Inside the elder’s house in the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. An unexpected incoming call, without prior announcement, broke the meditative silence of the hall. It must be an urgent matter. The few masters who were currently in the middle of a general meeting were crudely interrupted by the repeating signal.
“Where does this call originate from? Can you tell me Kenobi?” — Asked master Windu, already frustrated by the rude interruption.
“It is from one of the atmospheric border stations. How curious. We never got a direct call from there before.”
“Humph.” — Snorted Windu, showing little interest in the matter.
“Answer this call, we should, its rude to make the caller wait without proper reason.” — Grandmaster Yoda chided the arguing pair calmly.
“Of course, grandmaster, I will redirect it to the central holoprojector.”
Soon enough, the semi-opaque form of a border guard appeared before them.
“Greetings, esteemed masters.” — The man greeted them while giving a slight bow with his head.
As the youngest of the present masters, and with the title of infamous diplomat, General Kenobi naturally took over the lead in the conversation.
“Greetings to you too, sir. May I ask, what is the reason for your sudden call?”
“Of course, master, we have located a wanted ship, waiting to enter Coruscant...”
Windu interrupted the man’s long-winded monologue.
“Then you should already be on your way to arrest the owner instead of calling the Jedi Temple, initiating idle chatter...”
“Yes, master, and I would do so normally… Alas, there is no crime on record that the owner committed...”
Hearing that unexpected statement, Windu eyebrows raised with evident surprise. He glanced to the other masters, then slowly leaned back into his seat, nodding towards the man, acknowledging his decision at last.
“You stated that it is the ship which is wanted, not the owner. Why is the ship wanted?” — Windu asked, taking the matter seriously this time.
The man visibly relaxed as he sensed the abrupt change of tone, quickly continuing his explanation.
“The Jedi Temple provided a wish to buy this type of ship as a relic because of historical value. It is a dynamic-class freighter ship. Its code name is Ebon Hawk, the scanned assembly date seems to be original, certificated by the old republic. We are currently holding back the ship on the border.”
There was silence in the room. Kenobi and Windu simultaneously looked towards the grandmaster for advice.
Yoda considered this matter, clearly trying to remember such a decision made by the Jedi Council in the distant past. His eyelids suddenly shot up, new insight mirrored in the old gaze.
“Yes, I seem to remember that there was a warrant issued for that type of ship a few hundred years ago; sadly, there was no ship to find.”
“The force works in mysterious ways. After so much time and futile effort, the ship comes to us on its own accord. Captain, escort the ship to the Jedi Temple’s landing platforms. We wish to speak with its owner personally.”
The captain nodded happily, but he didn’t seem to leave just yet. — “Masters...” — He began slowly.
Windu’s eyes narrowed on the holographic image. Then he said, after a weak shake of his head.
“You will be compensated for your good work, captain. We expect it to continue in a similarly effective manner.”
The man couldn’t quite hide the spreading smile coming to his face.
“Thank you, masters! Have a beautiful day!”
Windu sighed and said after the call ended.
“The greed of man holds no bounds.”
There were a few minutes of silent contemplation after that. In the end, master Kenobi, broke the silence.
“Honestly, I am looking forward to this encounter. What type of person uses such a relic as general transportation? Is it possible that they don’t even know how unique their ship is? Will we really buy it?”
“We will give a reasonable price, but of course, we cannot force them to sell their ship. It is their property, after all.” — Stated Yoda.
“In case if the ship actually belongs to the current owner. I feel a strange disturbance in the force. There might be an unexpected surprise waiting for us.”
Windu added his two credits sinisterly.
“You might be right, old friend… Let’s wait and see what the future holds.” — The grandmaster closed the conversation with a thoughtful expression.
All hell broke loose inside the bridge of the Ebon Hawk, after a less than comforting call from the traffic-control station. In which a soldier explained to them with an unusually cheerful tone of voice that they were invited to the Jedi Temple for a meeting with the elders none the less.
In the call there were careful but obvious hints that they should not try anything funny, like running away. The possibility of denying the invitation wasn’t even brought up as a few police fighter ships escorted them to the planet until the very moment they landed on a big landing platform right on the side of the temple.
At which time, Nizzal was screaming hysterically while throwing random objects at the stoically sitting droid still controlling the ship.
