Chapter 7
The Beginning of Fate/ Destiny stirs
Robin sighed tiredly, both from the physical battle and the injuries sustained in his battle with Andru, As minimal as they were, Robin was feeling low on energy. After the fight, he had a thorough inspection from the Jedi Healer Master Cighal, a clean bill of health, and wearing a brace for his arm, (his ribs were wrapped; not much more could be done for that, even with the Force it would take time), Robin went to The Cantina for a snack and perhaps a Jawa Juice. (It tastes like orange juice, but it's blue!). He'd barely managed to sit down when the normally quite quiet place of nutrition and relaxation turned to bedlam as he was barraged by questions and requests for details about his fight with An-Dru.
Robin initially liked the attention, but it quickly became an annoyance. Thankfully, he'd been summoned by Master Luke, and a passing sentry had alerted him to his Master's call, even going as far as escorting him to Luke's office. Robin thanked the Jedi sentry before walking in. "Might I assume that wasn't a coincidence? A sentry to my rescue at just the right moment?" Robin asked with a wry tone. "You and I both know that there's no such thing as a coincidence," Luke replied with a smile. Luke indicated for Robin to take a seat, which he did.
"First of all… congratulations are in order; your go with An-Dru is one for the history books. He had something like 10 years of experience on you, but you showed him what happens to bullies when a stand is taken." Luke said, his expression still bright despite his change to a more serious mood. "Plus, others who share that kind of destructive mindset know what happens if they don't change," Ben added from behind as he and Jaina walked in, taking seats of their own. "Yes, a beautiful teachable moment. But that's not why you summoned us, is it Uncle Luke?" Jaina said, clearly possessing information or a hunch on why the three of them were summoned. "Jaina, you're right. I have secondary reasons beyond congratulating Robin."
"To begin, Robin, I'm going to confer upon you a title, that of Child of the Force. My father and I both hold this title, as does Ben. Jaina holds the title of Sword of the Jedi, an equal title to Child of the Force in terms of status." Ben and Jaina, while surprised, were incredibly composed, the product of years of discipline, (Robin had learned quickly to guard one's true thoughts and feelings, a necessity for all Force-users). "Secondly, I'm knighting you… on a probationary basis. Full knighthood is yours after you complete your first mission. It's the compromise I made with the council that lets you get your foot in the door… so you'll possess full Jedi Knight status, and the archives are more open to you now." Robin was relieved to learn that he'd have equal security access as standard Knights if only for more reading material regarding the Force. He'd grown bored reading the same material over and over again, even if it had gained him better insights. Archive level two access had the more advanced practical and philosophical works, as well as Holocrons. (These are mini libraries written by the Masters of old. Jedi Holocrons are cube shaped, while the Sith used a pyramid design. They are always programmed with a guardian, usually in the form of the author's likeness to stop unworthy individuals accessing dangerous knowledge).
"Who's writing his performance review? Some instructors do dislike him, no matter what you hear from Master Horn." Jaina asked her uncle. "Yeah, it has to be fair," Ben added with suspicion about who his father has chosen as his probation officer. "Jaina, I know you've done similar reviews for your old team, Darkmeld. You're as unbiased as anyone I can find among the Order. I know that regardless of your friendship with Robin, you'll give a fair, honest review. Ben will be partnered with Robin on his first mission; you'll watch and report as needed. Help only in dire situations." Luke commanded in "Grandmaster" mode, knowing his niece wouldn't fight his edict if he did.
"But people who are opposed to Robin or Jaina, or even you, Dad, would say he had a biased reviewer and field partner," Ben added. "I'll worry about those with a grudge against any of us. Besides, Artoo is going along to record from an unbiased, mechanical perspective. If they argue a droid is biased, they'll be off the council like a flea from a Kathhound. (Research it for yourself if you desire, Reader. I'm busy narrating an adventure. But it's not integral to the story, so you don't need to worry.) We only have one or two on the council opposing us anyway." Luke shrugged. "That's it… you're dismissed; continue what you were doing. Mission briefing tomorrow." Luke said this with finality and politeness, and the three rose to leave.
