First lesson at the temple and meeting the teacher
«So guys, let me introduce myself, Bagiran Naron.... - began, a tall man in a blue cape, with a sword at his belt and a well-fitted battle suit, if not armour. But...
«You're the guy who was standing in the corridor! - I moved to the front of the line. The man hesitated, but he found himself.
«You must be mistaken...
«Not once! I remembered your aura clearly. You were surprised then, and now you're shocked," the group laughed, but....
«Okay, calm down. Even so, how did you see it? - squinted at the guy.
«Why should I tell personal information to a person who not only doesn't say hello, but also disappears into thin air and doesn't even want to confess," he choked, and I continued. - I don't talk to creepy people!
«What kind of people?
«The creepy ones. Master Garos is a different matter, at least he's polite.
«Pha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha... - a woman's voice rang out in the hall. Turning round, we saw a young Sith woman who was curled up in half under the wall, laughing wildly. - Ha ha ha ha... Oy amana lusa... Ha-ha-ha... Asara halun.
«Tzikuna, stop it," the newly minted master of disappearances interjected, but the girl was unstoppable.
«Oh I can't... Bagi, you've been called many things, but to hear such a thing from a child.... Where did you stand out so much? - Wiping away tears, asked this incomprehensible nature.
«I just went to see what kind of newcomers, - the master returned his gaze to us.
«And he saw you, didn't he? - The man didn't answer, but I was honoured with a whole crowd of uncomprehending eyes. - What's your name, boy?
«Shade," I answered, squinting at the strange lady. I don't know who she is, but she's got a lot of power. Maybe like her mum's...
«What's her last name?
«Aero.
«Ooh. All right, Bogey, pray. You just made a fool of HER son MVA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!.
«Where am I going? - whispering with just my lips.
«I'm sorry, you must be confused. - She's talking to me. - Relax. My name is Tsikuna, Aala is my best friend. We've done pilgrimages to all nine temples together. Qigong Kesh is my temple. And also, if this "creepy" - she looked at the man - bothers you, just say the word. I'll take care of him in a jiffy.
«Oh.
«All right, guys, I see you're settling in. In fact, I wanted to say welcome to Qigong Kesh. I hope you enjoy your stay," she said to the dazed group. - All right, I gotta go. Good luck, Buggy. And remember, this is HER son," the last words sounded like a curse. Or a judgement.
«I get it," the man mumbled, hiding the lower part of his face under his protective collar.
There was silence in the hall. The people looked at the master, while the master looked at the passageway where the Sith had disappeared.
Taking a few steps, I tug on his sleeve.
«Master Buggy, can I ask you a question? - He looked at me as if he was ready to kill me right here and right now, but he took a deep breath and answered.
«Ask away.
«What do you specialise in?
«Controlling auras and my own body using the Force. As well as maintaining your physical condition.
«I see.
«Listen, kid. How did you see me? I hid my aura, so even in the Force, you couldn't feel me.
I thought about it for a moment. Strange, I could see him clearly in my sonar. Or rather, his outline, behind which was a void of emotion.
«Accidentally. - I shrugged and smiled.
«Huh? - They looked at me as if Mueller was looking at Stirlitz.
«Yeah, - and the most honest eyes I'm capable of. I heard my classmates laughing behind me.
***
You know, this place is pretty good. At least I can see why my mother insisted on this temple. The Master of Tsikuna Temple is a very active girl... Well, a woman. She happens to have a husband and a couple of sons, but those are already trailblazers. And best of all, she's in her forties. Forty in the local time frame, that's like seventy in the time frame I'm used to. And the main thing is that my mum is the same age, though both of them can't be more than twenty-five or thirty.
But all right, this is all lyrical, it's about the temple. After arriving on the planet Tython, the ancient star ships "To Yors" flew to different areas of the planet, near which, in fact, and founded temples. One of the To Yors flew to a mysterious desert, the sand of which absorbed any sounds. Anything at all. Absolutely nothing. If you shouted at a man a hundred metres away from you, he would probably not hear you. Closer, he might, but further away, no.
