Chapter 10

The Renzucon fell through the atmosphere of Cantauri steadily, Ranzel once again in the piloting position. The ship turned as it came down, and a little forward power sent it sweeping over the surface of the planet, so that Leo could appreciate it. There were dense forests and sprawling deserts close to each other, and in the distance, the mountains grew up to form a massive ice field.

It was the perfect training planet, Leo realised, like Earth might appear to be, with its similar, if less condensed landscapes.

The Jedi Temple grew up before them like a massive stalagmite, towering and sharp against the landscape. Surrounding the Temple were four landing pads, and beyond that a series of hangers, which seemed odd in comparison to the massive, gothic building.

"It's amazing," Leo said, looking at the building as they approached.

Ranzel merely smiled and turned the ship a little, bringing her in to land on one of the pads.

"How many Initiates are there here?" Leo asked.

"Very few, compared to how many there would usually be. The war has not been kind to us." Ranzel replied, giving Leo a knowing look and then stepping away. "Come…we have much to do, and see."

Following Ranzel from the shuttle, Leo once again became aware of just how massive the Universe must be. This was one little planet, and beyond that it had its own system, and then there were lots of systems in this Galaxy, which made up the Universe with more of its kind.

The air was warm on his face, and the Temple seemed to smell strongly of hard work, covered up with flowers.

A dark purple alien was approaching, his long, drooping ears falling over his shoulders like hair. Otherwise he was bald, and he had small, black eyes. He was attended by a young girl in white robes, with black hair.

He seemed speechless for a moment, his sharp eyes fixed on Leo, and then he shifted his gaze towards Ranzel.

"The Council told us you would be visiting," said the alien, and then he looked back at Leo again. "We expected you would come alone." It was a question, really. The alien didn't know who Leo was.

"Ah," Ranzel said warmly. "This is Leonard Black. He was sent here to study this Galaxy."

"He's a Jedi?"

"A Padawan; He is learning more about the Universe before he rejoins his Master."

The alien nodded warily and glanced at Leo once more, before addressing him. "You are strong in the Force. My name is Membar Delkarel," he lifted one scaly hand before him in greeting, and then continued. "If your Temple can spare you once you attain your Knighthood…"

Leo shook his head softly, but didn't say a word. Ranzel let a smile move over his lips. He hadn't exactly lied to the Jedi Master. Everything he had said was true. Leo's eyes were bright with amusement at just how clever Ranzel had been.

"Very well," the alien said, at large. "If you would follow me, I'll show you the way through. There are several Apprentices who would seek to charm you, Ranzel."

Ranzel smiled and looked at his feet, and Leo followed to one side of him, looking around as he went. It was a perfect story, because the alien who led them showed him everything as they passed, impressing Leo with the greatness of the halls.

They stopped momentarily to greet another Jedi Master, an eight foot tall figure, who would be a perfectly normal human if it wasn't for his incredible height. He too seemed quite taken aback by Leo, and didn't seem to quite believe the story when Membar passed it on to him.

He glared down into Leo's green eyes for a few long moments, and then turned his gaze up to Ranzel. It was then that Leo knew something bad was going to happen.

"Close your eyes," the tall figure said firmly. "Tell me everything you see."

Leo glanced quickly to Ranzel, who looked urgently down at him. Obediently he shut his eyes and took a breath, trying to consider what he was meant to be doing. The question was reasonable, and not simply a trick. He was meant to be a warrior who relied on more than just strength…so it must be something about remembering everything to do with his environment, like the question had suggested.

He began steadily, thinking of everything in turn. "There are pillars stretching down either side at one meter intervals. The ceiling is high, lifted in towers at frequent points in a gothic manner. Everything is made from a dark silver kind of stone, except for the floor, which is…more like sandstone.

Ranzel D'Kar stands to my left. He is taller than me, with brown hair, but…"

He was stopped here by the enormous man. "Details; Use the Force to find the details."

It was almost as though he could feel Ranzel's worry as he stood those few inches away. He almost said it before he remembered just why Ranzel was worried. "Ranzel is no more than a hand's breadth to my left. His hair is wavy, and his eyes are dark brown, although the centres are paler." He tried desperately to concentrate, to summon every possible thing he might have seen to his mind.

"His right hand is on his hip, and he's watching me intently…a single strand of hair over one eye." He lowered his eyes and thought about the tall alien. "The Master I met more recently is scowling. He is two foot taller than I am, and has sharp features, and pale silver hair. He concentrated. "There's a scar on his jaw…perhaps from a lightsaber."

This was harder than he expected it would have been. He tried to remember more. The purple alien, Membar… "Membar has one of his ears…" he tried to remember. "…His left ear, hanging over his shoulder in front – and the right one behind." He struggled for a moment. Something was wrong, a ripple of something – a movement. "He is otherwise bald, and shorter than I am. His hands are…"

Leo's hand shot up, closing around Membar's wrist, where his hand had crept up towards Leo's collar. Slowly he opened his eyes. He wasn't entirely aware of how he'd known – but in imagining everything happening around him, the vision had come to life. The taller alien was looking down at him in surprise, and Membar seemed quite shocked too. His little black eyes had grown in size perceptibly.

