Chapter 3

The quality of life has improved, not by much and yet it's enough to make me quite giddy. Studying has splintered into new areas and instead of just learning political stuff I've been given free access to what I want.

Still, this isn't why I'm giddy. I'm four years old which means Force studies. The basics are "control, sense, alter."

Control opens up the user to the force and allows me to interact with it but only within myself. Make myself faster, stronger or smarter, that was under the aspect of control.

Sense is the next step. To be able to feel and use the force outside the body. The combination of possible skills under this aspect would make a great tracker, detective or bounty hunter. The skills allowed the user of the force to pick up information that should be gone in time.

Alter would only be taught after mastering control and sense. It was a dangerous aspect of the force that would bend the force in different and sometimes unique ways but there were times that Alter could hurt the user. It was a shame, as the best and most interestingly useful skills were in this aspect.

As well as training in the way of the force I and the rest of the Jedi Initiate had taken a trip to Ilum to gather our first Kyber crystal. Travelling there was a massive pain. That was the first time I felt meditation would have helped pass the time, instead, I was stuck on a ship with nothing to do.

The Jedi handler was a Kel Dor. This alone didn't matter as there were thousands of different species but the Kel Dor had a particularly strong connection to the force and great skill in telekinesis, and so when I saw the Jedi use his powers, many thoughts poured into my mind on just how useful this skill was.

The rest of the trip was miserable. Ilum was a damn cold place covered in ice and snow where the Jedi made us go searching for crystals on our own. Some kind of test to overcome our fears, a damn stupid idea if you ask me.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Thanks to my insufficient control I ploughed into a snow bank when I tried to use the Force to strengthen my body. I wasn't used to the increase in speed, tripped and went flying.

The kyber crystal was easy to find as they were all over the place. Mine turned orange when I bonded with it causing the Jedi Kel Dor to give me an odd look. I think it was an odd look as the Kel Dor wore those odd but cool-looking masks.

On the way back all the initiate constructed their lightsaber. I stayed away from any Jedi initiate that held that weapon. Even if the initiate lightsaber couldn't cut shit I still wasn't going to chance it, not with very excited kids.

Now I had force studies, lightsaber combat, and my own personal interest with a light shower of whatever the Jedi thought was a good idea to study. Talking about my interests, I've constructed some bots. It tickled me to no end to create a flying drone in the shape of a bee, the wordplay was fitting.

The information gained from my drone was mostly mundane, Initate, padawan, Jedi or master, they all talked about the force. And yet, there was a shocking piece of news I wasn't aware of.

A pair of padawans, on their way out of the temple, had discussed the latest revelations on the Brotherhood of Darkness.

The Jedi weren't at peace but at war with Sith-like force users and the worst part was there were more than two. The rule of two was what I was familiar with, one master and one apprentice. This complicated things to no end.

The Jedi fought hard, trying their best to fight a group of dark side force users, but even the best and luckiest Jedi could fall when overwhelmed.

I'm apprehensive about just what the Jedi expect from me. If they want me to fight then I would rather not, The dark side is famous for being stronger than the light in a straight-up fight and there's a good chance I would lose, I'm not even a padawan.

I'm not too sure how the Jedi would treat me in a war-type scenario, I recall the Jedi tenets.

People are flawed and open to sacrifice, and Jedi are all about sacrifice. I don't trust the Jedi with my best outcome, especially if the force wills it.

I get the suspicion that the Jedi are training us to fill the void of lost in combat masters and their padawan. I'm not paranoid, well..... yes, I might be paranoid but it doesn't mean I'm wrong. For force's sake, the Jedi have the Jedi mind trick and sometimes lie to their apprentice.

I don't want to fight and die for anyone. Some might say that was Sith talk but I like to see it as survival, nature, existence, and seeing as everything alive is part of the force, then that means its force talk. Perfectly acceptable Jedi talk and action......in my opinion.