Later that night, Jai was 'recovering' from her sparring practice with Thad. He'd gotten a lot stronger since their last match, and Jai was sore everywhere. She decided to meditate before bed, hoping that it would ease the soreness and wouldn't make her be in too much pain the next morning. After meditating for a good hour and a half, she went to bed.
The next morning, she dressed, went to breakfast, and then went to her lessons. First for the day was Intro to Mind Tricks, which was a once a week class. It was also very difficult. And boring.
"Today, younglings, we shall be covering how the Force helps us with mind 'persuasion', or as young Jedi and non-Jedi say, 'mind tricks'." Master Koth told the assembled students. Jai sighed and slumped down in her seat. Why couldn't the Masters just tell us how to do it, and not give us in-depth lessons on the basics and techniques of it? It isn't like anyone ever went through the exact process of choosing a proper way of wording the 'suggestion', then focuses on directly sending the Force through their hand and suggesting to the subject of the trick a detailed summary of what they would or would not do. It's all natural, once you practice.
"Miss Kenobi! Is the lesson boring you, or shall we continue?" Master Koth stood at the front of the room with his arms crossed, looking at her. Jai blushed.
"Well, Master, its just that-"
"Its just what, Jai?"
"Just that it seems we spend a lot of time learning about the technicalities and precise angles of the way our hands should go. Shouldn't we be learning how to perform the action, instead of wasting time learning exact processes that nobody uses? It all becomes natural, once you practice!" The class was quiet, and she was well-aware that all eyes were on her. Master Koth regarded her thoughtfully.
"Let me present you with a situation, child." Jai bristled at the remark of her being a child, but kept quiet. "You are taking your tests to become a Knight, and-"
"I'm skipping Knight." Koth looked taken aback.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm skipping Knight, and going straight to Master." You could hear a pin drop.
"That's not really often done, Jai..."
"When is it done, then?" Master Koth glared at her.
"Do not distract me! As I was saying, I'm going to give you a situation. You are taking the tests to become a fully-fledged Jedi, and on the knowledge portion one of the questions asks you about the process of mind persuasion. Would you care to tell me how you would know that if you weren't taught that?" Jai didn't have an answer. "That's what I thought. Please, sit and listen now. Or you will have to stay after and we'll talk." Jai slid back down into her seat. The eyes of her classmates were still on her.
"Pay attention, future Jedi! Now, as you can see here..."
At the end of class, Jai was approached by Master Koth. About the same time, she felt slightly light-headed and ill.
"Jai, I need to talk to you about back talking in class-"
"Please, Master, not now! I feel sick!" Master Koth told her to come in the next day to speak with him. She nodded and left. Instead of going to the infirmary, she went to the High Council room. She wasn't really sick. Obi-Wan was in trouble, she knew it.
Just as she arrived, Council let out. The twelve Masters strolled by her, some saying hello, some not. Jai waited for Masters Windu and Yoda.
"Master Windu!" she called, seeing his shiny head bobbing above the rest of the Masters. He turned, saw her, and came over to her.
"Yes, youngling?" She bowed, and when she straightened she was already talking. The first part of her sentence was muffled.
"Eyyve bafeelin-"
"Don't mumble, youngling, it isn't a good image for the Jedi." Jai inwardly groaned.
"I've a bad feeling about Obi-Wan's mission, Master. I think he's in trouble." Mace studied her.
"How do you know?"
"I just-I... well... I don't know! Its just a feeling, and I don't like it!" Jai said this in a rush, and was surprised to find tears pricking at her eyes. Why can't he just take what I said and go help Obi-Wan? She angrily swiped the tears away.
"Come with me, youngling. We're going to tell Master Yoda." With that, he turned tail and walked the other way. Startled, Jai hesitated, then followed. He went into a mediation room with a holoprojector, where Yoda was already. Jai bowed respectfully, then started to wait outside.
"Wait, young Jedi! Stay, you will. Hear your suspicions, I wish to." Yoda's voice brought her back into the room. She began.
"I started to feel a bit sick in my lesson, and after I came to see Master Windu. I recognize the feeling as what we studied in class, like what you feel when someone close to you is in trouble. I figured it was about Obi-Wan." Mace switched on the projector.
"Earlier today, received we a message sent Obi-Wan from. Listen and watch." The image flickered to life. Obi-Wan reported on his findings on Geonosis, and then blaster fire zoomed into the picture. The little blue Obi-Wan drew his lightsaber to fight it off. The image crackled and died. Jai found her jaw open wide, as well as her eyes.
"What do you think?" asked Mace. Wait... They actually want my opinion? Usually they just ignore younglings!
"Well... Um... If I was on the Council, I'd send backup troops to help him. I mean, obviously he's in trouble, and he's kind of important, you know, so I'd send more Jedi to rescue him. That's what I think, anyway." Jai finished, and blushed. "No disrespect, Master Yoda, Master Windu."
"Taken none, Jai. Go, you and I will, to Kamino. Get backup, we shall!" Yoda told her. Wait-WHAT?
"Thank you, Master! Thank you!" she stumbled over her words, and her feet on her way out, bowing as she went. "Um... I'll be ready in a half hour!" If she wasn't mistaken, then she could hear them laughing as the door slid shut. Wizard! I get to go WITH Master Yoda on a mission! This is so cool!
When Jai got back to her room, she finally let a slow grin spread over her face. She was actually going on a mission! Obi-Wan hadn't let her tag along with he and Anakin since the incident on Fresia two years ago, and she was dying to see the galaxy again. Especially hyperspace. There was a knock on her door.
"Hi, Ran! What's up?" Jai greeted her best friend.
"Hi! Not much, I'm just bored. I heard you got in trouble in class today too! Just like me a few days ago!" Ran laughed.
"Yeah, but I didn't get set a research paper. Didn't even get in trouble!" Ran gaped a Jai.
"What? Master Koth always punishes people! How'd you get out of it?"
"I didn't feel good, and told him so. He let me go. By the way, I won't be here for the next few days."
"What? Why not? You get to miss the test in History of the Jedi! Sith, you're so lucky, I don't get that class at all! How'd you get out?"
The girls sat on Jai's sleep-couch, and Jai told her about how she hadn't felt well after class, and the discussion with Masters Yoda and Windu. "So I get to go to Kamino with Master Yoda, I think we're leaving tonight or tomorrow." Ran sighed and flopped back so she was hanging off the foot of the sleep-couch.
"You're so lucky... Oh yeah! Guess what!"
"What?"
"So I was talking to Nara and Corvey, yeah?"Jai nodded, remembering. She'd been there but had left because she had class. Nara was a young Melodie, and Corvey was a Human boy. "So after you left, we kept talking. And I don't remember what we were talking about, but then out of nowhere, Corvey asked Nara if she wanted to get lunch later! Isn't that weird? I always thought he didn't like anyone, that he was to much of a rule-follower to do that!"
Jai shifted uncomfortably. Although romance was technically forbidden, it wasn't unusual to find young love amongst the younglings. As long as the Masters didn't know, nobody cared. Everybody forgot once they turned into Padawans, because Padawans had start becoming real Jedi. That wasn't what Jai was uncomfortable about, she didn't like it when her friends criticized the rule-followers, because she knew that Obi-Wan had been the biggest rule-follower of all.
"Yeah, I guess that is pretty weird! Hey, I'm going to go to bed, I'm tired. See you later!" Ran left and Jai flopped into bed, falling asleep quickly.