Here, near the ancient ship hovering in the air between the curved stone spires, the Je'Dayi Order founded the Temple of the Realisation of Power. The sheer size of the temple was staggering. The main buildings of the temple were located in a complex system of underground tunnels and caves of natural origin. The walls protected the entrances to the caves from the desert sand, and the walls of the caves - from the scorching sun. The mild climate in the temple was maintained with the help of six giant air conditioners in its depths, working at the intersection of electricity and Force.
In the centre, however, was a spacious courtyard, over which hung To Yor. By the way, this was the first time I had ever seen such a ship. The ship itself resembled a huge octahedron with four main engines and eight manoeuvring engines. There were no windows or doors, but the ship reeked of the Force. It was like I was standing near a reactor. It was physically impossible to get inside the ship, and they didn't dare to harm it, so the ship became a kind of monument.
«She-e-e-e-e-aid! - suddenly one of the Twi'leks was hanging around my neck. - Why are you standing on the sidelines, mate? Let's go to everyone!
Once people recognised my level of authority, I jumped from "mama's boy" to "best friend". Man, it's sickening. Not with everyone, though.
«Waal, go away. That's enough.
«Why are you so angry?
«You're annoying.
«No, they'll send you to Bogana with that attitude towards your neighbour.
«And if I hit you in the forehead? - I raise an eyebrow. I've already had a couple of fights in the temple and came out victorious. Yes, I got a beating from Tsikuna and the masters, but many people learnt not to piss me off.
«Oh, they're calling me, I'll run, see you later, - and then I ran away. But he's already got it once, when he's pissed off, he doesn't step on that rake again. He leaves early.
Sighing, I turn to Ramira. She's the most problematic bastard you can find in this world, believe me. Shy, soft, insecure. Master Garos is trying his best to rid her of her inferiority complex, but it's not working. It's true what they say about children being plastic - what you mould is what you get. Her parents were not only without power, but also from the lower class, and this is a trauma for the child, on which depend.... other people's lives will depend on. The twins shun her, considering her a pseudo-brave, and the others are not very friendly. Lina's only really friendly, and Vessir's a little supportive. At this rate, they'll literally beat the potential out of this little girl, and she has it.
«So why are we so sad? - I'm asking the girl who hung her head. A pretty little bail girl, by the way.
«Marty told me to get out. Shade, tell me, I'm a disgrace, not a bastard, right?
«Oh, don't be like that, huh? You are who you are. Anyway, Marty, which one is this? - I put one arm around her and point to the three guys in the corridor.
«Huh? S-thank you. А... Why do you want to know?
«I just want to know who's hurting a pretty girl like you.
«Shade, don't, you're already-- Not well-liked. Some people.
«Rami, you either tell me or I'll go and ask them. There's no third way. Well?
She blushes, but redirects my hand to her side.
«There he is. From the senior group. They say he can read others and talk about their talents.
«He can read others, you say? Come on, let him read me," I take her hand and pull her behind me like a tractor.
«Huh? Where?! - The bastard was taken aback.
«Where to? I will not allow my comrades to be insulted. Especially such nice, beautiful and simply wonderful, - she blushed even more, but stopped resisting.
«... and he says, "You should have slept less," and laughs. No help cleaning up.
«Are you Marty? - I ask the man head-on.
«Well, let's just say, what are you? You're that little thing's friend? - points to the girl behind me.
«You can read, so read it," I snapped back.
«You're brave to act like that. Didn't they teach you how to treat your elders?
«Nope. And anyway, you have to earn my respect. And you, "mate", insulted my friend. - The people looked at each other and laughed. The group totalled four individuals.
«And you, then, have come to establish justice?
«Bingo!
«Can you do it? - At that moment, the whole group was suddenly threatened. But at the same time, I see five objects approaching me. The twins, Vessira, Lina, and Gris (The wookiee. I'm learning the language, and my client is the teacher.) They came up and just stood behind me without saying a word.
«I can," I replied confidently, literally crushing the mental barrier with the Force. It's one thing to have a small scuffle, and quite another to have a full-blown brawl between two groups. The offender hesitated for a while, and then gave up.
