A New Jedi in an Old Republic

Raven's Claw

Kyle fidgeted with his clothes as he and Jan got ready to sleep for the night. While he had been offered a guest room in the temple, he had declined on the grounds that it wouldn't feel right until he passed his tests.

"So, Mon Mothma," he said to lead Jan into explaining what had transpired at the Senate Building. "Did she finally crack open that case?"

"And read all the dataslates that were in it." Jan confirmed the worst.

"Ah, sithspit." Kyle cursed as he rubbed down his arm where the medical droid seemed to take perverse pleasure in poking him with sharp objects. He had used the Force to heal himself quickly, but the memory lingered. "What did you do?" It wasn't an accusation. He trusted Jan as much as she trusted him. They would never have lasted as long as they had if they hadn't.

"I told her the truth." She expected Kyle to object, at which point she had already prepared her response that he had told his father, but he didn't rise to it. Probably because he agreed as well. "She... well, I think she was ready to get into the good stuff after I left."

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, she didn't believe the Time Travel thing until I told her things that I knew from the future." Jan stirred some stew in a pot. "After that, I explained about what was on the slates."

"What was on them?" Kyle asked, though he knew he shouldn't have.

"Intel reports. One of them was on the Maw Installation, and I think she turned green when I explained what was being built there."

"The Death Star prototype, and who knows what else," Kyle confirmed. "What else?"

"A letter from Luke to our Mon Mothma detailing how the Jedi work with the NRI, not for them."

Kyle winced. He was there when Luke composed that message. "So you had to explain about the NRI."

"And the New Republic, and a quick lesson in what happened. I skipped over a lot of the details," Jan waved her hands around, annoyed. "But I did explain how Palpatine manipulated himself into becoming Emperor, the Purge, the Empire, and the Rebellion followed by her place in the New Republic."

"Bet you she didn't believe you."

"It wasn't like I had a lot to lie about. But her faith in Palpatine has been shaken. She voted him into office because she felt he was a good man, who would do good things for the Republic."

"Ouch. I know what it's like to loose a pillar like that. So, what came of it? In the end?"

"She's hired me as a messenger and agent."

Kyle looked shocked. "And you accepted?"

"Well, yes." Jan grabbed a couple bows and served some of the food. "It give me an excuse to go see her on occasion, and my first mission is pretty much to prove what I told her about Palpatine."

"That could have gone worse. You let me know when you need some muscle." Kyle took the food and handed her some bread he got from the Jedi mess hall. No one blinked an eye when he asked for it, even with his odd dress. "I talked to the Council, they're willing to accept my help as long as I pass their tests."

"What sort are they?"

"Oh, just the usual for Knighthood, just ramped up a bit to make things interesting."

"Define 'interesting'." Jan probed.

"Harder," Kyle clarified as he dug in. "I'm supposed to be experienced, so the normal tests they go for wouldn't count."

"I'll just assume you pass them, then."

"I think I already went through Insight and Body," Kyle said. "Had a nice long talk with the Chief Librarian, Master Nu that Luke would have gone to the Dark Side to have. It was that informative."

"I doubt Luke would go that far, but I get your point. And Body?"

"They did medical tests, and I had to explain old wounds. The medical Jedi, Rowe, was very interested in my sabre wounds."

Jan wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she kept her peace, and her head down. "What are the other ones, anyway? I know there's a test of Skill, as Luke puts a lot of emphasis on that one."

"Spirit and Courage." Kyle said.

"Aren't those the same thing?"

"Nah. Apparently it's an internal-external division that they're looking for. My reading indicates that the test of Spirit is supposed to be where the applicant confronts themselves and their darkest, innermost reality."

"Umm... how are you supposed to do that?"

Kyle shrugged. "It's supposed to be a whole 'are you committed to the Light Side' test, if what was written is anything to go by."

"Kyle..." Jan said in worry. "You and the Dark Side...."

"Hey, as long as no one kills you, I think I can manage." Kyle said with a smile, which didn't ease Jan's mind at all. He sensed that. "Don't worry. I'm past all that now. Luke gave me a clean bill of mental health."

"Still, I'm worried about you, Kyle."

"Don't be."

The Invisible Hand

Tyranus did not delay his Master in receiving his message. "What is your bidding, Master?"