“YOU SCRAP PILE! I TOLD YOU THAT WE SHOULDN’T USE THIS DAMN SHIP! WHAT WILL I DO NOW? I CAN’T EVEN HIDE MY FORCE PRESENCE PROPERLY! AND THEY WANT ME TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH THE COUNCIL I AM DONE FOR!”
‘Exhausted from my shouting and emotional crisis, I collapsed into a nearby chair at the end of my hysterical outburst...’
“It’s not even a week after I became a master, and the jedi are about to capture me... All of this is because of you! And that dirty master of yours!”
“(Logical assessment): They can try to capture us. In that case, I will activate battle protocol. While I distract them, little-meatbag should be able to escape.”
‘I froze in my rant for a second. Is this bastard seriously willing to do that for me? Even so… what he asks is impossible!’
“As if! How do you expect me to escape from the heart of the Jedi Temple? You are crazy. We should try to escape with the ship. That is our only chance.”
“(Statement): There are four fighter escort ships still circling around us; they are faster and more agile under atmospheric pressure. Our shield generator is too obsolete; we would be destroyed in a few hits.”
“Argh! Damn it! I hate this cursed ship!”
“(Critical assessment): There was no better ship in the hangar on Hoth.”
“Maybe, but this way, we painted a giant target on our backs!”
“(Troubleshooting logical deduction): There was no mistake in my logical analysis. Nor the jedi or the station guards should recognize this ship, after thousands of years. The only plausible explanation is that an unknown factor was not included in my calculation. That is the only answer.”
‘I blinked at the idiot, unable to understand the levels of idiocy that it produced in the last few seconds.’ — “That is what is called being misinformed, you dummy —!”
‘My attention was pulled away, before I could throw another empty conserve can at the fucker.’
“Look, the temple’s door opened…” — ‘I sighed, giving up any chance of running away. Let’s hope that the last millennium of relative prosperity softened the jedi enough to not recognize someone with considerable force presence, and lack of control on it… All thanks to the last remaining side effects of that accursed ritual.’ — “We should go out and meet them. Let us hope they won’t kill a child. In these types of scenarios, it is actually a boon to be a child.”
‘We walked down on the ramp towards the small delegation. They were temple guardians, two of them, with double-bladed lightsabers proudly displayed on their hips. Their faces were hidden under masks and hoods, equipped with some unpractical, ceremonial armor. Now as they got closer, I could see their general forms more clearly, one of them was a man while the other was a woman. I watched them suspiciously, as HK-47 took its place behind me, obviously intimidating the guards a bit.’
‘When I reached them, I bowed lightly in polite greeting, as a member of the high aristocracy would upon meeting jedi. They looked at me, surprised by my actions clearly thrown off their rhythm. They didn’t expect to deal with aristocrats, nor with a child, which showed in their hesitance. One of them, the man eventually asked. While the woman continued to not so subtly scrutinize me.’
“The council would like to speak with the owner of the ship.”
‘I noticed that the man directed his question towards the protocol droid, and I had a hard time to stop clicking my tongue at him. This fool blatantly decided to ignore me over that rude tin-can!’
‘As my annoyance hit through the roof, I stated stubbornly.’
“Then, lead the way.”
‘The guards exchanged a few knowing glances as they turned towards the weird protocol droid once again.’
“(Informative statement) The master of the ship is currently not present. We came here with Miss Nizzal in the hopes of visiting the central library to further her knowledge and update our databanks. You can treat her as the second best choice. She holds the highest authority between the two of us.”
‘The guards nodded and finally turned to me properly. This time the woman spoke up, pointing towards the door.’
“This way, please.”
‘So, having no other option, I reluctantly followed them into the heart of their temple.’
‘Soon enough, I felt hundreds of powerful force signals all around me. It was a strange experience. I kind of liked it, though.’
‘The tall bright halls and corridors gave away a strong and peaceful sensation, nothing like the sith temple I was used to with its pressuringly low ceilings and dark-dim rooms.’
‘This was a freeing experience, forcibly relaxing my troubled mind. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to take in this special feeling. When I opened my eyes again, I saw for a second as the female temple guard was eyeing me carefully.’
‘Oh hell, I forgot about myself... With a spike of fear, I started to reinforce my mental shields and did my best to erase my force presence, which came loose in the moment of self-forgetting. As a reaction, both of the guards stopped and looked at me. I saw as they touched their blades, if only for a fraction of a second. Then they began to walk again, acting as if everything was normal.’
