And I'm back with ahem, myself.

Chapter 4: At Council with Counsel

As the burnished doors rolled open, I saw the Council chambers for the first time – the first time with my own eye that is. It was magnificent. The morning sun bathed the Coruscant cityscape in a gentle golden light and glittered over the many transparisteel windows and viewports out there. For a moment, I was lost in the beauty of it. Nabooian nights might be the best of their kind, Tatooine sunsets may be unrivalled, but Coruscant dawns were still a fair sight to see, from this vantage point anyway.

I was so absorbed in the contemplation of the scenery that I did not at first register the beings present in the chamber. When I did, I suddenly became thankful for the deep hood covering my face in shadow. It would not do to get caught gaping by people such as Yoda or Mace. Nor would it do to stand like one of those statues from the archives. There are other ways to gage someone's surprise after all, not just their expressions. I made a mental note to thank Kenobi for the gentle Force-tug he gave my belt to keep me moving forward and scanned the room's occupants. Whatever you say about me being a geek, you can't say that it isn't useful, after all 'nothing happens by accident' as a certain maverick would say. Long hours of browsing the web, looking at various photographs, and pages upon pages of production information let me easily identify the councillors: Eeth Koth, Depa Billaba, Yarael Poof, Oppo Rancisis, Saesee Tiin, Even Piell, Yaddle, Adi Gallia, Ki Adi Mundi, Yoda, Mace Windu and Plo Koon.

Obi-Wan, as befitting the most senior Jedi among our little party, led as to the centre of the room, bowed respectfully, and stated, "We're back Masters…." Really, what was the point of saying that if all twelve of them could see and sense us? But I guess that was what passed for small talk in such a setting.

"Welcome you we do, Knight Kenobi, and you young Skywalker. But who your friends are hmm? To hear this story I would like, but business we have. Report on your mission to Nanth'ri you will now." Seriously? I thought that GL was just messing with us, thought I did, that normal Yoda could speak, yes. That green goblin is a total joke!

"We acquired our transport from the covert operations hangar as ordered and departed an hour after we left your presence. Upon reaching Nanth'ri, we discovered that there were several manufactories scattered over the southern hemisphere. Most belonged to legitimate business concerns however a few proved suspicious. My Padawan managed to obtain cleaning droids from these facilities and reconfigure them for espionage. On our second day at work we spotted our targets – a hem – the party in need of extraction. As they were not yet being held, we decided to come in through the front door and fake arresting them, however their cover was somehow blown and we wound up backing them out all the way from the brig to the ship. There we were beset by combat droids and the facility's security personnel which lead to a stalemate. Then Halcyon and Sunrider decided to join us, blow the droids, and rush in – lightsabers ablaze. We came under attack by droid starfighters as soon as we left the atmosphere, and the ship was partially damaged in the melee, however through some miracle Anakin managed to jump into hyperspace with my lunch still inside me. In short – we were successful."

When Kenobi finished, I was glad he didn't mention that Aeren and I could hardly shoot, or any other weird things. Of course, I should not have been. Master Yoda sensed my relief and instantly turned his head in my direction. After allowing Mace – Windu – to thank Master Kenobi for his report, he began with me.

"Young Sunrider, who you are hmm? For a Padawan you are not…."

Show time… "That is correct Master Yoda."

"Interesting this is. Know me you do, though from here you are not."

I smiled, it was time for me to enable cryptic-master-mode. "No, we're not from Coruscant – nor even from this Galaxy or time," had the Force not confirmed my words – I don't even want to know what would have happened – as it was, even with my lack of training and the councillors' shields, I could still feel their surprise. "We did not come here deliberately, and we are as yet uncertain as to our purpose here. However seeing as how we are here before this council, and how of all the places in the Galaxy we materialised on Nanth'ri while Anakin and Kenobi were there no less, I would assume that we are meant to help the Jedi Order somehow."

"Isn't that a bit presumptuous, young one?" Master Windu deliberately stressed 'young', oh well, he's as grumpy as the movies made him out to be.

"Presumptuous, Master Windu? Possibly, however just for your information, there are going to be four galactic-scale wars over the next seventy-or-so years. Oh and the Jedi order will be wiped out at least once, and nearly so twice, in that same time period. Also, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious has got himself another apprentice. And oh my, how could I forget an ENTIRE PLANET full of forgotten Sith?

There was a shocked silence in the room. Not that anyone was talking while I was, but you could almost feel – correction – you could feel the astonishment in the room. When Master Yoda spoke, his voice was raspier than usual. "Know this, how do you?"

And so I rattled of my previous spiel about the Whills, Earth, my life, and whatever I thought might be useful. Over the course of my narrative, the feel in the chamber changed from shock to disbelief, and then to something cold.

