Vestara stared apprehensively at her new Master, while Jaina returned a silent stoic gaze for a moment before reaching forward and unlocking her stun-cuffs, and then turning to leave the room.
"Come along."
Vestara gave a somewhat nervous look to Luke but was met with only a reassuring smile and a gesture to follow, to which she did. As she caught up to Jaina in the hall Jaina produced from her robe a datapad that she promptly held out to Vestara.
"This contains a layout of the temple so you can learn your way around. While you are here training under me, you will be staying in your own personal quarters that are being prepared for you. I'm not sure what you are accustomed to, but your quarters are a living space only, it will not have all the accoutrements of a private apartment. The temple has a public cafeteria, shower and refresher, but you will be provided ample privacy in the latter two. Aside from a map there is an assortment of study material on there as well. I will need you to review those, promptly. And before you ask, I'm not telling you where Ben's quarters are. You came here to learn and to train, you may visit on your own time when I give you leave to do so. For now, you will be focused on just that, learning and training."
"Do Jedi not usually have recreational time?"
"When they are not on assignment. But you are a special case, and have a lot to catch up on. Starting with unlearning everything you know."
"Unlearning?"
"You were raised on the teaching of the Sith from millennia ago, not only is your current education antithetical to what you wish to learn here, it's outdated, bordering on superfluous. In short, you have a lot to learn, and I intend to focus on that."
"You seem much more focused on my education than I thought you would be."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Just that I don't get the impression that you are particularly fond of me."
Jaina stopped walking and immediately grabbed Vestara's arm, turning her to face Jaina. "I won't insult you by denying that I do not presently hold the highest opinion of you, your actions endangered my niece, and nearly killed my father. But, that has nothing to do with my teaching ethic. You are my student, my job is to teach you. And I take my job, no matter how new it may be, very seriously. As for my opinion of you, again, I don't have the highest of opinions, but I hope I am wrong. I don't want you to fail, I want you to prove that my Uncle's faith in you is not misplaced. But that doesn't mean I am going to make things simple. My teacher didn't go easy on me, so don't expect me to go easy on you. If anything, my current lack of trust may serve you well."
"How do you figure that?"
"I will be keeping a close eye on you. If you succeed, I will see, if there is danger, I will see. If something, or more likely, someone, seeks to pull you from this path, I will see. Now, your part is proving this isn't all wasted effort."
"And if someone did pose a threat to me, what would you do?"
"Ask them politely to stop." A certain tongue-and-cheek tone could be heard in her voice.
"And if they refuse?"
"I would ask less politely."
"Over me?"
"I told you already, I take my job seriously. Not just your education, but your safety are my concern." Pausing her words for a moment,glancing Vestara up and down. "In your quarters we have prepared more suitable robes for you."
Vestara gave a small sneer and quickly glared back and forth between her clothes and Jaina. "What's wrong with that I have?"
"Padowan have to follow a dress code." Jaina reached out and gripped the collar of the black leather vest Vestara wore under her equally black robe, slightly tugging on it while gritting it with her fingers. "And this doesn't adhere to it. At all."
"I've seen you wear whatever you want."
"I'm a master on the council, I still wear proper attire for official council matters, but otherwise I can dress however I want. Get knighted, then your wardrobe is yours again."
"Motivation enough for me."
Jaina gave a chuckle before continuing in the direction they had been going in, leading her through the corridors, gesturing her to pay attention to the map she had given her, until they reached her assigned quarters.
The quarters themselves were a dark stone brown with very little in them, a bed, a small work bench with a shelf next to it for holding datapads and other miscellaneous things.
Jaina reached out and gently tugged the datapad from Vestara's hand, pressing a few buttons until it brought up a document, and handed it back to her. "It's late, so we will not be beginning any of your training tonight, but I would like you to look over this before you retire for the night."
Vestara gave the document a cursory glance and quickly gathered it was a list of lightsaber forms. "I already know how to use a lightsaber."
"As I mentioned, your methods are outdated, and based off of Sith forms. You are here to learn how to become a Jedi, you must wield a lightsaber like a Jedi. On that note." Jaina then produced from her robe Vestara's lightsaber, which had been confiscated upon her arrival, "Tomorrow you shall begin work on a new lightsaber as well."
"What's wrong with the one I have?"
"It is a Sith lightsaber. Every tool has a purpose, an intent. The blades of a Jedi are made to protect, and this..." With a single motion, Jaina flung the saber into the air with one hand, while lighting her own with the other, cleaving a flashing violet arc across the open air, bisecting Vestara's saber, as it's now smoking halves clattered on the floor next to them. "..Was an instrument of murder. Unfit for a Jedi." Vestara was a little disappointed, as she had made that saber herself, but she also couldn't deny feeling some relief to no longer be wielding the blade she slew her own father with. As a tool, it served her well, but as of late, there was far too much bad history between her and it. Jaina collected the two broken halves of the saber and tucked them away. "I trust you are familiar with the process of making a saber yourself?" Vestara gave a small nod. "Tomorrow you will construct your blade, and then we shall begin your evaluation."
"Evaluation?"
"One thing at a time." She gave a quick point at the pad she gave Vestara. "Read, sleep. Then your saber." Jaina made her way to the door before glancing over her shoulder. "If there is nothing else at this very moment." Vestara shook her head. "Then I shall depart for the night. If you have need of anything, my quarters are nearby, and marked on your map. In the meantime, again, read, then sleep. I want you rested when we start." Jaina started to walk out before quickly turning back to face Vestara "And make sure you're properly dressed by the time I come back in the morning." Vestara sneered, not wanting to change her wardrobe style, only to receive an almost mocking sneer from Jaina in return.