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
‘I have done it again... Stupid, stupid, stupid... everyone has a force signal, even the people that can’t use force... If you erase your force presence suddenly, they will instantly realize that I am trained in the ways of the force... They are going to lock me up here... bye-bye cantinas, bye-bye freedom...’
‘My shoulders dropped sadly as I realized that I am most likely screwed, yet again, I was screwed from the moment I came here... Time to figure out, how to escape, I looked back towards the door we came through... Maybe I can make it back to the ship?’
‘The female guard caught my longing gaze and stepped in front of me, activating her yellow saber staff, warning me with a strict voice.’
“Don’t even think about it, girl.”
“I turned around and saw the other guard doing the same, locking me and the droid between the two of them. Being in the middle of corridor there was nowhere else to run.”
“Uhm, would you consider letting me go if I asked?” — ‘I questioned with a small voice.’
“No.” — ‘The woman stated, no hesitation.’
“Pretty please?” — ‘I added almost pleadingly.’
‘The woman snorted hearing that.’
“You are a funny one. I like that, but the answer is still the same.” — ‘She stated the barest of humour lingering in her otherwise strict voice.’
“Ugh...”
‘I looked towards HK-47. Attempting to convey my thoughts with my wide, scared eyes. It would be a good time to start that distraction... Right about now...’
‘He was standing there unmoving, without a care in the world.’
‘Oh no, I am a damnable fool! I actually trusted in this pile of scrap! Of course, it won’t lift a finger to help me.’
‘At that moment, it turned its face towards me. I felt a fickle of hope igniting in my chest, then it looked away uninterestedly.’
“…”
‘My mouth opened with utter disbelief. I couldn’t even oppose when the two temple guards grabbed me under my arms and forcefully escorted me to the council room.’
‘I am going to blow up that cursed droid. Since it joined me, everything went downhill... The sadistic smile of Revan’s ghost reappeared before my eyes at this opportune moment. Then I realized… This droid doesn’t care about me having Revan’s memories...‘
‘This droid might not even care about Revan’s orders. It would never even entertain mine. I am just a complete nuisance to it, just another meatbag... I started to struggle a little. I wanted to blast that thing to smithereens even if I couldn’t do it realistically...’
“Ouch…” — ‘I whispered as the tightening hold of the guards jolted me out of my wishful thinking.’
“Stop wriggling around, girl.” — ‘The man scolded me.’ — “Fine… I will stop.” — ‘I answered reluctantly but sighed, feeling relieved when they adjusted their hold’s strength.’
‘The female guard attempted to lighten the mood as we walked across the unending corridors.’
“So, are you a run away padawan? I bet your master will be over the moon to catch up with you. I can foresee a heavy scolding and some extremely boring punishments in the near future, tough luck.” — ‘The man chuckled on my other side, hearing her teasing tone.’
‘To my surprise, he also added a sentence.’ — “Your little act of aristocracy was quite convincing, though. Only if you weren’t wearing armor… You should be using your talents for the right things, instead of running around and causing trouble, lass.”
‘Are they seriously thinking that I am a runaway padawan? I decided to not answer either of those questions in the end.’
‘A few minutes later, we finally reached the council room. The door opened, and we marched in, stopping in the middle of the room. The three jedi masters currently present looked towards us with an obvious frown.’
‘I also looked at them carefully... Two humans, and a goblin, that’s my luck.’
‘The black-skinned human male on the right side was the most frustrated. No surprise there, since all of his hair was long gone. It probably means he had a very short fuse... There you go, he almost immediately started the questioning. Where is your patience, master?’
“What is the meaning of this interruption? We are waiting for a guest. It is not the time to judge some misbehaving youngling!”
‘The male temple guard gave his answer without hesitation.’
“Master, she is the guest you were waiting for.”
‘That surprised all three of the masters. There were a few seconds of hesitant silence, then the other human continued the questioning.’
“Then, allow me to ask, what is the reason for this commotion?”
‘Now the female guard gave the answer.’
“The girl is force sensitive and trained in the ways of the force. She could hide her force presence so well that we couldn’t sense it while standing right next to her. Still, she seems to struggle to hide it consistently. She is doing it at this very moment.”
‘Now, the three masters looked at me with calculating and somewhat skeptical eyes. The one in the middle, the goblin, blurted out eventually.’
