"Come in and sit down," a red-haired woman of the human race, dressed in light Jedi clothing, beckoned the younglings into the classroom with a smile.
In general, the Jedi Temple is incredibly huge; it contained many rooms where Jedi studied the Force, trained, conferred, communicated, and so on. Enormous funds were spent on maintaining this place. A place built on a Force Nexus, which helped new Jedi better comprehend the Force. Indeed, since my arrival at the Temple, the Force has literally enveloped me, filling my body with an unusual lightness. Immediately upon arrival, all newcomers who would become younglings underwent a medical examination. First, blood samples were taken for midi-chlorians to confirm their Force potential, and a comprehensive examination for chronic diseases was performed.
Medicine here has advanced far beyond what I saw in the Milky Way. This applies not only to bacta and kolto, which helped heal wounds quite quickly, but also to disease diagnosis. Only healthy individuals were accepted into the Jedi, and if someone arrived with obvious illnesses, they were immediately sent for treatment and then accepted again. Although there were very few sick people in the selection I was part of. The gifted themselves are incredibly strong in terms of health and rarely get sick. I myself, since childhood, when I was born Light Flaingstar, have never been sick. This is related to my connection with the Force and to the civilization on Tustra, one of the most developed in the galaxy.
The children, some pushing, others, like me, avoiding unnecessary contact with their peers, sat down. The classroom was designed for about a hundred sentient beings, although only thirty attended the lesson. In the intake that arrived with me, there were about a hundred sentient beings, and we were quickly divided into two groups. Of course, not everyone will become a Jedi. Some will go to the Service Corps, some will drop out during training and return home (and such precedents existed). Only fatal cases in training did not happen. But even those who become Jedi may not live long and die in some backwater.
By my approximate calculations, considering deaths, falls to the dark side, exiles, transfers to the Service Corps, or failure to withstand training conditions, in about twenty years from my intake, there will be ten to fifteen sentient beings who are Jedi. But so far, none of us have encountered problems from the outside world, beyond the Temple. For now, everyone, even partially me, felt like chosen ones who would study the Force, assemble their lightsaber, and become guardians of peace and order in the Republic. Peace and order pleasing to a handful of sentient beings in the Senate. However, even this does not stop me yet. What is important to me at the moment? Training… I had the illusion of choice, but no actual choice.
Either become a Jedi, or the Sith will get you sooner or later… Or the Sith. It doesn't matter what they are called, in my opinion. What matters is what they could do to me. Here, in the Jedi Temple, even Plagueis is not my master.
"So," the woman drew attention, "my name is Shiala Donita. I am a Jedi Knight and your teacher. Today, as younglings, you will become acquainted with part of the history of the Republic and the Jedi, and study the elements of our philosophy."
Teaching history and the code to children? They won't understand half of it. On the other hand, is it necessary to understand? The important thing is to educate.
"For a year, we will study theoretical foundations, and in parallel, Knight Roan Lancestfield will be responsible for your physical training, and later for lightsaber combat when you begin it. All year, you will be supervised, and then you will receive an offer to join a clan."
"A clan?" a Zabrak girl asked.
"Yes," Shiala nodded, "a clan. In the clan, you will also engage in self-development. Each clan has its own peculiarities."
Yes, they have a clan system. Unlike the Sith, where such a division never existed, Jedi training has clans. Each clan is focused on a specific discipline.
"Then you will begin to comprehend the culture and politics of different races, the basics of tactics and strategy, the Force, and lightsaber combat. When you complete the study of the required disciplines, you will be assigned to a separate mentor, becoming his Padawan. He will teach you everything he knows and can do himself. When you are deemed worthy, you will be given the opportunity to undergo trials, after which you will become Jedi Knights."
Moreover, as she continued her explanation, she infused her voice with the Force. Thus, almost everyone naturally drifted and looked at Shiala with admiring eyes. An interesting technique; it's not hypnosis or subjugation, but simply infusing the Force into the voice. In other words, she simply made everyone listen to her. Those who are unable to control the Force, even with a connection to it, immediately fell under her... charisma. However, it had less effect on me. After all, I control the Force. It only had an effect because Shiala controls it better than I do. But even that was enough to attract her attention. Just for a moment, but I noticed how she lingered on me with a thoughtful gaze of her green eyes.