Leo could still feel Ranzel a little, to his amazement. He was proud and relieved, and when Leo turned his eyes to the other man he had to smile as the Jedi Knight quickly covered up his feelings by lifting his eyes to the taller alien, confidently. "You have always been paranoid, Arakaziel, but it is simply rude to test someone who does not know your ways. Now, Membar, we were expected elsewhere, I believe?"

Ranzel moved forwards, but Leo waited behind long enough to give a slight bow to Arakaziel, before following the two at a slight distance. Again there was that odd feeling of knowing Ranzel was proud of him, and it warmed his heart to feel it.

It turned out that there were four initiates in total in the room, and a good deal more had come to watch, although they didn't expect to be chosen. The four were in pairs, their lightsabers drawn and on a low power. They were blindfolded, but despite that they fought with incredible adaptability and capability. All were on the defensive, except for one particularly fiery youth.

Ranzel leant over to him, telling him softly that the anger that the child showed in his method of fighting would make it difficult to train him, and he would have to learn to control it before any Jedi Knight would accept him as Padawan.

Another girl seemed particularly good. She took each motion in her stride, whirled and caught another, but Ranzel was disappointed in her to. "She wastes too much energy. She will weaken first," he explained to Leo.

The other two were very good, as far as Ranzel were concerned. But neither stood out in the way Ranzel seemed to believe Leo did. Leo was grateful, but surprised at this information.

Ranzel stood, moving to meet Membar and leaving Leo on his own. Unsolicited, Arakaziel appeared beside him, his tall shape towering over Leo. Leo held his breath until he'd relaxed his surprise, and without glancing up, greeted the man with a nod – especially since he couldn't quite remember his name.

"Is Ranzel teaching you?" Arakaziel said, darkly.

Leo didn't move; he tried to remain calm. "Ranzel is offering me lessons from time to time, in the absence of my Master."

It was hard to lie, especially in the face of someone as powerful as Leo suspected this man was. He went on, softly, to offer a little recompense. "I have trouble controlling my anger, from time to time." He thought that sounded reasonable enough.

"Anger is the path to the Dark Side," Arakaziel intoned in the same way Leo had expected him to.

"It is," Leo replied, looking at the elder man respectfully before looking back towards the fights. The girl was indeed tiring as Ranzel had predicted, and the boy who had been fighting in that angry manner was tiring too.

Arakaziel turned ever so slightly towards the battles. "Would you fight one of our initiates? They are all younger than you, but you should not underestimate them. I have a favourite, myself…"

Leo took a breath. "I would prefer to consult Ranzel before I agree to anything. He is expected on…" he strained to remember the name of the planet, "…Pentusar – and I would not like to delay him unnecessarily." He held his back when he was done, hoping he hadn't sounded too much like a robot.

"Of course," Arakaziel said warmly, but it was clear from the sound of his voice that he would not be satisfied unless Leo agreed. None the less, Leo would speak to Ranzel first.

Coming to his feet, Leo sent Arakaziel an understanding, but cold look before turning on his heal and crossing the hall, bowing slightly to Ranzel. It was enough for him to stop whatever it was he was saying to Membar and turn towards him questioningly.

"Arakaziel," Leo said, as the alien's name came to him again, "Arakaziel wishes me to duel an initiate of his choice. I suspect he will not be satisfied otherwise." He was quite impressed with how formal he'd managed to phrase that in front of the purple Jedi Master. "However, being aware of your mission, I do not seek to waste time."

Ranzel nodded, but he already knew what Leo meant: 'I'm worried about what will happen, but I know I have to do this' was the general reasoning. 'But if you can help in any way, I would be grateful.' This at least was the general message put across by the earnestness of Leo's gaze, and the slight tremble of his fingertips.

"You should not deny Arakaziel his whims, although they come at a bad time," Membar interrupted, from beside Ranzel.

"None the less, we cannot stay too long here," Ranzel replied, with a stern look at the Jedi Master. "The Union of Planets needs any intelligence about those ships that we can gather for them. Arakaziel's fight will have to wait."

"Thank you," Leo murmured weakly, though his heart was beating twice as fast as usual. Somehow, Ranzel's denial of what Membar had called 'Arakaziel's whims' was a show of his power, where Leo had had none of the control to make such a controversial decision.

But Ranzel was still going to use it as a training method, he realised. It was the same attempt of throwing him in at the deep end; only this time if he failed, he would be putting Ranzel in danger, as well as himself. As soon as they did have time to spare, he would be here, fighting some unknown assailant blindly.

At least now he had some time to learn. He would not have to be fighting some powerful initiate the following morning. He might even have the privilege of a few weeks to hone the abilities that had helped him catch Membar's wrist earlier.

Leo bowed again to Ranzel, who glanced momentarily at Membar, before watching Leo go. The Padawan made his way back over to Arakaziel and bowed again. He felt a pit in his stomach, not fear, but certainly unease. But he would not back down from the challenge.

Leo could only hope that Ranzel's faith in him was well justified.

"I accept your challenge, Arakaziel," Leo said softly. "However, Ranzel insists on fulfilling his mission primarily."

Arakaziel looked as though that serenity that covered his face might suddenly snap, but he seemed to recover himself and he nodded slowly. "As you wish," The haughty alien replied, leaning down a little towards him. "As soon as your mission is completed, of course… We cannot waste time in the midst of war."

Leo nodded, serenely, but he was relieved when Arakaziel finally left him to watch the end of the fight.