"They are too dangerous!" exclaimed Master Windu, as he leapt out of his chair in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, "The future is not for mortals to know! And if this information falls into the wrong hands—"

"So don't let it…" I interjected infuriatingly. Wrong thing to say.

"Believe me, I wasn't planning on it!" yep, definitely the wrong thing to say. Judging by that finger in my face, I'd say he's really miffed.

"And how were you planning to accomplish that? Like with Revan? Wipe my identity, make me believe I was a Temple reject and send me off to the AgriCorp? Isn't that against the Code? No wait, the Code is only five lines long, of course it isn't!"

That got to him. Angrily he began rattling off the code to me. One problem though, he missed a line. When he finished, I shook my head in feigned disappointment. You could almost hear me say 'Tsk, tsk. Jedi Masters should know the Code at least.' I didn't, Instead I calmly, without my previous cockiness, resited:

"There is no emotion, there is peace;
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge;
There is no passion, there is serenity;
There is no chaos, there is harmony;
There is no death, there is the Force…"

Really, I have no idea what these people learn, but I would've thought they at least knew their stringent code. Aa, maybe some actually do. Or at least Yaddle seems to.

"Correct you are, young Sunrider. That line you spoke, present it is in our code…." In your faces all you critics! Here's the use for these trivial and irrational things I do! I guess you'll never know though, for if I was to tell you, I'd probably be on an express trip to the nearest nuthouse. "Learn that did you, in your study of the Whills' Journal?"

"Yes Master Yaddle. If it interests the Council or Master Nu, I also know some previous versions of the Code. For instance, a version which circulated circa six-thousand years before the battle of Ruusan or the so-called 'Old Code' from the time of the Jedi Civil and Great Galactic wars."

Ah, nothing like hard evidence to prove a point. Sure I blabbered about me knowing what was, is, and will be, but something concrete – even the tiniest bit – goes a long way in proving oneself to the Council.

"Young Sunrider," spoke up Adi Gallia, "Forgive me for asking so bluntly, but when you corrected Master Windu, there was no arrogance or impudence in your manner or signature, nor was there self-satisfaction when Master Yaddle acknowledged that you were correct…" she politely hesitated, letting me pick up on the trailing sentence.

"…Why? Why was I not pointing out every-single-fault that I saw in the Jedi Order? Why was I not doing the 'sucker' act?" I smiled, "Probably because I'm stuck here for forever – or at least until the Force sees fit to send me back. And strategically thinking, there is no point in alienating the only group with whom I can be safe, for the time being anyway."

"But surely your convictions about the Order are not without merit – for you at least. Why not voice them?" I just couldn't resist smiling when I spoke next.

"I would've done so, had this been a dream or a story written for fun. However I'm not that arrogant. I admit I have my share of cockiness, I can irritate almost anyone to near loss of sanity if I try hard enough, but I know when to quit. And standing before the Jedi High Council with nowhere to go and some serious info is definitely time to be – to show my better side…."

"Trained as a Jedi, I sense you wish to be hmm?"

"Yes Master Yoda," I acknowledged with a bow, "I believe that the Order may benefit from my experiences, however I will not push this matter further. My main reason for requesting training stems from a small discovery I made during the trip here," time for the good ol' telekinesis display. I unclipped my saberstaff and laid it on the floor. Closing my eyes, I stretched out a hand for the weapon. It began trembling with the effort as I started almost unconsciously whispering my adaptation of the Jedi Code,

"To oppose dark, a light must shine;
To counter passion, serenity is mine;
To hear the Force, a Jedi learns;
Yet what is right, he still discerns.

Steadfast in the light I stand,
Defending right with glowing brand*.
And with the Force as my ally,
Succeed I must, succeed will I…"

As I said the last 'I' the hilt thumped comfortably into my waiting hand, and a sense of relief coursed through me before I could stop it. I did not think that I would be able to levitate the hilt a meter and a bit in the air, not without any training, anyway. Strangely the words that I made up so long ago seemed so warming and so right… I don't really know what to say anyway….

When I looked up, I found the entire council as well as Aeren, Kenobi and Anakin, all staring at me as if I just shifted the Jedi Temple off Coruscant. It took some time, but Halcyon managed to whisper in an awed voice, "Your hand … it glowed when you did that…"

"Those words you spoke, of your creation were they?" Master Yaddle questioned me, and maybe I was imagining it, but she sounded oddly fascinated. My first thought was that I blew it, I come asking for training, and start spouting my little rhymes, really? But oddly no-one reprimanded me, Adi Gallia just sat back as if she had come to some conclusion, and the rest of them, well who knows.

The Council switched over to scrutinising Halcyon, beginning with Mace Windu of course, "Young Halcyon, I sense you also wish to begin Jedi training?"

"Well Master Windu, sure yeah, otherwise Nik wouldn't be speaking for the both of us."

"Do you realise that you are much too old to be accepted, you look to be at least sixteen standard?"