Her further lesson resembled Yoda's speeches. The Republic… The Jedi… The Light Side of the Force. Knowing the canon more or less, I allowed myself to relax and listened half-heartedly. Meanwhile, some of our group were taking notes on their datapads, which each of us had been given. But I knew perfectly well that all these lectures could be downloaded from the Archives, to which our datapads were remotely connected. Which I did… And I decided to use the introductory lesson for meditation, into which I gladly plunged immediately. Fortunately, the Force of the Temple was calling me to plunge into it and help. For sentient beings with my potential, the Force is like blood. By passing the Force through myself, I felt lightness, fatigue and tension were relieved. The only thing I feared was visions.
The problem with Force visions is that they have a twisted logic. For example, Anakin saw Padmé's death, with Obi-Wan nearby. And he tried in every way to avoid it, ultimately arriving at that result. Like those crazy masters who killed their Padawans; at that time, the main character of the comics was Zayne Carrick. He's not much of a hero; he fought weakly with lightsabers, and his Force worked on the principle of awkward luck. But realistic… In any case, visions are a real problem. I avoided and feared them like fire, because you don't know for sure what to do. Act? Or trust the Force? Again, I wouldn't recommend the latter either. Qui-Gon died exactly like that. He trusted the Force more than anything, and that's right when the Force wants you to win. But then his Force led him to a lightsaber in the stomach from Maul. I would have started trusting my hands more than the Force…
By the way, the nuance of meditation is that the Force seems to sense passing thoughts and acts accordingly. By the way, I definitely felt attention directed at me now. Is it Shiala? She's lecturing and at the same time unobtrusively focusing on me. If I couldn't sense Yoda, then she... She doesn't even hide it. I opened my eyes and met my instructor's stern gaze. Clearly, Shiala definitely doesn't like that I'm dozing off in her lesson while most are writing. I thought that if I sat in the back, she wouldn't pay attention to me. After all, there are so many students around.
But no… The lesson lasted about thirty more minutes, when she let us go. Interestingly, she seemed to have forgotten about me, although, most likely, they don't force us to study here, apparently thinking that we are punishing ourselves this way. By the way, walking in the crowd of my group, behind the senior youngling to the dining hall, I noticed that some of my group had already made friends, at least with each other. What can I say… Children. I tried to keep my distance from everyone, at most just greeting them. However, some didn't care much and still imposed themselves, asking questions like: how old are you, what's your name, where were you born.
In the dining hall, we were seated, and served a monotonous lunch of meat and vegetable salad. The Temple, by the way, is completely self-sufficient, thanks to the AgriCorps, which grows vegetables, fruits, and animals for slaughter for meat. Not everyone always liked the Jedi, and they still don't, so it's better for them to grow their own food than to supply it from other planets. By the way, the AgriCorps is also one of the main sources of income. A huge amount of credits falls into the Order's treasury due to the development of varieties for various colonies throughout the galaxy.
"And the second group is quite exhausted," said one of the boys sitting next to me.
"Of course," I remarked, looking at our... classmates. "While we had theory, they were doing physical training with Master Roan."
"Can you talk?" one of my classmates marveled.
"What?"
"Well, it seemed to me," the boy with dark hair smiled, "that you were silent all the time."
"Why?" I asked and answered myself mentally. I don't like talking to a lot of people. "It's just that it's hard for all of us right now. I had a loving family before I flew here."
"Is that so?" the boy asked. "You're lucky. I didn't have a family, only the name my mother gave me, if my... former master is to be believed. Feemor."
"Feemor?" I repeated, could it be that this boy... Yes, most likely. Qui-Gon's first Padawan, about whom almost nothing is known. At least, I only heard about him in the context of knowledge about his second Padawan – Xanatos.
Qui-Gon had three Padawans and even hints of a fourth. Anakin could have been the fourth. As for the first three... The first was Feemor. Almost no one knows anything about him, but he seemed to be a calm guy and became a decent knight. The second was Xanatos. Heir to an aristocratic ruling family, whose father faced a rebellion due to cruel rule. Qui-Gon killed Xanatos's father during the rebellion, and Xanatos left the Jedi Order; later, he clashed with his former master, and as a result, Xanatos himself went to join his father. And the third, well-known Padawan, is the Chosen One's killer, Kenobi. It's foolish to recall his fate, as it's already well-known.
"And will we be like that?" Feemor asked.
"Unlikely," I shook my head, "they won't send us to Knight Roan immediately after lunch. Remember, someone from the second group boasted that they have an hour break after breakfast? This will probably be the case for us too."
"Indeed," one of the guys checked his datapad. "A whole hour of freedom! What will we do with it?"
