Jedi Detention Center: Day 5

"NNEEEXXX!", my own voice echoes in my head as a surge of energy rushes from my chest. The next thing I know, I'm laying on the cold floor of my cell.
I was dreaming; dreaming of memories past.
During my sleep, I had apparently used the force; my bed is now in splinters.
I guess I'm not too out of luck. Two droids just ran in here. One is cleaning up the mess - his sidekick is starting to build a new bed frame.
Like I said: Droids are efficient.

The next hour goes by rather slowly, broken only by a random passing Jedi or technician.
"Hey!", I yell to one of the passing techs, "You got a radio, or something? I'm bored."
"Only this one communicator.", the timid tech says.
I lower my head into my hand, "No. A music-playing radio, 'tard. You got any tunes? A cassette player, or even an 8-track?" I even put on a 'nice' face.
"I'll call a droid.", he says as he walks away.
The droid never comes.
Instead, I get a familiar essence.

"Good morning, Shorty.", I say to the pint-sized figure lurking in the dark. "Haven't seen you a few days. I thought I might have scared you off."
Shorty steps forward, revealing herself.
"No, I was in beginners training camp. We learned a lot about the Force; Look!" She lays a small item on the floor, wrapped in a cloth. She immediately puts her hand over it, making it hover in front of her.
Letting it hover, she starts to force it toward my cell bars. Her face is cute; I can tell she's struggling to keep it afloat. I used to make that same face when I was learning.
She keeps forcing it toward my cell, an attempt to offer it to me but, just as it passes near the door it touches on a bar; instantly exploding.
"I'm sorry!", she pleads, fighting back tears as she stands.
"Don't worry about it, Shorty. It takes practice.", I reassure her.
Something inside of me is feeling warm right now. Maybe it's her innocent cuteness. Maybe she reminds me of myself. I don't know. For some reason, I actually want to help her learn this. Maybe she will be my new apprentice. After all, I do have to find a learner; and the Force works in mysterious ways.
Either way, this warm feeling has to go away. I don't like it.

I motion toward the front of my cell door, "Sit." I say as I sit, cross-legged. She sits, cross-legged outside the door, mere inches away from me. She trusts me, now. Good.
I start with a basic skill. "Close your eyes and clear your mind. Open your hands, palms up on your knees.", I do the same in order to coach her. This is how I learned.
I just realized that we have nothing for her to lift, but I can hear a droid coming around the corner.
"Keep your eyes closed.", I tell her as the droid passes.
"Droid! Stay right were you are.", the droid stops dead in his tracks, right behind Shorty.
"Can you sense the droid?", I ask her.
"Yes. It's a custodial droid. Green.", she answers with no hesitation.
I wait a few seconds. I want her to let that image soak in.
"Have you ever been in zero gravity?", I ask.

"Yes, Lots of times.", she answers enthusiastically, opening her eyes to look at me.
"Close your eyes!", I yell at her out of nowhere. I'm having flashbacks from Klo'eks' teachings, I suppose. She gasps from my start.
I try to reconvene as friendlily as I can.
"Now, what do you think that janitor-droid would look like if it were on the ceiling?", I try to imprint the image on her.
Almost immediately, the droid starts lifting off the ground and rotates to have it's tracks meet the ceiling. She is good. She is strong for her age.

She has other thoughts, though. "What do I do, now?", she asks, holding her eyes closed.
As calmly as I can I tell her, "Open your eyes, but keep the droid on the ceiling in your mind."
She opens her eyes and looks at me. The droid never wavers.
I'm satisfied with her performance. "Turn around and look up."
Shorty turns around and looks at the droid on the ceiling, her face lightens up the entire hallway.
I've decided to show off, a little bit. I use my force ability to lift her off the ground and toward the droid so she can touch it, herself.
I hold her there, softly, admiring her childlike awe.

"MICHELLE!"
We're busted.
Shorty turns to her mother and the droid immediately drops to the floor, shattering into several pieces.

Lori runs over and grabs Shorty out of mid-air and hugs her tightly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?", she's furious with me as she checks over her daughter.

Shorty comes to my aid, though.

"Mama, he's a much better teacher than Ar'bas.", she confides.
"Don't listen to him! He's teaching you the ways of the Dark Side."She turns to me with a scowl.
"I knew I couldn't trust you!, she says, before she storms off.
"The Light and the Dark side aren't as different as you think..", I start. But she won't hear any of it.
"But, mama...", Shorty recants. I can't make out the rest as they round he corner.
All I hear is scuffling.

Only moments pass by before several security personnel near my cell, heavily armed. Lori's mouth is bigger than I thought, I guess.
"Sit down, Sith!", the lead guard orders.
"Make me.", I'm feeling bold.
He shoots a blaster round in my direction, but I can feel it coming. It won't come near me, so I don't flinch. His eyes are in disbelief.
"I said, SIT DOWN!", I can sense that his temper is growing short. I can also sense that my powers are starting to reach further than the cell bars; proved by my ability to lift Shorty, earlier. The Jedi must be distracted with something far greater than the likes of me in order to allow me to control things just outside my prison.

I grab the head guard with the Force and hold him still. The other guards are suddenly stiff.
Using my other hand, I grab one of the other guards' guns and pull it through the bars.
It's a small caliber pistol. Not exactly a saber, but a blaster is a blaster.
"Get down on your faces!", I yell at the others.
I release the head guard and he falls to his knees. The others lay flat on their stomachs.

I can sense two droids coming. One from each side. Sentinels, most likely.
I reach down and grab the drain pipe from the sink. I can use this as a makeshift saber.
The first sentinel appears to my left. I shoot.

Too slow. It already has it's weapon unloaded as my senses pick it up.
Like slow motion, the round clears my shoulder as I lean back and swing my pipe-saber to block. The round is too big. I can only block a part of it.
Two more rounds clear my knee just as the other sentinel appears to my right.
A single round from him pierces my spine and I hit the ground.
They aren't shooting to kill. These are stun rounds. They planned this attack and they want me alive, for some reason.
I'm on the floor, unable to move. Breathing is getting hard as I try to focus.
'Breath deeply', my inner voice is saying.
Two more stun rounds from the droids..

One...too...man...

I'm out.

Like I said: Droids are efficient.