«All right. I apologise for my words to this young girl. Are you satisfied?
«Quite," I turn around and look into Ramira's surprised eyes. - What?
«I thought you two were gonna fight.
«Why? - We both asked at the same time. I winked at the guy, but he only snorted, and we turned back to the girl.
«If you remember, fighting is forbidden in the temple," Mark said. - And since you are relatively new here, the main blame will fall on us. And your friend knows that very well. Doesn't he?
«Yeah," I nod.
«Conflict isn't worth the bruises, but that psycho.... - I got the hand pointed at me. - He would have brought it to this, wouldn't he, Aero?
«Bingo! - I snapped my fingers. - Because you shouldn't hurt the little ones.
«I wasn't offending anyone, I was just stating a fact.
Suddenly, the bell rang, interrupting our debate.
«It seems we have to go to class. See you later, Aero," the group literally vanished into the corridors of the temple, as did the other students.
«... - Ramira looked after the boys from the older stream.
«By the way, why are you here? - I asked the crowd.
«They made me come," one of the twins muttered.
«Gru-u-u.
«No way! You threatened to pull out our arms if we don't go! - exclaimed the other twin.
«But he's kidding-ya-ya," Lina sang softly, tapping the wookiee lightly.
«Ru-gu-ra-ar," Gris stroked the miraluka's head happily.
«Nothing to justify, fur rug on legs. We would never have gone to rescue that inept," I felt a stinging wave of resentment wash over Ramira, and my hand was squeezed a little tighter.
«I'd carry her in my arms if I were you guys," I put in my five pennies (a local variation of money). Resentment is replaced by surprise and incomprehension. And the second emotion came from everyone.
«Why is that?
«To answer that, I have to ask. Who do you see her as?
«What kind of a stupid question is that?
«Well? - I demand to know.
«Weak, without any talent.
«A worthless inept. She can't even say a word, how will she survive on Tython? - another wave of resentment, but now it's towards me. I feel like hiding and crying.
«Well, you're partly right, - the desire intensifies, tears appear on my eyes, and the female part of the collective looked at me with reproach. - Yes, she's not much of a fighter, but she doesn't have to fight. Her strength lies elsewhere! - The people listened attentively, and Ramira seemed to stop breathing. - Healing.
The twins looked at each other and smiled, but the little girl.... She was emitting a cacophony of emotions that I can't even begin to make sense of.
«Don't smile. If my gut tells me right, Ramira has a lot of potential in this field. More than you'll ever see in your lifetime. Now the question is, if you're wounded and you're bleeding, who do you turn to for help? - The people somehow quieted down, and Ramira reeked of an even more poisonous cocktail of confusion, hope, joy, and indignation. - That's just it. She, like you, will fight. But if you fight monsters and enemies, she will fight death for your lives. You're hurting her without even wanting to know. I did. Every day as I practised shiriivuk with her, I saw the books she reads. I've seen what she's passionate about. And you know what? I can responsibly say that despite all your words and insults, this girl will still fight for you," by the end of my words, the zabraki was painful to look at. No one had ever felt such a sense of guilt in my memory. Ramira, on the other hand, had her arm around my waist and was just squirming. - Now, you're up," I whispered, and releasing a limb, I pushed the shy girl toward the twins.
«Oh. That's... - she turned to me and then looked at the twins.
«Listen Ramira... - the first one started.
«We, um. overreacted a little bit. In what we said.
«Yes. And, um. we admit we were wrong.
«I'm sorry, please?
«Well, um. come on. I'm not offended, - embarrassed up to her horns, the future medic looked down.
«Really? - Feng asked, raising his head.
«I do.
«Thank you! We...
The boys were talking and occupying Ramira, trying to talk to her, paying too much attention to the unaccustomed girl. Wookiee didn't stand aside and just grabbed Ramira in his arms while Lina tried to save her friend from choking. Vessira sidled up to me.
«Surprised me," she whispered quietly.
«As usual.