"Not just yet, Robin. I know you are eager to start digging into the various books on philosophy and more practical lore in the archives, but we aren't quite done." Robin sat back down; his friends were already gone. "What now, Master Luke, my own ship?" Robin joked lightly. "I told you that I have something for you, didn't I?" Luke asked rhetorically as he locked the doors with a gesture and dimmed the lights to near the darkness of night before rummaging around in a locked box on his desk that he'd brought out of its hiding place. (Earlier, he had recovered it from where it was hidden under his desk.)
Luke removed several objects from the box, from clothes to a sphere with engravings not unlike those on both Jedi and Sith Holocrons. "First these robes and a cloak, for ceremonies, but also combat should the need arise; they're yours. Then we have this." Luke indicated the sphere before tossing it to Robin, who caught the bauble, whereupon it glowed with a colour-shifting light once it made contact with him. "As I thought… it must be you." Luke considered it silently. "You've used Holocrons in classes, right? Activate it, please. It's been dormant since before Yoda's time as an Apprentice; in fact, it's been dormant long enough that many Grandmasters over the ages assumed that it was broken or a dud. This glowing is proof that it is neither broken nor a dud." Luke nodded at the spherical Holocron.
Robin was a little lost, though Luke had never steered him wrong. So he activated the spherical device, its hieroglyphic-like engravings lighting up with the same colour-shifting light as it spread across the surface of the Holocron, (picture, if you will, a metal ball with a light that spreads, the coloured light moving outward, covering the surface of the hieroglyphics engraved in the metal ball). The moment it finished activating, it flew and hovered before Robin, then scanned him, a blue light passing over him briefly. "Identity Confirmed. Hello, Jedi Paladin Initiate. Welcome back to the Galaxy Paladin clan. Scans indicate that, while a Paladin, you're not ready to take the mantle of King or Queen of the Paladin clan. Do not worry; only you can hear me. Return for subsequent scans when you've found all of yourself and your Sword. Only a full Paladin Knight can unlock the Guardian of the Holocron. You may share any of this message with those you deem fit." The spherical device spoke in a feminine robotic voice, (the kind generally used in most science-fiction movies as the voice of the computer, or Siri, or Alexa. For example: shields are at 85% power) before the sphere floated gently back to Robin's hand.
"It mentioned the Paladin Clan, Master Luke. What's that?" Robin asked with some obvious confusion and a sense that he was on the path of learning about one of the Jedi Clans the mystery woman had told him to find and rebuild during his final initiation trial; he'd consult Shadow and Einstein later to see what they knew, feeling like information had been withheld for good reason or had yet to be seen. Luke waved off Robin's ignorance. "Nobody living knows. Grandmasters of old might know something. But many recordings from that long ago were destroyed, degraded, or are only partial scraps of information. They were thought to be, well, gone from the Galaxy. For you, or anyone not around thousands of years ago, knowing anything about the Jedi clans would be impossible except if shown a vision by the Force. I have sensed no such energy that accompanies such events from you." Luke said this in an effort to calm his student.
"We'll speak more on this later. Now we must go over the fine details of the Jedi knighting ceremonies. To start, your hair needs a trim; it's a bit… scruffy. Don't tell Han I used that word; he's not a fan. Shave too, please? Wearing those robes will help…they shift colours depending on the wearer's thoughts and moods, a Paladin perk as they were designed for a Paladin. So does the Holocron, which, oddly, didn't activate for your mom. You're the natural heir as the last of the Paladins; maybe your mom just isn't ready. Who knows? Soon, we will move to the etiquette and protocol of knighting ceremonies…" Luke continued while Robin listened and pondered what the strange Holocron meant. He needed to speak with them, Einstein and Shadow, his familiars. He would have the truth.