"Warn your agents that the disturbance in the Force is a plot by those who would over throw you and I," Sidious said without preamble. "It heralds a new threat to our plans. I have seen it." With that warning delivered, the connection was cut, and Count Dooku felt just a pang of worry. What had his Master seen that would disrupt him so?

Private Meditation Chambers

Master Yoda waited for Master Windu to arrive. It wasn't often that the venerable Master needed advice, but his encounter with the spirit left him little option. It was an event so unusual that attempting to deal with it privately was doomed to failure before it could even begin.

"Master Yoda, you summoned me?" Windu said as he entered the chamber quietly. "You are disturbed."

"Indeed, I am." Yoda admitted. "Sit. Speak, I shall. Listen, you must." Once Windu was comfortable, the diminutive Master relayed his encounter with the 'Master Tal'. Windu sat in silence, trusting Yoda to speak truthfully.

"I do not know what to say, Master Yoda." Windu carefully phrased his words to make his meaning clear. "My first response would be that it is a technique by which one can project their image through the Force, but your senses told you otherwise."

"Hrm," Yoda said without comment. "Tal, to Katarn, was Master. Spoke of as deceased, yet alive."

"I have not heard of such a thing, Master Yoda. Our teachings indicate that when one who is sensitive to the Force passes on, they become One with the Force, not a... spirit that looks like a hologram."

"Ask Katarn, should we?"

"What would we say to him? That the ghost of his dead Master appeared before us to vouch for him?"

"Difficult, the question must be. Motivations, we must suspect."

"Master?"

"Heard, have you, of Obi-Wan's encounter?"

"Yes," Windu wasn't pleased at what he had heard. "How can we trust anything he says?"

"Suspect I do, a strange power at work."

"What do you mean?" It was obvious to Windu that Yoda was taking this more seriously than others.

"Timing, convenient it is." Yoda felt his age for a moment. "War begins, led by a fallen Jedi. From nowhere, another appears. Unknown to us, he comes. Powerful. Touched by the Dark Side. Help, he offers."

"You think he's a trap?"

"Hrm. Think not, I do. Too obvious it is. Not the way of the Dark Side to be so bold and open."

"A response then? Katarn appears after the War begins."

"If he has, why just him? Why not others?" Windu took up the voice of reason. "What would these.. forces gain from sending just one to us?"

"Sending, or came, I wonder?" Yoda mused, "Tested, are we?"

Mace didn't like the sound of that.

Meditation Chambers

Somewhere nearby, Kyle was sitting and quietly meditating. When Jan had left that morning, she had made it clear that her duty today was to get their paperwork in order, especially as they couldn't depend on the Jedi forever. Kyle approved, and they parted ways, though he was worried about their finances as well. Coruscant wasn't a very cheap place to live, or do business. He offered to loan her his lightbsaber, just in case, but Jan laughed it off.

Of course, all this going through his head meant he wasn't doing that good of a job in the actual meditation part of his day.

In the Force was a great cloud, a veil of darkness that permeated everything he tried to do that wasn't physical. So much so, that he felt that the room itself was turning black as he cast about the Force for some weak point in what ever it was that dulled his senses. It was like nothing he had ever felt before, and nothing he knew could pierce it.

Turning his thoughts inward, he focused on his lightsaber, and gently lift it into the air, rotating it around as he idly played with it through the Force – a technique that allowed a person to develop their skills in both telekinesis and in multitasking.

The door opened and no one walked in, causing Kyle to crack open an eye. A droid stood there, glowing yellow eyes and a stylized face that was grafted into a very slimed shape. With a 'hat', a 'beard' and a 'kilt', the Droid waited for Kyle to recognize it, then approach. "Greetings, Jedi" it said. "I am Professor Huyang, Architect Droid specializing in Lightsabre construction."

"I'm Kyle," the human replied, abandoning his meditations for now. "What can I do for you?"

"I wished to examine your weapon," the Droid said. "As part of my responsibilities, I am to archive all known Lightsabre designs for reference and study." He pointed at Kyle's saber, still spinning. "I do not recognize that one, and I have served the Order for over a thousand years!"

Kyle's saber was inspired by both Luke's, who took his design from Obi-wan Kenobi and Darth Vader, as well as Qu Rahn's and Yun's weapons. He doubted the droid could learn anything about it. "Why?"