«Could you be more modest? - she raised an eyebrow.
«Nope. It's not interesting,
«You're incorrigible," she rolled her eyes and pounded my shoulder with her fist.
«I don't remember us becoming such close friends.
«You passed the test.
«The test? - I raised an eyebrow.
«Yeah. Probationary period, so to speak. I thought you were one of those golden boys. - she waved her hand in the air, "You know, the Chikagu ones, the clan ones. You have... special 'familiars' after all. Like your mother. And they don't come from nothing.
«Thank you. I don't know whether to be offended or happy about it.
I'm turning round and heading towards the meditation room.
«Where are you going? - Wes was surprised. - Did I offend you? - In the last one there was even more surprise than in the first question.
«No, it's just that the bell was already ringing, and we're in the middle of Master Rune's class right now," she said, and people immediately jumped up and ran over.
«Why aren't you in a hurry? - Lina interjected, and ran around me, walking backwards. Sometimes the Miralukes kill me, with their vision of three hundred and sixty.
«To rush to the meditation class? - I make a sceptical look on my face. - Nah.
After a little thought, the people agreed with me. After all, this is the most disliked subject of the whole academy. And it's not that sitting and meditating is murderously boring. No. It's that the entire class is accompanied by the irritating mutterings of the old twee'lek who teaches it. His monotonous voice is absolutely hilarious. It's like an old record playing the same words over and over. You don't notice it at first, but then the students fall into a state of meditation for the sole purpose of not hearing him. I bet that's why they keep him, because it really takes skill to fall into meditation for such a short period of time.
***
BANG!
There was an explosion in one of the power rooms. Attempting to create a ball lightning ball and aim it at a target, I created something that didn't look like lightning, but had far more destructive potential.
«SHADE!!! - Master Uval shouted.
«Oh... - I get up from the floor, looking around the hall. My group was also coming to their senses. - Yes, Master Uval?
«I told you to focus a lightning bolt of power in your hand, and what did you do?!
«Erm... Tried to complete the task at hand?
«You idiot! I've told you many times, to generate force lightning, you need to focus on the Force and structure it!
Boom! I got hit on the head with my own note book. We don't have notebooks, but we have books where we write down notes and personal observations.
«But I tried!
«You've created a Force surge, you idiot, you've got to set the polarity! Who did I talk to about the process?
«Master, I'm sorry. - I'm embarrassed. Even though I'm an arsehole, Master is right.
«I'm sorry?!
«Master, breathe deeply, try to keep your balance, you're already sparkling and your eyes are yellow...
«I'll get you.
Boom! - I got hit on the head again with my own book. Yes, Master Uval didn't like me before, and when he started teaching me, it just got worse. What can I do if I can't change my focus?! I just don't know how to do it, my mum taught me the power in a completely different way.
«What are you looking at?! - He glared at the others, and the boys immediately started to clean up the mess.
«Master, I understand you're angry.... - they looked at me again. - ... very angry, but I didn't do it on purpose!
«Not in every class! - He flared up, and brought the book up again, and I had my head in my neck, ready to take another blow from fate.
«I'm a fool, I admit it, I repent, but spare the book!
The interesting thing is that, on the other hand, I was torturing him myself. Only in my own way. I was interested in the possession of power, and ways of transforming it into various forms, something Master Uval was very good at. So I deliberately probed him, pulling out as much material as I could. Another thing is that he was hard for me and not a single pancake came out from the first time. At least in his classes. I also had problems with stabilising the accumulated energy. For example, when the task is to accumulate Power in a certain sphere, but not to throw it out into the surrounding space, I constantly destabilise it. Admittedly, it's bad. Not really, but bad. If I can't stabilise the tearing energy, then Uval was right to some extent, I really need to meditate more, restoring balance. I remember Yoda saying something about the "fast" and "easy" way. Well, shorty, come here, I'll show you the "quick" and "easy" way.
