Alex Rider: Operation Far Far Away
Chapter 2: Jedi Council

Alex's eyes were wide. He was sure that he was dreaming. He had to be! Never in all his life- in all his missions- had he seen something quite like this! He was standing in the middle of a room, surrounded by chairs. And in those chairs was the oddest array of people that he had ever seen.

There was a being who had salmon skin, but a mask and coverings where his mouth and eyes should be. There was another with green skin and long tendrils coming out of his head. Another man had a head shaped like a peanut. There were, of course, some other people that looked a bit more human. There was the dark-skinned man who had brought him here, a man with a reddish-brown beard and hair and bright blue eyes who was lounging and looking quite relaxed, and a woman with slightly greenish tinged skin and black robes who sat primly a few seats down, her mannerisms almost the complete opposite of the reddish haired man. But the small creature that was speaking to him now was by far the oddest thing Alex had seen.

The being was about as tall as Alex's hip, was green and had large, kind brown eyes and huge pointy ears. Alex could tell from the wrinkles on his face that this creature was very old indeed. He talked quite oddly too, so Alex had to concentrate to decipher exactly what he was saying.

"Odd story you do tell, young one. Often, it is not, that we receive help so readily from the Force. No lying, can I detect in your story. Truth you must be telling, yes."

The man who had brought Alex here spoke up. "Master Yoda, surely you don't actually believe this young boy's story? As much as I myself want to believe that he will help us with solidifying our victory in the Clone Wars, we have heard no evidence that the Separatists have some form of a weapon that we don't."

The man with the reddish-brown hair and beard chuckled as he talked. To Alex's surprise, he spoke with a British accent. "I rather doubt that the Separatists would just come out and say that they have a weapon that could change the course of the war, Mace. And if I remember correctly, the Separatists have created weapons before that we only just managed to destroy before they turned the tide of battle."

The man with the mask on his mouth nodded. "I agree with Obi-Wan," he said in a slight muffled tone. "I sense that the boy is telling the truth. But I do believe that we have been terribly rude to our young guest. We have not even asked him his name; just his story about why he was in the Jedi Temple." The man nodded a greeting at Alex. "Welcome, young one. I am Jedi Master Plo Koon. And you are?"

Alex swallowed and steadied himself. Stop it! He told himself sternly. You didn't survive a sniper shot and SCORPIA and a whole host of other things to be too nervous to talk to a group of people! And what had Daughter said? 'Just trust the people I send you to. They will help you.' Well, he might as well put that to the test.

Alex looked at the strange man, lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders as he did so. Time for him to get some answers. "My name is Alex Rider. And since I've answered your questions, I'd like to ask a few of my own. First of all, where in the hell am I? Who are you people? And if you all have some idea how I got here, I'd love to hear about it!" Without meaning to, Alex's voice had risen, causing some of the people to narrow their eyes at him in consternation.

The little creature- Maser Yoda if Alex remembered hearing right- gave a little 'hmm' of thought. "I sense…. anger? No…. fear? Not so much fear…. Ah! Annoyance, I sense in you, young Rider. Explain, I ask you to."

Alex looked at Yoda. This odd creature, small though he was, radiated a type of energy that seemed to extend vastly and calmed Alex a bit. This earned him a bit of respect from the young spy. "Yeah, I guess I am a bit annoyed. I mean, I just had my feet yanked out from under me by a weird glowing woman who broke into my house and somehow got me here, wherever 'here' is. And I'm going to be honest, this is not how I wanted to start out my weekend." He let out a sigh as he placed a hand to his temple and muttered, "I just wish for once that my life could be normal."

Yoda gave a little laugh, his eyes crinkling up in a smile. "To be normal, why would you want?" he asked in a slightly jovial tone. "Normal, nothing ever is. You are you. Believe that enough, I do. As should you."

Alex smiled, gazing at the creature in gratitude. It felt as if just a few of his fears and misgivings had just been washed away just with that simple statement. "I'll remember that. Thank you."

The man with the peanut-shaped head spoke next. "I will answer your second question first, young Rider. I am Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi. You are standing in the Jedi Temple, in front of the Jedi Council, a group who use the ways of The Force to understand the world around us and help make decisions about where it is leading us."

