in an effort to get his mind racing to a conclusion. "Investigate any possible illegal activities!" Tera smiles, happy to see Kyle's powers of deduction well exceeded his youthful age.
"Bravo. You've figured me out. Now that you know this is a mission, now will you go?" Tera was going to get him on that ship kicking and screaming if she had to, so it didn't matter one way or another.
"So I'm a secret agent now?" Kyle smirks. "A secret Jedi agent."
"Yes," Tera sighs "You're a secret Jedi agent, but please keep that to yourself. Listen to Anakin on the way there. He'll brief you on your responsibilities, and when you land there listen to Ahsoka."
Kyle resented the fact he's always second fiddle to Ahsoka. Since day one he's been measured up against her. Now he's taking orders from her to boot?
"Alright, Master. I'll go."