The trouble with the dark side isn't that it's flattering. No. It's the equivalent of movement. The light side is a brake. You go too fast, you can't stop. But if you stop, you'll never go back. My problem is brakes, but I realise that, and I try to brake when I'm really skidding. Come on, shorty, tell ME it's easy when you're periodically thrown into the arena and told to "overpower the beast", well, just so you know how to fight it. What peace, what are you talking about? Just adrenaline and hardcore!
And if you speed up, you can get into the field of the planet, so to speak, to enter into resonance with it, and then the thrash begins. Storms of force, earthquakes, fire tornadoes formed by the same storms.... And it could all start at any moment, because of you or anyone else.
Meanwhile, while I was thinking about the mortal things of life, Uval cooled down and gave a command in a commanding voice:
«Continue with the lesson! And you. - he looked at me. He glared at me for a moment, exhaled, and waved his hand. - Come on, I hope you've mastered group meditation.
«I did. Why?
«I'll try to guide you.
«Couldn't you have done that in the first place? - I was outraged.
Boom! I got hit with a textbook.
«Got it. I'll shut up.
***
My life was not filled with Force alone. Although the Qigong Kesh Temple focused on it, but at the same time, it was impossible to ignore the technical aspect. So, the temple had a small... how should I put it, a branch? An annex? A corner? In general, an area in which the representatives of the temple of Stav Kesh, the temple of science, were entrenched. There was a warehouse, a few offices and workshops. It was this bit of Stav Kesh that was in charge of all the technical stuff. They were the ones who repaired all of the Qigong Kesha Temple's equipment, and they also gave a number of classes for the locals regarding the equipment. You have to know the bare minimum, right? So, they gave us some basic lessons on ships, fighter planes, small arms and edged weapons. And also, in the same corner we were given simple lessons on so-called "power forging".The information was given not only for our comprehensive education, but also so that we wouldn't be left with a bare arse among the enemies if we suddenly didn't have a weapon in our hands. Or to make it easier to look after those same weapons. To sharpen, to invest power, to modify if need be. I happened to spend a little more time there than I should have, if possible. After all, I was a trapped man, and this corner of the temple of science was the very source of knowledge on the technical part of the world I now lived in.
Yes, I realised that the locals wouldn't give me a specialized education, but still, thanks to them I could understand how to work with some metals, how to use force artifacts, how to fly a plane. I mean, there are no buttons on a real Je'dai aeroplane. Just a steering wheel. Everything else is controlled by the Force. That's how this process works, how to get into the essence of the machinery, how to understand what's broken, what might break....
And Master Drags, one of the local luminaries of science, shared with me in confidence that any machine is actually alive. Unless, of course, it's a dry assembly line. The master, creating a device, whatever it may be, lays in it a part of his soul, so such a technique will in a certain sense glow in the force. A little bit. This, of course, still needs to be considered, but the fact itself. And if the master is simultaneously its owner, then a bond is formed between them. Therefore, the devices that you personally modified, assembled, at least spoke to them, will be alive to some extent.
For an example, he cited a case from his own life. Master Drags had no left arm, instead he had a mechanical arm that worked on force, and he had lost it in an accident. He himself was a pilot, and in one of the conflicts, he had come under fire. He didn't realise what had happened when he was in a bind with his machine, but the plane was suddenly swung sideways, and the line that should have blown the cockpit apart only blew off the wing. Later he found out that just before the impact, one of the stabilisers had malfunctioned, and that was the reason why the machine had gone sideways. But the timing of it.
Anyway, he's given me a lot of work to do. And it wasn't just me, my mates, who were trying to get me out of here at first, were also interested. So sometimes we could be caught there, for example, disassembling or assembling a communicator, or sharpening weapons, or some other small, but useful for everyday life.
I was also shown how the holocron worked. It's a phenomenal device. It's the intersection of technology and power. It can be opened only by a person who has the power, but ordinary people can interact with the opened holocron by connecting it to a special terminal socket. And though I was shown, explained and even let me hold it, I didn't understand this thing. It's too complicated. Too contrived. Just too much.
But when we accidentally destroyed one of the machines. and a few other little things, but it didn't matter, they took offence, of course. Then they forgave us, but the punishment was terrible.