The woman with the greenish skin and black robes spoke up in a British accent similar to the man named Obi-Wan. "I am Jedi Master Luninara Unduli. Now, for your last inquiry, from how you described it, you had a meeting with a Force Being. Something most Jedi can only dream of. This being has brought you to our planet and to the temple not only so that you can help us, but so we can help you."

The green skinned man with tendrils looked about the room and the spoke surprisingly in a Jamaican accent. "I'm sure you all sensed it when this young boy walked into the room. He is Force-sensitive."

Alex cocked his head to one side. "Force what now?"

The man laughed and smiled. "I suppose you have not heard of the Jedi either then, young one?"

Alex shook his head.

He continued to smile while nodding understandingly. Alex had now decided that he liked this man. He at least smiled more than the man who had brought him here. "Permit me to introduce myself as my colleagues have. I am Kit Fisto. Now, Jedi are the peacekeepers of the Galaxy. We work to defend what is good and help those on other planets that need it."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You are peacekeepers and yet you're in a war? Talk about ironic."

Kit nodded and frowned. "An unfortunately necessary evil. If the Jedi did not get involved, the Galaxy would have been taken over by the Separatists, and by enlarge, the Sith who aid them."

"Sith?" Alex questioned.

"They are the opposite of the Jedi. Where we strive for knowledge, they look to power. Where we strive for peace, they look to anger. It is a very dangerous path. One that has sadly led some Jedi astray."

Alex then realized that Kit and the others had often used the word "galaxy." Alex was now very concerned about what the answer to his last remaining question would be. "Okay, sooo… two questions down, one to go." He took a deep breath. "Where am I and why do you keep saying 'galaxy?'"

Obi-Wan raised a hand at that. "I'll take this question. I'm Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. You are on the planet Coruscant, in the Galactic Republic. As for the Galaxy, that is where all beings live."

Alex shook his head. "Okay, one I've never heard of a planet called Coruscant in science class, and two, the galaxy has to have a name. Like, 'Milky Way' Galaxy. Something like that."

Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to look confused. "I have never heard of another galaxy but our own, and nothing as oddly named as 'Milky Way.' And it is strange that you have never heard of Coruscant. It is the center of the Galactic Republic and the Galaxy in general. I wonder, where do you come from?"

Alex was now extremely concerned. He was somehow getting a feeling that he wasn't in London anymore. Hell, he was getting the feeling he wasn't in his own galaxy anymore. "I'm from London, England on Earth."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "Earth… never heard of it."

Alex shook his head; his thoughts having been confirmed. "I….I don't think you would have. You see… I think I'm from an entirely different galaxy from your own."

Obi-Wan sat up a bit straighter and the other Jedi had varying look of surprise and shock on their faces, but a raised hand from Yoda kept them from speaking. "Feel that you have come a long way, I do. Understand, more we have to learn about each other. For now, bigger things we have to ponder." He then looked around at the gathered group. "Brought Alex Rider to us, a Force Being has. Odd, this omen is. Old he is for Jedi training, yet ask us to do so, the Force does. Trust in the Force, we must. A Master for young Rider, we must pick."

Alex was now thoroughly confused again. "Hang on! I don't even understand what's going on. What's the 'Force?' Why do I have to be trained to be a Jedi? And why do I have to have a master!? I don't really like the sound of that, actually!"

Plo Koon held up his hands in a placating motion as he answered him. "There is no need to be frightened, young one. The Force is all around us in the universe. It binds all living things together. You must be trained as a Jedi because you are Force-sensitive. If you do not learn to control the Force, you could open yourself up to the Dark Side of the Force and start down the road of a Sith. As for 'master,' we mean Jedi Master. Someone who teaches you to understand and control the Force."

Alex sighed in exasperation. "Look, I only came because this weird Force lady brought me here to help you lot. I didn't ask to be… Force-sensitive and I don't want to be rude, but I really don't want to train to be a Jedi. I've got other things to do, ya know."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "This is the will of the Force, young one. It brought you here to help us and allow us to teach you." His voice softened to a slightly sympathetic tone. "I understand that this is a lot of information to take in at one time, but we will all work through it, I promise."