"Yep, sixteen standard, and don't worry there was this guy who was twenty three when he started training, Luke Skywalk—" Aeren frantically slapped a hand across his mouth, too late.

"He's right you know," came a ghostly voice, that of Qui-Gon Jinn.

And that was when all heck broke loose. Everyone was so loud that I remembered only one line from the chaos, that being, "From beyond the pyre, come to antagonise us you have, Master Jinn. Surprised I would not be, if of your doing, their appearance was…"

"You flatter me, Master Yoda, I did not orchestrate this, but the Force and some friends did…"

"We had enough tantrums while you were still alive, don't tell us that you are back to haunt us with more… please!" That coming from Mace was hilarious.

"Oh I am here to request a favour, you see, these two should be trained…"

"No theey are too ould!" an interjection by Master Mundi, softly spoken, but stern.

"With all due respect Masters, if we are too old," that was Aeren again, I suddenly got a feeling that he was going to do something either stupid, or brilliant, "does that not mean that we may prove a danger to ourselves and the population at large with our gifts undeveloped as they are? And what if Count Dooku finds us, sure there may be better candidates for his Acolytes, but Sith training sort of hurts and I personally don't want to risk it…"

Strangely it was Master Yaddle who chose to end the debate, after exchanging (at least I think so) a look with Master Gallia, she hobbled over to Aeren, all the while grunting like her granddad, "Déjà vu I feel, this problem, with young Anakin we faced. Days we spent, in deliberation. Days I do not want to spend again, discussing a similar topic. Fine, Skywalker has turned out so far. Known we would not have, if attempted this, we did not. The truth, young Halcyon speaks, trained they must be, if protect themselves they will. A trail this will be, if older students can be taught…." Of course there were objections, but Yaddle silenced them with pointed glares and words akin to "If a thousand years, nothing changed, means it does not, that change nothing will in the next thousand. At the Sith you should look Master Tiin."

At a gesture from the green Master, Adi Gallia walked over … to me. I knew what was about to happen, so I frantically began checking her character profile in my head. At least she wasn't like Windu, or Tiin. Probably had some flexibility in terms of Jedi teachings.

"Nik Sunrider," the Tholothian began in a ritualistic voice, "Do you accept my offer of apprenticeship?"

"I do…" following a hunch, and something I read in a book, I held out my lightsaber, cupped in both hands.

"Will you trust me to guide you in the ways of the Force, the Jedi and Galaxy?" so we were doing it the old Corellian way, that was good.

"I will…"

"Do you accept your duty to the Jedi Order and its members?"

"I do…"

"Do you accept your duty and responsibilities as a Jedi Knight?"

"I do…"

"Can I count on you, Nik Sunrider, to stand at my side in battle, in Council, and in the field?"

One interesting aspect of Corellian Jedi tenets was that the Jedi in question was not obligated to swear fealty to the Republic, only to the Jedi, one's fellows, and one's Master. So, I solemnly intoned, "You can, Master Gallia…" Another curious tid-bit was that not only the Master took the Padawan's oath, but the other way around as well. If either party breached their pledge, the other was no longer bound by theirs. The same also went for the Order at large, generally represented by the acting Master of the Order or Grand Master. So digging up the lines from scraps of memory, I spoke,"

"Master Gallia, you have accepted me as your student in the ways of the Force and Jedi. I have sworn to uphold the ideals of the Jedi and the Code. I have sworn that I will be an honourable student, and follow my Master, wherever the Force leads. Can I in turn rely on my Master to train me fairly, to judge my actions honestly, and to serve the Galaxy and the Force?"

"You can, my Padawan…" With those words the lightsaber levitated off my upturned palms, rotated to a vertical position and clipped itself on my belt.

When that was over and done with, my newly appointed Master and I turned to look over at the proceedings now taking place in the centre of the room. Ironically, the 'Corellian' among us, Aeren was doing things the traditional Jedi way. He was kneeling on one knee before Master Yaddle, who even in this configuration was seriously shorter than him. The four-hundred-some Jedi Master was holding out Aeren's lightsaber in much the same was as I was, however Halcyon's hand also rested on the hilt. And the Oath he spoke was the post-Ruusan one,

"My training as a Jedi starts today.
I will let my Master show me the way.
The Force and Republic I will avail,
Help bring peace, and Light prevail."

Four lines, simple, and sworn to the Republic. I could barely stop myself from uttering a disgusted sound. What if the Republic fell under control of say, a Sith lord, and the Jedi were ordered to do some gruesome stuff, or abandon innocent people for the good of the Republic. They would be obligated to comply. That's why I've always believed that the Jedi had to be independent of any government. Well that would have to be for a later time. Now I was happy, I get to learn how to choke people, summon Cola cans to my hand from across the room, and maybe I get to save the Galaxy, what could be better?