"There is one thing that's been on my mind." Jaina once again turned away from the doorway and back towards her new apprentice. "It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with my training, but I was curious about it." Jaina did not speak, merely tilting her head in an inquisitive manner, signaling to Vestara that she would hear her quandary. "Who... who is Mara?" For a second Jaina's eyes went wide as her head slightly reared back before she almost immediately composed herself while continuing to listen to Vestara speak. "I've heard that name a few times, very recently in comparison to me, but I don't know who that is. Whoever they were, it seems to be someone everyone held in high regard."
Slightly baffled, Jaina blinked several times. "Ben, nor Luke, never told you?" Vestara shook her head. Jaina remained silent for a moment before finally deciding to answer. "Mara Jade was a member of our order, as I'm sure you gathered, but she wasn't always so. She was originally an Emperor's hand. Do you know what that is?" Vestara shook her head. "During Palpatines tenure as Emperor, any Force sensitive individuals he found were generally made part of the Inquisitorum, but any that showed true promise, well above the rest, were put into his direct service. They would take orders from him, and him alone, through a force bond he forged with them they would act as an extension of his will. His hands, as he called them. More than that, they served as potential replacements if his current apprentice ever died. As I said, Mara Jade was one these hands, but not just any one, she was considered by Palpatine to be the best. Meaning, had he ever found my grandfather wanting, she would have taken his place."
"Ship told me a little of Vader, for Palpatine to deem someone a potential replacement is apparently saying something."
"I assure you, Ship's stories did neither party justice, but it's good that it gave you a grasp of the matter. Back to Mara, when Palpatine died, he used his force bond with her to override her mind with a single compulsion, to kill my uncle. Now, obviously, she didn't. Uncle Luke helped her break free of that, how, is a very long story for another time. To paraphrase what happened next, she lived as a mercenary for a time, sought Master Katarn to teach her to become a Jedi, went back and forth as a Jedi and a mercenary for a time, before finally coming back for good. During which time she attained the rank of master and sat on the council and eventually selected me as her padowan." Vestara's eyes widened for a moment, hearing that this mystery woman was her master's teacher. "'Mara served the order during multiple wars, and no shortage of crises, many among us saw her as one of our best. So, as you mentioned before, master Katarn made a comparison between the two of you, I would personally take that as a compliment."
Vestara noticed that this Mara Jade had been exclusively referred to in past tense, when suddenly a word stuck out to her. Jade. the name of Luke Skywalkers ship. The Jade Shadow. Not just any ship, but his home, which he took very good care of. "Mara was Ben's mother, wasn't she?"
Jaina gave a light nod. "My brother killed her when she caught on to what he was trying to turn Ben into. And, well, you know the rest. Now, assuming the matter of my aunt satisfies any remaining curiosities you have for the moment, the rest can wait for the morning?"
Saying nothing else, Jaina departed, leaving Vestara to read the material she had left for her.
As she has previously seen, it was a list of lightsaber forms, Vestara imagined Jaina wanted her to select which particular style she wanted to train in. She knew a number of Masters were adept at multiple if not all forms, but she imagined Jaina wanted her to choose a starting point. Going down the list she got a basic understanding of each form.
-Form I Shii-Cho, the basic lightsaber form taught to all new Jedi padowan, when mastered it was effective at non-lethally injuring and disarming ones opponent.
-Form II Makashi, the form intended for lightsaber duels, but little emphasis on disarming or long-range defense.
-Form III Soresu, a defensive form, relying on parries, deflecting projectiles, conserving energy, and victory through attrition. Considered by many to be the purest expression of the Jedi philosophy of non-aggression.
-Form IV Ataru, a form that emphasized on speed, acrobatics, and making use of the environment, but was considered ineffective in tight quarters and against groups.
-Form V, which has two variants. Djem so and Shien. Both emphasized on turning an opponents strength and attacks against them, but in different ways. Djem So focused on counterattacks in lightsaber duels and overwhelming the opponent by immediately putting them on the defensive after each attack, while Shien was designed to counter multiple opponents and to specifically send blaster fire back to its point of origin.
-Form VI Niman, a balanced form that borrowed from all previous forms, possessing strength, speed, defense, reaction, and control, but while it had no weak points, it did not excel in any category either.
At the bottom of the document Vestara noticed there was one last margin for a seventh form, but all information on that last form had been redacted. Vestara imagined that Jaina prepared this hastily and didn't have time to simply excise it completely, but it's exclusion made Vestara curious. Why didn't Jaina want her to know about it? The most obvious answer was that she didn't want Vestara to study it, but again, why?
She decided not to linger on it, knowing she could simply ask Jaina in the morning, so she looked back over the list of forms she did have information over. While a number appealed to her for various reasons, number six ultimately stuck out the most. Vestara had found herself in a myriad of unpredictable situation lately, and covering all basis seemed to be the ideal place to start in the road to improvement. With her mind made up, and her reading done, she took one last cursory glance around what was now her room, her Jedi room, and retired for the night. And although she was nervous about what was to come, she slept soundly.
A/N Long gap between uploads due to me taking care of health problems. Good news is I DON'T have cancer.