Chapter 3
"But how did he manage to pull it off? I mean, you are a Jedi after all."
They were sitting in the cockpit of The Royal Eagle, watching the stars speed by and discussing the recent happenings as they flew towards Talún and the Jedi academy on the planet's surface.
The real Dekka sighed and leaned back in the pilot's seat. "I feel I must apologize as this catastrophe was partly my fault. You see, Jannik, the imposter, told me he had been sent by the council to aid me in the selection of new Jedi. Not suspecting anything, I trusted him completely."
"Jannik." Kate furrowed her brow. "You mean…"
"Yes, the young man you spoke with back on Carun. He mentioned you and once I had located you and arranged transport he poisoned my evening meal. Jedi are trained to resist such poisons, else I fear you would not have fared so well. Luckily for us, much evil underestimates the power of a Jedi. Unfortunately, the poison Jannik used was potent enough to render me unconscious for several hours. When I woke up, I was able to find his accomplice who had foolishly returned to the academy to plunder several valuable Jedi artifacts stored there. I regained possession of the ship they had stolen from the academy and traveled to Carun as quickly as possible. Fortunately I was not too late, and that is where our tales intertwine."
Kate had already told Dekka of the happenings on Carun. They both agreed that Jannik had played his part exceptionally well. Now that she thought back, Kate knew she would never have been able to defeat a true Jedi master so easily and should have seen through Jannik's disguise at that point.
Resolving to be more watchful and less full of herself in the future, Kate voiced a question that had been bothering her since they left the ground.
"Master Dekka, why did Jannik come after me? I mean, there are plenty of more talented people out there he could have chosen, so why me?
The old master hesitated a moment before speaking in his usual calm, deep voice; however, Kate shrewdly detected a hint of worry flicker in his eyes, betraying his otherwise impassive face.
"I am not sure. I must discuss this with the council and the other masters once we return to the academy. It is likely that whoever arranged this planned similar attacks at the other academies and you just happened to be the first force-sensitive Jannik came across."
Kate frowned. "But why capture force-sensitives? What…"
Dekka cut her off. "I think it would be best to discontinue this discussion until I can contact the concil."
"But…"
"No," he said sharply, making it clear that the topic was closed and no amount of pleading or prodding would re-open it until he deemed necessary.
Kate sighed softly, said, "Yes, Master Dekka," and then stared broodingly at the passing star systems.
* * *
A series of buzzes and beeps greeted Kate as she opened her eyes and she yelped and scrambled backwards, practically falling off her chair; a metallic, moving, thing that vaguely resembled a trash compactor filled her vision.
"Master Dekka," she shrieked, "Master Dekka, what is that?!"
It beeped reproachfully.
Face still emotionless, though something that could have been amusement flitted in his eyes, Dekka said, "I have not introduced you. Kate, this is MO-39. MO, this is Kate, the new padawan at the Talún academy."
The droid said, "Meep," happily.
Kate sighed and inwardly kicked herself for being so skittish. It was just a stupid droid, she had seen many of them in the Carun marketplace, though perhaps none so close as this one, which was practically rolling over her feet. She nudged it away with the tip of her sandal. MO blipped angrily and sped around the nearest corner where Kate could hear the droid tinkering with a malfunctioning wall panel. She returned her gaze to the stars and her thoughts to the planet in their midst, carrying her future.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Dekka pointed out a small green dot, steadily increasing in size through the blackness of the sky and informed her, "The planet, there, is Talún. It has a single moon, Gendrann, which is believed to be uninhabited. No one can verify that, however, since the two expedition teams sent for research never returned, nor the rescue parties sent after them."
Upon seeing the uneasy look on Kate's face, he assured, "There will probably never be a reason for you to go there; students rarely leave the planet and there is no knowledge of any particular point of interest on Gendrann. Talún itself is mostly a plain of grasses and small plants, but some sections near the academy are wooded. There are two main species of animals on the planet: the predator and the prey. The peaceful Atani, graceful four-legged creatures bearing small horns, are often fed upon by the Detala, fierce beasts with terrible speed and cunning. Lately they have begun running unchecked near the academy. You should never be outside alone. Never."
Kate nodded. She didn't like the sound of these Detalas; anything that could worry the impassive Master Dekka should certainly be minded carefully.
However, excitement quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head as the Royal Eagle shuddered slightly upon entering the planet's atmosphere, green trees and tan plains coming into view beneath them. A large structure with an open courtyard could be seen a short distance away from the landing pad the ship eased onto.
Kate clicked her nails nervously on the leather holster of the blaster fastened to her waist as Dekka powered down the ship, then stood up and walked to the exit ramp. She followed him across the field and, stopping briefly to converse with a young woman at the entrance, into the Jedi Academy.