Personally, I'll dig around on the Archive website with youngling access, maybe I'll find something interesting. History doesn't interest me much. But the rest... maybe I'll find some techniques. They are recorded not only in Holocrons or the memories of teachers. Descriptions of techniques are also in the Archive. And you can access it remotely from any computer in the galaxy, it's just that each has its own access level. An ordinary sentient being can only dig through propaganda, history, and some other theoretical knowledge that is publicly available. A youngling, theoretically, should have more privileges. Logically. Which is what I did, after finishing my lunch.
While others were figuring out what to do, I returned to the room, a huge room where all the guys from our group lived, and sitting on my bed, I calmly opened the Archive website on the HoloNet. Yesterday I didn't have the opportunity to study it thoroughly; I only noticed that all of Knight Shiala's lectures were there and could be easily downloaded. Now I was interested in access to techniques… Which turned out to be just a section where the initial meditation guide lay… "Is that all?" – flashed through my mind. How disappointing…
Well, since I have free time, I should use it for something other than ordinary meditation. What did I start doing? I just remembered Luke's training from the movie on sensing the Force when he practiced deflecting blasters with a lightsaber. Tying a bandage over my eyes and closing them additionally, I connected with the Force and began to navigate around obstacles. In my opinion, what are the advantages of this particular training, precisely here? The fact that the training room always gives you a huge maneuver space, and there is only one obstacle – a droid with blasters in training mode. Whose shots should be deflected. Here, among the beds, belongings, even seeing everything, it's sometimes difficult to walk. After all, the children have just arrived here and are not accustomed to discipline. So it was difficult to orient myself. I stumbled, fell… The Force acted like a locator. Waves reflected off the surface and informed me of the presence of an obstacle. So far, such sensory perception is quite weak, but when I can develop it, even fighting in smoke, in darkness, will become a simple task for me. I act in accordance with my initial doctrine – maximum survival for me. That's why I'm training to detect threats, although that's difficult; I need to wait for training with a droid, I'm training to navigate around obstacles, relying only on Force sensations, to feel the presence of others. That's why I plan to focus on Soresu in the future…
"An interesting boy," Shiala remarked, sitting next to Roan in the observation room. The woman and the man were mentors to all the younglings of this intake. Now they were watching the only boy who had returned to the room.
"Children are not accustomed to the daily routine," Roan said grimly, "and they have scattered throughout the Temple; it's good that we can monitor them. But what is Master Yoda thinking? Without discipline from the very beginning, they will remain a bunch of disorganized scum. And this one," the black-haired man nodded towards Light Flaingstar. "Alone, without a mentor, he's attempting Force techniques."
"And he meditated in my lesson," Shiala said thoughtfully. "Interestingly, he downloaded and read my first two lectures, and he meditates... Oh Force, just look at his metrics. With so many midi-chlorians, it's not surprising."
Roan glanced at Light's data and was slightly taken aback.
"This is certainly not Master Yoda, but potentially he is higher than Yan Dooku and even Windu," Roan remarked. "Interesting. Very interesting. To polish such a talent is worth a lot."
"Just don't break him," Shiala said. "Meanwhile, several other promising children have arrived with him. For example, this girl – Meza Orta," the image changed to a Zabrak. "She has barely any midi-chlorians, but she is very attentive. She has an excellent memory."
"Mediocrity will remain mediocrity," Roan snorted. "I've seen similar smart ones. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't jump over his head."
"You only assess their combat potential, barbarian," Shiala snorted. "You were a barbarian, and you remain one."
"I don't want to hear anything from a former Shadow Jedi," Roan said, opening the data on the student who had caught his attention. "This one definitely has every chance of becoming my Padawan. This Light Flaingstar, according to his characteristics, has a weak character, despite his connection to the Force… A weakling. And this boy, although average, has potential, but his physical data already surpasses even some children two years older than him."
"Cin Drallig?" Shiala asked. "It seems the barbarian has found a student like himself."
"What are you doing?" a male voice asked me as I removed the blindfold.
"Trying to see with the Force," I explained to the older youngling.
"By yourself? You mean independently? You're not a Mirialan, it's hard to learn that..."
"I'm managing," I sent the teenager into cognitive dissonance.
"You seem talented," he smiled. "Well, everyone needs to gather in the training hall. Your group has physical education now."
The training hall, where I was led, was much more spacious and open than Shiala's classroom. We were lined up and ordered to wait. A few minutes later, a tall man appeared. His arms were strong, crisscrossed with muscles. He himself resembled a bodybuilder. His hair was black, surely prickly. And on his belt rested a lightsaber, in the most visible place. More precisely, judging by the length of the hilt, as I understood it, the man wielded a light staff.