We were casually strolling north across the Temple, Aeren and Master Yaddle on my left, Master Gallia directly to the right, and Obi-Wan and Anakin further off that way. It amazed me honestly, back home there wasn't much info about the Temple's interior, two paragraphs of text on some "Official" wiki and exactly one-and-a-half images of the cavernous halls. I tried to imagine what they could look like, I tried to replicate them in 3D emulation software, but as I now saw, I hadn't even come close to depicting the true brilliance of these halls. The current passage, an arterial south-north corridor, ran from the turbolift lobby below the Council Tower, and along the east side of the Temple to the accommodation sector. The passageway was a good four meters from wall to wall and about ten tall, making our, and other, little groups seem very small and insignificant.

About half way to our destination, Anakin chose to break the silence, "Hey Nik, looks like you got yourself and your friend made Padawans, nice job! It took the combined might of Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to get me in…"

I smiled, "It took the combined might of Master Qui-Gon and myself to get me in…"

"Now that you're officially part of the Order, you better get some ground rules down. Rule number one: never cross Master Windu unless you have a brilliant escape plan. Number two: if you see Master Yoda—"

"—keep clear of the gimer stick?" I couldn't resist adding. Apparently I was correct as Anakin and Obi-Wan burst into laughter.

By the time we reached the housing wing, I stopped gaping at the corridors and managed to have a semi-intelligent discussing with Anakin, mainly revolving around aspects of Temple life that I didn't get from my studies on Earth.

We settled on meeting in the refectory for evening meal and parted ways. As a High Councillor, my master got some neat quarters higher up in the complex, while the tormenting duo were farther down and Master Yaddle was on the far side in the special rooms reserved for members of her species. I actually felt sorry for Aeren, he would hardly be able to crouch inside if half the stuff I heard was true.

As the doors to my new quarters slid shut, I got my first hint that what I read back home wasn't always true here. For instance, materials I've read suggest that Padawans are housed in dormitories of four a piece, in reality however, when a Master or Knight takes on a Padawan, they are assigned a set of shared rooms.

For High Councillors they apparently consisted of a wide living space with a balcony opposite the door, a small kitchenette to the left and a series of smaller rooms branching off a passageway to the right of the door. When I took this in, Master Gallia told me to get accustomed to the area and waved to a room directly inside the passage informing me that it would most likely be my place of residence for a good decade if not more.

After a good hour of careful study of every single object in the apartment, I settled myself down on one of the couches in the living room and was soon joined by my teacher,

"Well Padawan – I haven't used that title in four years – I would like to question what you already know of the Jedi, but I sense that you have a query of your own?"

"Ah, yes Master … why?"

"Why did I choose you?"

"Yes Master, you've barely met me, and I admit I didn't act that impressive in the Council chamber, I didn't expect to get chosen so soon…"

Adi Gallia looked rather uncomfortable, which I thought was rather strange, Jedi Masters are not supposed to be uncomfortable, I guess it might have been for my benefit, "I'm afraid I have to apologize. Your mind … it was so easy to read … I could feel that you wanted to just spill it all out, your contempt, your reservations … but you didn't you held it in check. I'm sorry, but I also saw some moments from your past, when you were at your school … it would be hard carrying that much baggage into a new world. The Jedi … we grow up in the Temple here, from our earliest memories we are taught not to hate, not to be angry. We do not have reasons to be. We know little of the outside world until we are Padawans and are sent to negotiate or extract someone, or keep the peace somewhere. It wasn't until I sensed your thoughts that I understood what the Jedi Order could truly gain from your and your friend's presence here … not some knowledge of the future, not what people think about us, but the knowledge of what life is like to others … to those not raised within the Order from childhood … people have lived on without our rules and code and they have survived, how? That is the true knowledge we can gather … the fact that our way is not the only one…"

Honestly I was stunned, I was indeed curious how I was chosen so quickly, I thought maybe for the information I held. When Master Gallia spoke of sensing my thoughts I thought it may have been out of pity, but I sure didn't expect what I got… maybe, just maybe the Order wasn't as far gone as I thought it was… maybe I could save it while I was here anyway … just this once….

Not much action here - correction - none. I have decided to make this into a novel-length story so 100,000+ words. This means that some chapters will deal with situational development (like this one), others character development, basically a normal novel, like the FOTJ books.

Yes, I have invented a version of the Jedi Code, based solely off my imagination.

* The word "brand" is in this instance not synonymous to "trademark" and instead has the meaning of "pole", "stick", "staff" or "weapon". Big thanks to J. R. R. Tolkien for expanding my knowledge of English.

The apprenticeship ceremony may have turned out awkward as I don't write oaths as a profession and the wise and mighty Wookieepedia has no info in that area, so like Anakin, I had to improvise.

Till next time,

The Fiction Will Be With You, Always...

Clean word count: 3,965

Edit Date: 12/21/12 AEDT