"With your impending Test of Skill, I was asked to make a record of your design, should it get damaged." The Droid didn't take offence, though curiosity was definitely in its voice.

"Well, that doesn't fill me with confidence." Kyle stood up, plucking his weapon out of the air. "Do we have to do this here, or can I see your workshop?" He gave a smile, one that would display sincere motivations to any organics, though it was lost on the venerable droid.

"Of course!" The droid backed up, allowing Kyle to follow it out of the room. "Normally, I am stationed on the Crucible, but I do have facilities here in the Temple. If you would follow me?"

Lightsaber Workshop

It wasn't as clean as Kyle would have expected. If anything, it looked used. Not clean and perfect like everything else in the Temple that he had seen so far. There was just so much stuff!

Huyang made some space on a work bench, away from a few others who were working on their own sabers. Kyle could feel the trepidation in them, each of them worried in their own way about the need to use it in the near future. He couldn't help them with that right now, so he pulled out his saber. "You're not going to damage this, are you?"

The droid looked offended, it's echoing Coruscanti accent echoing the thought. "I would never do such a thing! I have seen every lightsaber constructed by a hundred generations of Jedi, and never once have I damaged one!"

"Sure, sure." Kyle pulled out his saber and held it in his hand. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"Just place it on the workbench, and I will conduct the scans required. Oh, this is so exciting! The chance to observe Lightsaber construction from someone who hasn't been under my tutalage!"

"Don't get too excited," Kyle said as he carefully handed his weapon over for inspection. He would watch the entire process intently, and if he got a sense for any form of duplicity, the droid would quickly be reduced to scrap. "A lightsaber is a lightsaber, no matter how it's built."

"But it is the how that I am interested in," Huyang replied as it examined the device carefully. "Yes, yes. Quite simple. Rugged. Robust. Not your first one. Fourth?"

"Third." Kyle said. "First two were hand-me-downs."

"Yes. I can see that. Three segments, allowing for alternate hand grips, plus the emitter. Very long." The droid mused as it rotated the saber around before its optics carefully, but with no sense of rushing. "Well used as well."

That drew no comment from Kyle.

"Why do you use a synthetic crystal?"

"Never had access to the natural sources, like Dantooine." Kyle explained, wondering if this was a follow-up to Windu's observation yesterday. "I hope that's not going to be a problem?"

"No! I even have a forge still around somewhere, but everyone has been using naturally formed crystals for centuries now. I must remember to dust it off every century or so." The droid handed the lightsaber back to Kyle. "There you go. Thank you."

Kyle examined it, but the droid never opened it up, instead just scanning it externally. "So, if I need a new saber, I can come to you then?"

"Of course!" The droid gestured around. "I, and my facilities are always available for any Jedi who wishes to construct a lightsaber. You may browse if you wish."

"Thanks, I may just do that." A lot of the sabers constructed back on Yavin IV were similar in design simply because they only really had a couple templates to work from, and no one was ready to start experimenting yet.

He wandered through the workshop, poking his nose into various places, seeing things he never thought he would before. Hundreds of parts that were there for the examination or use.

Losing time, he didn't notice when a Padawan approached him. Not until he turned around and the human was right in front of him. Kyle jumped back a step, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"My apologies, Knight-Errant." The Padawan bowed. "You have been summoned. I am to escort you to the testing chambers."

Kyle nodded. "I was waiting for something like this. Lead on."

Testing Chambers

Kyle walked through the oversized portal, big enough to walk an AT-ST through if anything, and waited for it to close behind him. In front of him, this semi-underground chamber was a colossal mish-mash of... well... pillars. Bars, junk, rolling grounds of various types and slopes, it was a training ground right out of the worst the Academy could throw at him.

"Great," he griped. "Back to Basic Training."

"Quite," a cultured voice spoke out from behind a nearby pillar. "As a Knight-Errant, your Test of Skill will be administered by myself."

"Two questions," Kyle said, holding up the appropriate number of digits. "First, what is with that title you guys have given me, and second, who are you?"

The wisened human with tied back hair nodded in understanding. "Your second question first. I am Cin Drallig, Temple Battlemaster. I have asked to oversee these tests personally." Kyle stiffened at the familiar title, then relaxed a little. No one, not even him, got that far by being bad at fighting, and he was certain that the Jedi didn't need the Force to read his body language. No sense in being antagonistic. "And for the first, that is an ancient title given to Jedi not of the Order. It seems to have gained some traction." His voice showed that he was going to be patient with Kyle, unlike many others whom were reacting without proper thinking about the strange situation.