Hearing that caused Alex to calm down a little and he nodded.

Obi-Wan then turned to the Jedi Council. "So, who will train Alex Rider as a Padawan Learner?"

All of the Council then turned to look at Obi-Wan. After a few seconds, he seemed to realize this and gave a flat sounding, "What?"

Yoda answered him. "Chosen you, the Force has. Already, I sense, a bond between young Rider and yourself. Train Alex Rider as your Padawan, you shall, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan looked thunderstruck. "Me!? But I….surely there must be…What I mean to say is…"

Yoda shook his head. "No, Obi-Wan. Picked you, the Force has. Accept this responsibility, will you?"

Obi-Wan sighed. Then he glanced up and saw Alex, trying so hard to look brave. However, he easily saw that behind that was a young teenager, horribly out of his depth and trying desperately to hide how scared and confused he was. If he was being honest, this boy actually reminded him of himself when he was told to teach Anakin. So young and so scared of what lay ahead. Obi-Wan gave a gentile smile and nodded. "Yes. I will train Alex Rider in the ways of the Force and teach him as my Master taught me."

Yoda turned to Alex. "Accept this, you do, Alex Rider?"

Alex took a deep breath and shrugged. "Don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Yoda gave a slight chuckle and nodded. "Then, together the Force has called, both Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padawan Alex Rider." He needed to the newly christened twosome. "May the Force be with you both."

Obi-Wan walked over to Alex and placed a hand is shoulder. "As I said, I promise we will get to the bottom of this. We will learn why the Force sent you here and find a way to send you back once that is done."

Alex glanced up at him. "So….what happens now."

As if to immediately answer his question, all the Jedi Masters started to get up out of their seats, congratulating Obi-Wan and wishing Alex luck and leaving to go about their duties or whatever it was they did.

Kit smiled at the pair. "If you ever need to talk, either of you, my door is always open."

Plo extended a hand for Alex to shake and clapped Obi-Wan on the shoulder. "You did fine with Skywalker, and you'll do fine with Alex as well. I wish you both the best as the Force guides your path." Alex decided that he liked Plo Koon a lot, just as he liked Kit Fisto.

Ki-Adi-Mundi then walked forward and also offered a handshake to them both as he gave an encouraging smile. "I will inform the other council members who were unable to be called on of these new developments. I wish you both luck," he said before leaving.

Luminra kept a stoic face as she walked up to them. "I will watch your training with interest, Padawan Rider. It is rare to have a Padawan who knows nothing about the Force or of the Jedi. We will see how the Force guides you." Alex merely nodded in return.

Yoda then hobbled up, his face a calm mask. "Clouded, the future is. Learn we must, what we can from each other. Trust in the Force, you both must." His wrinkled face then upturned into a grin. "Together, both of you, I sense shall go far."

Last was the man Obi-Wan had called Mace. The one who had brought Alex to the council and had made it fairly known in no uncertain terms he didn't like him much. This time was no exception, glaring at Alex as he walked up to him. "I don't like this. You're too old to be a new learner, you don't have the right discipline. If I had the choice, you wouldn't even be allowed in here." He then gave a frustrated sigh. "However, I trust Obi-Wan. I hope he will teach you to understand what the Force is asking you to do for us."

Alex had now decided that Mace was almost exactly like Alan Blunt. And so, with a mischievous smile, Alex looked at Mace. "You know, you look a lot like Samuel L. Jackson. I think I'm going to call you 'Samuel.'"

Mace glared at him even more before turning to Obi-Wan. "Keep him away from Skywalker and his Padawan. I fear the Force would never recover if they all met."

As he walked away in a slight huff, Obi-Wan turned to Alex. "That was very rude. You can't address a Jedi Master that way."

Alex simply shrugged. "I couldn't help it. He reminds me of a bloke who just wanted to use me to get stuff done." He then smirked. "Besides, he needs to learn to lighten up!"

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head. "I can see your going to be a handful, my young Padawan. But I think we'll get along just fine."

"If you say so," Alex said. "So, what do we do first?"