“You are right about this, while you were coming towards the room; I only sensed the two of you. Now, as I consciously focus, I can sense her presence as well. She is shockingly skilled in hiding, on a level of a knight or even a master. How troubling… troubling indeed…”
‘The temple guards nodded, then looked at me with a new light glinting in their eyes.’
‘The strangely serene moment was destroyed by the female guard’s next short sentence.’
“Oh, and she tried to run away.”
‘The change in the overall mood was quick. Damn that lady, that part was uncalled for. She avoided my betrayed gaze...’
‘I stamped with my right leg.’ — “I did not do such a thing!”
‘The woman was clearly surprised as she turned back looking down at me thanks to the difference in height as she added calmly.’ — “Only because I stopped you before you could.”
‘I didn’t have a prepared answer to that… and therefore I shut up, looking down at the floor in front of me.’
‘The master sitting on the left seemed amused by this, but he easily picked up the conversation.’
“How do you know that she is the actual owner of the ship?”
‘Both of the temple guards answered in unison. Were they twins or something?’
“The protocol droid said so.”
‘I saw a momentary confusion in the eyes of the masters than the one without hair asked.’
“Where is this droid, then?”
‘All three of us turned around simultaneously; there was no droid behind us, only air.’
‘I facepalmed, to the particular amusement of the master sitting on the left from my perspective. The skinhead was less amused by this chain of events and began an infuriated rant.’
“You mean to tell me that you brought an unidentified droid into the temple and then lost it? This can easily be a separatist plot. We are in the middle of a war! Find that droid immediately!” — ‘The door opened, and another guard run in hastily.’
“What is it now?!” — ‘Shouted the still raging master.’
‘The additional guard was taken aback by the shouting master, but he soon composed himself and started his report.’
“We have located an unauthorized breach into the jedi archives, about ten minutes ago, and the ship that landed on the seventeenth landing pad just left without authorization.”
‘An even heavier silence fell on the room. A few awkward seconds later, everyone’s gaze were focused on me. I could not stand their accusing gazes filled with hostility and suspicion. Under their piercing eyes, I could only say.’
“Oh, I am done for...” — ‘I said, realizing that the droid completely screwed me over. It was his plan all along to use me as a distraction to open a possibility of breaking into the jedi archives. I can’t believe I fell for it!’
‘But there was no helping now.’
‘After long seconds of silence, the third temple guard left silently. At last, the grandmaster tried to salvage what was left of the conversation.’
“Hmmm... Let us start this conversation a new. What is your name, girl?”
‘I was truly grateful for this chance, therefore I answered quickly and honestly.’
“Nizzal, I am called Nizzal grandmaster.”
“He smiled a bit. I see you know my position in the order. Where you trained in this temple, perchance?”
‘Oh crap, I should have known where this will lead to.’
“No, grandmaster, but you are a well-known figure in the galaxy.”
“He looked at me strangely. Tell me then who trained you, and where.”
‘I bit the inside of my lips. If I lie, they will know it, but I can’t tell the truth, so I decided to not answer at all.’
“Did you not hear the question? Said the skinhead, angered by my presumed defiance.”
‘I looked at him and answered calmly.’
“I heard it, but I have no intent to answer.”
‘The witty remark left my lips even before I realized it. Oh hell, not again, ugh, I can already see the veins on his forehead popping out...’
‘He jumped to his feet, then started another rant, just as I expected.’
“Hah, be careful girl, named Nizzal. It is your fate that is currently being judged. Yet I can already see that you will not leave this temple today. You may have some skill with the force, yet you should not be that proud of your knowledge or it will be the downfall of you.”
‘Crap, I should get used to my changed personality. Those witty remarks were not my cup of tea until now...’
‘The other human master asked curiously.’
“What is your full name?”
‘I answered that question, since it was common enough.’
“Nizzal Grey.”
‘All the masters used this name, after all, and it was a generally common name in the universe.’
“Just like your skin color.” — ‘Observed the same human master with a playful tone.’
“Humph, and her force presence too.” — ‘Said Yoda nonchalantly.’
“Now, show us your lightsaber, girl.” — ‘Ordered the one with the anger controlling issues.’
‘I froze hearing that unexpected demand.’
‘They stared at me expectantly.’
‘Yoda spoke up, attempting to soothe my hesitance and fear.’