"I am Roan Lancestfield," his booming voice made my ears ring, and he wasn't even using the Force. "Now we will begin a course that will save your lives. It doesn't matter if you become losers who end up in AgriCorps, or the Service Corps, or fly to some hole to fulfill the duty of true Jedi, bringing peace to all, as our rules postulate. Physical training is good for any Jedi," he walked in front of our formation, "and whoever doesn't understand this," he stopped opposite a rather scrawny Feemor, next to whom I stood, quite short compared to my peers, although I wouldn't call myself scrawny. Because I did physical training, and I even had a strike technique, and I can take down my peer in hand-to-hand combat easily. Although, how does he assess the body's condition under clothes? Unless he's trying to exert psychological pressure. It's a great feat to scare children, at least he's not affecting us with the Force. "You probably consider yourselves the Chosen Ones who will become great Jedi. But I will disappoint you – the Chosen Ones are not born, they become," he's partly right. The Chosen One even managed to lose a hand to an old man. By the way, ordinary children under such aggressive pressure would definitely start crying and calling for their mother. "And we will begin... With you," I knew that the "look him in the eyes" tactic would work in reverse, because this "absolutely standard sergeant" chose me. "You... Drop and give me twenty..."
I calmly assumed a prone position and began to do push-ups.
"I'm surprised you know what that is, but you're doing it wrong," an incredible weight fell on my back, which seemed to want to crush me. "You, little one, are channeling the Force through your muscles. You shouldn't be able to use it yet. It's wrong because you're strengthening your body, although you shouldn't be doing it, and do you know why? Because by using the Force, you get used to it and stop using your muscles, and they don't grow. Remember! If there's anyone else who can use the Force right now – forget how it's done. Your task now is to learn to use your physical capabilities, not your Force abilities."
"Te-teacher," I coughed, resisting gravity.
"What? I can't hear you?" he stopped affecting me, and I was able to sit up.
"Why can't I..."
"Because... I'll explain," he stood in front of me, "muscles grow in childhood. And contact with the Force is established the same way – better during growth. But by channeling the Force through yourself, you don't let your muscles grow, you get used to everything being easier, but in reality, you limit yourself. Look at the logic, kid. There are two younglings, one develops muscles separately and the Force separately, and the second does it all together. As a result, the second one wins at first, but at the end of training, the first one will be stronger, do you know why? You don't know," Roan sighed. "And you can't even guess. Listen, everyone... The potential for Force enhancement depends on the condition of your muscles! In other words, if you," he pointed at me, "only use enhancement, but don't develop your muscles, then in the future, when you grow up, any other Jedi who trained with the standard method will be stronger than you, even if you use enhancement. Because, let's say enhancement multiplies your physical strength by two. Which is greater?" he asked everyone. "What's greater: multiplying three by two, or five by two? The answer is obvious. If you multiply three by two, you get six, and if you multiply five by two – you get ten. The Force improves your stats, Light Flaingstar, but it also prevents your muscles from growing, because – if you can manage anyway, why should the body try? Because how do muscles grow? During training, we show them that they are too weak, so the body organizes their growth. But you, with the help of Enhancement, show them nothing. Thus, you don't grow."
It's logical, though unpleasant. At least now I know why my progress has stopped, because what I've gained in terms of muscles is clearly not my limit. And I wasn't going to become a super-muscular guy, but muscles wouldn't hurt, especially considering their usefulness in enhancement. As soon as I managed to pass the threshold for enhancement on Tustra, I gradually began to enhance myself, which is why training with Grandpa stopped yielding results. So I need to try not to use the Force during exertion.
"But it will be very difficult for you," Roan informed me. "You're already used to it. It's as natural for you as breathing, but it's nothing. If you don't want to become a weakling, you'll either change yourself or continue to use the Force like a drug."
"Listen," after physical education, I, exhausted, walked to the mess hall with the group. Feemor was already buzzing around me. "This is cool! You use the Force... Automatically, so you're stronger than many. Even that bully Drallig," another familiar person. "My five thousand midi-chlorians would hardly allow me that much..."
"Didn't you hear Master Roan?" I asked Feemor tiredly as we walked down the Temple corridor and were almost at the mess hall. "I have a drawback."
In fact, channeling the Force for me is like breathing. And I just can't help but enhance myself. Yes, it used to be difficult for me to enhance, but when they trained me and developed me physically, everything became easy, and now it's all backfiring on me.