Kyle bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Battlemaster Drallig."

The human male let a small smirk cross his face. "We shall see if your thanks are sincere. My students call me 'The Troll' for a reason, Knight-Errant Katarn." He beckoned for Kyle to come closer, and he did. "Today, I will test your general skill with the Force, and tomorrow you will face a set of challenges regarding saber combat. As your talk with Kenobi indicated, such things are needed in the now, and I will ask you to put your worth into measure."

"Yes, sir." Kyle responded as he would to any drill sergeant. Formally and with complete adherence to the rules both written and unwritten.

"We shall begin with the basics." Cin said, leading Kyle to a series of stone blocks. "Telekinesis."

Kyle didn't say anything as he took in test materials. Blocks of all sizes and shapes waited on a flat ground. "Any questions before we begin?" The Battlemaster asked.

"What to do about the viewers?" Kyle indicated the growing population of Jedi who where watching from raised platforms or well away from the testing going on.

"Ignore them, if you can." Cin said, following his own advice. "You will begin by moving this series of blocks from smallest to largest in order to test your limits in that regard." He indicated a series of cubes that ranged from tiny to far larger than Kyle on each side, and probably weighing more than a starfighter.

Kyle eyed them, and decided that only the last two could pose any problem, but did as he was asked, and started with the smallest, easily lifting and moving them around with the Force before returning them to their original space. As he expected, the second to last proved to be a challenge, as the simple cube was two meters to a side, and completely solid.

Sitting down on the ground, Kyle composed himself, and focused on the Force. It wasn't that hard to do in this place, and with it, he reached out to feel the block in front of him. "Do, or do not, there is no try" was something Luke had taught him which in turn, he had learned from Master Yoda.

What Luke had brought from that lesson was that the effort required to do something can be defied by the necessity of doing it. If that made any sense. He tried to elaborate by teaching that a person, including a Jedi could be stuck thinking of something in terms of purely physical activity, when in fact, the Force was beyond such things. While certain limits were still imposed by the physical universe, they could be reached by conceiving of the Force as something more, and different.

Kyle wasn't too good with the abstract stuff like that, but he still tried anyways.

With the Force, Kyle reached out and felt around the bottom edges, getting a sense for where the block met the ground. As he did so, he shrunk it in his mind's eye, eventually shrinking his perception of the stone edifice into something he could hold in his hands. Whether it was because he was getting bigger or if the block was getting smaller was a question best left to people who weren't like him.

But it was enough, and in the real world, Kyle raised his hands, and the block came with them, inching itself off the ground as Kyle fought with himself to do something he would normally find impossible. Once the image in his mind was sufficiently lifted, he started rotating it around, finding that easier than fighting gravity. He didn't move fast with it, focusing on his actions through the Force more than the physical reality of it.

He set it back down, then gasped as the exertion caught up to him. Opening his eyes, he took in his work, and cursed aloud. "Kriff!" he said as he realized that he had set it down on a different side, and that it wasn't lined up with the cradle properly. "Sorry," he apologized. "I'll move it back."

"That won't be necessary," Cin said. "I can set a team of Padawans to use that as an opportunity to work together." He indicated the last block, this one 8 times larger. "Can you do this one as well?"

"I'd say I would try, but 'Do or do not', you know?" Kyle said as he wiped some sweat from his brow. "Can I rest first?"

"If you desire." Cin said. "Would you like some water?"

"Please." At his admission, Cin pulled a canteen from his belt, and tossed it to Kyle, who drank some of the precious liquid without getting his stomach to revolt at the sudden influx. He tossed the canteen back to Cin with a "Thank you," and moved on to the last block.

This one, if the Force was any indication, hadn't been moved in a while. "First time for everything," he muttered to himself as he reached out with the Force again.

But this time, despite his best efforts, he could only lift it just a fraction of an inch, barely enough to put a hand under, if you wanted it crushed by over a hundred tons of stone. Letting it down with a ground-shaking 'boom' of displaced air, Kyle flopped over backwards, letting his muscles relax from the sympathetic tenseness they got from his effort.

"Not bad," Cin admitted. "But raw strength is not the only thing we test for. Now, endurance!"