The rest of the day had Anakin in beige homespun robes as he was introduced to the various youngling clans of the Temple, deciding which clan he would be joining full time would happen after his mom left for Naboo in a few days and they gave him a more formal assessment of skills. With his mom sleeping normally in the infirmary, Callera let him sleep in her quarters as they waited for his official clan assignment. He'd crashed right after dinner as the excitement of the day finally caught up with the young man and his adrenaline left him.
But Callera was feeling antsy like she needed to do 'something' and her steps took her to the now quiet kitchen. Without thinking on it she grabs a small container of simple broth and continues her wanderings. Her feet take her to the machine shop next; cylindrical casing, wiring, buttons, grip, rechargeable power cell, and a spare holocom relay focusing crystal. The intent of her Force guided walk now clear in her mind, she makes her way next to the nearest charging station and kneels next to it. Placing the broth in reach of her left hand before slowly laying out the other items she'd acquired. Placing the holocom crystal down on the right of everything, she then picks it back up before letting it float between her hands.
The crystal represents a lot her Order, utilitarian and pragmatic to solve problems. When Master Ti had told her of Lowbacca's blade, she had scoffed at first but in moments of reflection and after getting to know the gentle hard-working Wookie Callera realized it had been the perfect choice for a maestro of machines. Why it seems to call to her now is the same yet different, she is here to communicate, to be seen and heard.
Minutes turn into hours as the Force guides Callera's hands as she plugs the assembled parts into the charger, letting the power flow into the powercell and mingle with the Force and herself as she breathes in the universe.
Slowly opening her eyes, she sees mid-morning light flooding the room. A few Jedi she doesn't know, Master Windu, and Anakin all watching her.
"Apologies if I worried anyone," Callera's words raspy with a dry throat with a nod to Anakin as she reaches for the near empty cup of broth and slowly sips the last to ease her parched throat, "but the Force guided me into the meditation."
"The one you spoke off?" Master Windu's voice curious.
She nods to protect her voice as she unplugs her attempt from the charge port and shakily stands. Anakin tries to rush forward to help her, but she waves him off. "I'm a little stiff but okay Anakin."
"Are you going to see if it works?"
"I am Master Windu, just moving to a spot less likely to cause trouble if things go wrong." Is her rough reply as she moves to a wide-open space in the mechanics' shop.
Holding the hilt in front of her in a simple stance *snap-hiss* a bronze blade springs into existence. A few experimental waves, no extra feedback. One of the other Jedi watching moves into a different spot and wheels out a block of duracrete about a meter wide.
"Try to cleave through this."
She nods but looks towards Master Windu, "Can you raise this to waist height, so I don't risk damaging the lift?"
He nods and the block raises to the requested height. One downward slash later, smooth and without a catch, there are now two duracrete blocks on the floor.
"How long was I meditating?"
"If the security cameras are to be believed about thirteen hours." Comes Windu's response.
"No wonder I feel like I've been dragged behind a Bantha for a few hours." Looking at Anakin, "Where is your mother?"
"She is talking with Master Yoda right now, wanting to learn about what me being an initiate means, I think."
Master Windu fights a smile, "The boy's mother is as persistent as a mother Nexu, she has tried to talk to as many Masters as she can to try and understand what her son is in for. She is being curious yet respectful."
"Something you wish more parents would be?"
"Every parent is somewhat curious, but the level of curiosity tinged with respect is appreciated. But I think what lets her be that way, is the knowledge that you will be involved in her son's education. You leave a very 'polarizing' image in everyone's mind."
Before following up on that Callera turns to Anakin, "Do you have the basic education tablets yet?"
He shakes his head negative, "I haven't been assessed yet."
"Why not go to the archives and see if they can start your assessments now. It will be tedious, but the faster you get tested, the faster we can you up to speed with everyone."
The boy excitedly nods and runs off. Waiting a few moments before returning to the talk with Master Windu, not caring about the other Jedi in the shop, "And what image do I give you Master Windu?"
"A ruthless and powerful young woman who does what she thinks is right and doesn't care about the consequences. You manipulated the Queen to try and use your plan to free her. You manipulated Watto to free Anakin and his mother. You manipulated the Council to protect the boy and by extension recognize you as a Jedi."
Callera pauses and lets Master Windu's words flow through her. "Yes, I can be ruthless. Between the Shadow Academy and fighting the Peace Brigade and the Yuuzahn Vong, when I see an obstacle, I look for the fastest route through the problem. But I don't always take them, Master. What you see as manipulation of the Queen was me giving advice for her, her guards, and Master Qui-Gon to consider. I had no power there. I was a nearly naked guest at the time. They choose to consider my words, but they felt my ideas had merit."
Sighing softly and wearily, "Yes I blatantly manipulated Watto to try and generate the best outcome for us, to not put anyone at risk. And I don't regret that, even if it had blown up and I had become his slave instead."
"You wouldn't have fled?" Windu's voice tinged with curiosity.
"Definitely not! That would have put the Queen and Anakin in greater risks if that happened. I told Qui-Gon if that happened to rush the Queen here and then send other Jedi back for me and Anakin."
Letting those words sink in before continuing, "Yes, I manipulated Captain Panaka and the High Council to make sure Sidious got no extra information on Anakin. Him learning about Anakin's potential would cause no end of trouble for everyone. As for Master Yoda's declaring me Jedi last night, I absolutely did not expect that. I do not know why he did that; in fact, I want to ask him! I figured the best outcome for me after what I did that was a probationary life in the temple for a few years so you could watch over me, I could do something here productive and avail myself to the more mental focused healers here."
"But what about the consequences to others? Watto could have blown the Skywalkers up rather than free them."
Callera nods, "He could have also done that if Anakin ran the race and won as well to try and be petty as well."
The Master nods in acceptance of the counterpoint.
"The only parts of my intentional actions on Tatooine that were not cleared with or talked about ahead of time were my offering myself to Watto and rushing to confront Maul. Everything else that was planned was run by at the very least Master Qui-Gon."
"Master Drallig spoke very highly of your skills with your weapons and yet you choose to confront him with fists, that seems unwise."
"It was actually very wise Master Windu," Callera retorts, "my goal was stall and delay as long as possible. If Maul and I were to cross blades, the most likely outcome would be brief. Two aggressive fighters it becomes one mistake and done. If I made the mistake, he might still have been able to catch and capture the Queen. By forcing the fight into a brawl where he cannot use his lightsaber and I cannot use my blades, the fight can be drawn out longer."
"You manipulated him into a fight that served your purposes the best."
"That I did Master Windu. If he had caught us in Mos Espa or on the way back to the ship, Qui-Gon would have dueled him and I would take potshots until an opening to join in with a blade without getting in the way of Master Qui-Gon could occur. But to keep Maul away from everyone, a bare-knuckle brawl that probably concussed him was the best choice out of the options we could see."
Master Windu's gaze bores into Callera's tired eyes. "Be careful of relying on manipulation, Jedi Bladesinger. Doing it too often might make it tougher to believe you later. You have had justifiable reasons for each time you have done so for now, but take care to not lose sight of the Jedi code and take pleasure in it."
"I understand Master Windu," fighting a yawn, "I think I need to take a nap now or at least a meditative recharge. The lightsaber meditations are a strain on the body and spirit rather than restorative."
He nods in understanding, "Your blade has a very distinctive color, what did you use as a focusing crystal?"
"Holocom array focusing crystal."
The frankness startles him. "Why?"
"Here and now, I seem to be delivering messages and warnings from far away."