"I don't know," Feemor said thoughtfully, as the group and I, almost crawling, dragged ourselves to our room. The smartest ones, like me, ran to grab the showers. More precisely, they trudged. My clothes were practically sticking to my body, and my muscles groaned.
Roan specifically devised a way to pressure me with his Force, thereby disrupting my enhancement effect and forcing my muscles to work. Alas, according to him, this had a half-hearted effect. I need to learn to control the Force myself. Before, I controlled it by reflex. That is, I perform a certain action and automatically connect the Force. Now I have to learn to do it differently. I must be able to perform the same action with and without the Force.
The water slightly relaxed my muscles after training. I hadn't felt tired from physical exertion in a long time. Honestly, the approach for children is too harsh. Although I imagine it's even harder for the Sith. But it's foolish to complain here. We are the Gifted, Force-users. We are capable of much more than everyone else, I don't know why or how, but despite the two-hour droning and frankly brutal physical training for four-to-five-year-olds, no one complained. The most I saw was a whining Rodian who dislocated his arm. Everyone else turned red from exertion, but they did all the exercises... Considering everything, it will only get worse. After all, we currently have, in essence, only two subjects.
Theory and physical education. Soon meditation will be added, which, according to rumors, will be led by one of the Council, most likely Yoda. He washes brains with the Force more than many. We will also have excursions around the Temple, particularly to the Archives, which are currently managed by Jocasta Nu. Starting next year, they will begin to teach us not only how to move correctly with the Force, but also to intensify the theory, diluting it not only with history and philosophy, but also with politics, culture, and the basics of strategy and tactics. We will also be taught to fly simulators, there will be engineering and droid construction, an excursion into biology and chemistry. In essence, theoretically, a Jedi is a rational being who has graduated from university. Because much of what is studied here is studied almost immediately at the university level. I also looked at our programs on the website and compared them with the programs of the Alderaanian University, for example. Many topics coincide.
But that's not all... The practice will expand, it won't just be physical education. We will be given training swords because we are not yet grown enough for our combat ones, Lightsabers. Roan will teach us the basics of fencing, help us perfect our technique, and choose our forms for combat. There will also be practical classes in hand-to-hand combat, survival training, consisting of the ability to use various gadgets, such as a device for breathing underwater. All in all, Jedi are versatile fighters. Yes, then each of us will choose a specific specialization. For example, some will go to do good, as Jedi defenders, fighting smugglers, pirates, various riff-raff, and encountering dark Side cults. They concentrate on fencing and Force combat techniques. Some will decide to dedicate themselves entirely to the study of the Force, thus becoming Jedi Consulars. These are pure diplomats and negotiators, they also make healers, keepers of knowledge, and researchers. Well, and some will try to combine both of these directions, becoming Jedi Guardians. Jedi Guardians, by the way, are the most resilient and promising. They are not only least susceptible to the temptation of the Dark Side, but they are also the most balanced and versatile.
At least, that's what I remember. A Jedi Guardian had no problem doing good and delivering justice, both by using a lightsaber and by using the Force. This path is focused on defense, which I like the most. And even if it's difficult to hit two targets at once, I have a huge amount of time before the major Galactic-scale super-conflicts, and I can calmly, by following the path of a guardian, become a strong Jedi. The most important thing in such conditions is not to shirk.
Yes, you need to train with dedication, using every minute for something. I have a list of Force techniques that I must master from the very beginning. First of all, sensory perception and foresight, which will help me in combat. I trained telekinesis even before joining the Temple, so it won't be difficult to show a decent level. Although it's worth remembering that there is no limit to perfection. In addition, Force forging should be considered, which will help me in the future, Tutaminis and Crucitorn. The last two techniques are studied superficially by younglings. So for my subsequent training, when I become a Padawan.
In terms of physical development, besides body development, hand-to-hand combat, fencing. Forms... Form I Shii-Cho is always studied, and, as I have repeatedly planned, I will study the defensive form Soresu. It is she who helps to get out of combat without a scratch. With my huge potential in the Force, I will definitely be able to combine Soresu, foresight, and enhancement, which will make me a defensive fencer with perfect defense... Reaching my bed, I fell asleep... Again, I dreamed of some nonsense, as if I, with two green lightsabers, were almost destroying Vader in direct combat, who was saved only by the timely appearance of stormtroopers, and I myself retreated with the help of that semi-M-ish squad "Ghost" from the cartoon "Rebels." Well, it's nonsense... I don't think I'll reach that level, the most I can do is escape the planet before Vader appears on it...