Head Academy Instructor Starside knew that there was more to Valin "Hal" Horn than was written in his records, and that there was no way in hell that the kid was actually eighteen no matter what his admission intake form and the supplemental documents the boy could provide to back up his story said. He'd tested the boy's DNA, and found none of the genetic markers that were common to humans and near-humans who grew and/or aged at a slower rate than normal humans did. There were however several markers that were common amongst Human Jedi.

His first thought had been that the boy who resembled a Jedi who had served in the CorSec before the war and the founding of the new Empire had used some sort of mind trick on the Commandant in order to be allowed to enroll in the Academy. He had gone to the Commandant with the hopes of either making him see what had been done and correcting matters or finding a way of rescuing him from the boy's control. He had left the man's office an hour later after agreeing to help the man in his little cover-up in regards to Horn.

If Horn was kicked out of the Academy, odds were that the boy would not survive long enough to reach his front doorstep, and that both his mother and his step-father who was a popular and well liked CorSec officer, and the former partner of the boy's biological father would both be killed soon after. The boy would have to remain in order to prevent this tragedy from happening. It wasn't like the boy wasn't doing well here though, the kid was breaking records left and right, including some that had been set by his father, and was shaping up to be a good officer in his own right despite his rather tender age.

Like most teenagers though, the boy hadn't clearly thought out the potential consequences of his actions, and was most likely unaware of the number of lives he had put at risk by applying to the CorSec Academy early. The child had not only put himself at risk, but he'd put his parents, the Commandant, and anyone else who decided to go along with this charade at risk as well. The Empire wouldn't take to kindly to there being a "Jedi" in the CorSec if they became aware of this fact, and all who harbored him would be at risk of imprisonment at the very least. Any who helped "Hal" could kiss their careers goodbye if he were caught. He would have to make the boy didn't get caught, and became aware of the danger his family, friends, and future colleagues were in, as well as able to think things through before acting before he graduated.

It would only end in disaster if the child were sent out into the field unaware of what could happen to him and the people around him if he didn't consider the consequences of his actions.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Hal asked as he enered the Head Instructor's office a couple hours later upon receiving a summons.

While the Commandant ran the Academy as a whole, Head Instructor Starside was in charge of the other Instructors, and pretty much only answered to the Commandant. Valin, who preferred to be called Hal, which was a reference to his father's surname, had only seen the man in passing before. He was somewhat worried about why he was called to the man's office, especially since he'd pulled a prank on one of his fellow students who had been a jerk to him less than an hour earlier.

"Yes, I did." the man said, looking down at him sternly. "I was curious as to your reasoning for applying to the Academy."

Hal wondered exactly what he had done to catch the man's attention. He had been keeping on top of his studies, in fact he had been doing better than keeping on top of his studies, and his instructors had had nothing but praise for him. To his face that was. Had he been doing something wrong without realizing it?

"I want to be a CorSec officer like my father." Hal said, hoping the man interpreted that to mean his step-father Rostek. His father's name had been removed from his birth certificate and replaced by Rostek's shortly after the adoption.

"And, you didn't care about the risk you placed your friends, family, and the people around you in?" the man asked.

"Risk?" Hal asked, confused.

"I'm already aware of what you are. Should your cover be blown through whatever means, what do you think will happen to the people you care for, and who care for you, and the people who knowingly participated in this little charade until then?" the man replied.

Hal rapidly paled as he thought about what would happen if the Empire which had killed his father ever became aware of what he was. Those who had been found harboring Jedi were being made an example of in the news, and he'd already started hearing stories about the Empire hunting down and killing Force Sensitives who weren't Jedi.

Good Starside thought as he watched the implications of the boy's actions hit the child. I can get through to him.