“We have already seen you reaching towards your right sleeve multiple times, only to stop halfway. It is obvious what you have inside your sleeve, at least to our eyes. It is a habit we all share after all… humph… And one best to be aware of, at all times. Which you evidently failed to do.”
‘I resigned and slowly took out my lightsaber, then activated it before everyone’s eyes.’
‘A silver blade ignited in the silent room, to the mild surprise of the masters and guards.’
‘There was another contemplating silence as the temple guards stepped back a few more steps, finally relaxing somewhat.’
“She is not one of them.” — ‘The grandmaster stated, clearly relieved for the time being.’
“We can’t be entirely sure of that just yet.” — ‘The skinhead opposed that decision immediately.’
‘This guy must have some grudge towards me...’
‘The other, more sensible human master joined the conversation at that moment.’
“I agree with both of you, masters. We should watch over her to make sure of her affiliation… Before that, child, would you let me ask you something?” — ‘He looked at me with a deceptively warm smile one that without a doubt would arose some level of sympathy in me if I was an ordinary girl. Unfortunately for him, I was not.’
‘Therefore, I blushed lightly and said, avoiding eye contact. Voice wavering a little at the edges.’ — “S-sure… Go a-ahead…”
‘The man chuckled, adding the question.’ — “Were you aware of the droid’s plan to break into the jedi archives?”
‘I was suddenly overcome with anger and shouted blindly stomping my feet.’ — “No! I was most definitely not! That damned droid left me behind and stole my ship with all my items and money! I am gonna kill that fool if I ever get my hands on him again!”
‘The man smiled, seeing my genuine reaction.’
“So the ship was really yours, at least.”
“Of course!” — ‘I shouted.’
“Where did the droid come from?”
‘I faltered for a second. Trying to figure out a reasonable explanation.’ — “I-I found it in an abandoned ruin...”
‘That was actually the case, so they can’t sense a lie if there is none.’
‘The master continued my questioning.’ — “A ruin? What sort of ruin was that, and where was it?”
‘I was getting frustrated with the overflow of questions, to which I had no answer…’ — “Well… I don’t really know? It was on a random planet where we stopped for sightseeing…”
“You say we stopped, but your only traveling companion is the missing droid?” — ‘The man asked innocently.’
‘I was feeling the imaginary rope tightening around my neck with every sentence I spoke… This wasn’t going as planned… at all…’
“Well… that wasn’t always the case…” — ‘I said, sweating profusely.’
“Who else were travelling with you then, and where are they now…”
“…I… well, they are… at home, I guess?”
“Where is that?” — ‘The man asked immediately.’
“…” — ‘Good luck with finding the place… I decided to not answer that particular question.’
‘Yoda frowned at that.’
“I sense that you hold many secrets, and just as many questions yourself. We will continue this conversation later, Master Kenobi. I trust you to lead the youngling to a separate holding room.”
‘The man now named Kenobi stood up from his armchair, then called out to me.’
“Nizzal Gray, you should know that you are under arrest for suspicion of breaking into the jedi archive, holding back information from official personals of the republic, illegal possession of a lightsaber, and unauthorized use of force abilities which are yet to be verified.”
“Since you are underaged, without the backing of any legal guardian, or the willingness to name one.” — ’Wait… did he just smirked at me… the bastard?’ — “As an already trained force-sensitive of unknown caliber, the Jedi Order will take over guardianship as your legal lawful guardian. Until the time you achieve proper mastery of said abilities and are no longer being considered a child.”
“All that is done in light of the possibility that you may pose danger to others and yourself with a partially mastered control over force abilities. You are expected to stay in the temple until you receive proper qualification. An exception can be made in the presence of a guide with proper qualification to guide you. Or until other rightful guardian or parent appears, taking over the responsibility from the order. They obviously need to have a sufficient evidence of their legal claim over you.“
“Until the documentation is done and the archive breaching suspicion is cleared, you are ordered to hand over your lightsaber to the council, effective immediately.”
‘He walked in front of me, waiting for me to turn off and hand over my lightsaber. I thought about my chances for a whole two seconds, then turned it off and dropped it into his open palm.’
‘With that gesture, the last bit of open hostility also disappeared from the hall. Then they silently led me to my minimalistic prison and left me there without a word.’
‘I dropped on the bed instantly and buried my face into the pillow. I will destroy that damnable droid! Just wait, you dirty scrap pile! I will show you!’