Saga of Tanya the Jedi

[Half_Baked_Cat]

Book 1: A Young Girl's Padawan Record

Art by Yoshikage on Twitter (no link as he is an NSFW artist)

I first gained consciousness in this life in the arms of a demonic looking being that I later learned was an alien known as a Togrutan. For a while I thought I had been sent to hell as a baby, setting only strange creature that vaguely reminded me of stories about demons, and evil spirits, but as time wore on I began to realize that these creatures were actually just care takers for children. Aliens in a world, a galaxy really, far more advanced than the one I originally came from.

It took years for me to learn that all the children that were being taken care of where special, having the potential to access the Force, a form of magic that did not follow any logical rules. And that we had been 'retrieved' from our parents to be indoctrinated into what was basically a cult. It was not till my age group reached the age of three that a realization hit me. I had been reincarnated into Star Wars. The clue was being handed a training lightsaber to begin learning how to use it and recognizing it from the movie I had seen so long ago.

Damnable Being X couldn't have picked a world I knew better. Guess that would have been too easy for me. No, he just plops me into a world that I could not use my previous life experience to help me with. And he made me a girl. Thankfully puberty was still a few years away, but that is not going to be a fun time getting use to bleeding for a week every month.

Taking a deep breath and letting my frustrations go as best as I could, I divided my attention back to our instructor. If I was going to do well in this world, I would have to know what is expected of me. Just have to parse out what the mind washing BS was that I had to pay lip service to and the actually useful bits of information.

—-

Jedi Master Sa Tum had taken to teaching Younglings many years ago, finding a satisfying pleasure in watching ignorance shift into knowledge, helping each child that passed through his classroom become closer to being and to live the code he followed.

In his time, he regular saw prodigious students advance in a field far faster than the other students, usually just in one discipline, but occasionally several. It was a rare individual indeed that went so far above their peers as a certain blonde conundrum he currently had to instruct. Which lead directly to his current meeting with Grand Master Yoda and Master of the Order Mace Windu.

"Begin meeting now, we shall. A youngling you wish to discuss." Yoda began the meeting with a simple statement, his walking stick in hand as he sat on his poof of a chair.

"Yes, Tanya Degurechaff," Sa Tum acknowledged before expanding. "She is advancing very swiftly in her studies, it is rather remarkable for one so young to show such advanced knowledge and technique in so many things."

"Are you suggesting she is a prodigy?" Mace Windu asked, looking for the reason for the meeting.

"A bit more than that I am afraid, she was the first of her creche mates to pick up reading and now spends a lot of time in the library reading."

"Are you telling me there is a problem with someone choosing to read?"

"No, but the things she is choosing to read is unusual for one so young, I got a list to see what she liked reading about in hopes to get her to interact with the other younglings more."

Sa Tum handed over a flimsy with a list of titles on it and date of check out in an adjacent column.

"A Treatise on the Tactics of Defending a Fortified Ground Position? A Summation of and Listing of Conflicts of the Old Republic? Stratagems of Internaval Boarding? Hmm, a rather militaristic listing."

"Ah, Intergalactic Trade Laws, good book it is."

"I did not expect you to enjoy reading something so dry, Master Yoda," Sa Tum expressed his surprise.

"Useful for sleep, I find it," Yoda responded with a smile.

Giving a cough to hide his laughter at Yoda's little joke, Sa Tum continued, "Yes, that is precisely my point, these books are rather advanced and very dry for someone so young to show such interest in, but I had tested her on her knowledge and she had actually been reading them. And far more thoroughly than I was to be able to test her on the knowledge."

"More concerns you have, I sense outside of reading material." Yoda said, encouraging the meeting to move on to the next point.

"Yes, if it was just an unusually advanced reading level, I would just assume the force gifted her with a bit of talent in research, but there is also her ability to articulate her thoughts."

Sa Tum handed over another flimsy that was a report that claims to have been written by Tanya.

"I had assigned the class to write their thoughts on what causes conflicts and methods to resolve them after two of the other younglings got into a fight. I had thought it would be a good way to teach a bit of diplomacy and ways to foster harmony, but then Tanya handed in this. I already checked, and there was no plagiarism from another source, this is all her own work."

—-

Conflicts have many claimed reasons for beginning, but most conflicts can be directly attributed to resources with other reasons merely being either justification or a thinly veiled cover for an attempt at either gaining more resources or depriving others of resources...

...Religious wars are a conflict to gain more resources in the form of more followers or deprive another religious entity of the resource of followers. This is most blatant with crusades to conquer some holy land or another, thus gaining all the sentient beings that reside there as more potential followers...

... the Naboo occupation by the Trade Federation being a perfect example of the way a change in how available certain resources, or in this case the lack of tax, can motivate a violent conflict to return a previous status quo...

... labor unions protecting Human Resources...

... call for peace ...

...Equitable Agreements...

—-

Mace Windu stopped reading and began flipping through the flimsy report, impressed at the thorough dissection of the topic and the various forms of conflict one could talk about and how each is a conflict over resources, even if not of a physical resource.

"Impressive understanding of conflicts."

"And there are two more things." Sa Tum stated while pulling out a datapad. "The first is her work ethic. She does not appear to have a gift for using the Force and her presence in the Force is only slightly above the average for her age, nothing too unusual there, but she is the one who works the hardest on trying to utilize her abilities and is beginning to lead the class in this too. The other thing is best explained with this recording of one of her sparring matches with one of her fellow creche mates. Before I play it, the younglings have only been taught the basics of Shii Cho, mostly how to hold a lightsaber and how to swing it."

Playing the video, Tanya and a Rodian boy are squared off, the Rodian is all smiles and practically bouncing in excitement. In contrast, Tanya has a firm stance on the ground and her face set in a blank look that on someone older could be taken as a serious face.

At the match start, the Rodian takes a wild, untrained swing at Tanya. Tanya meanwhile stays still till the last moment where she steps in, deflects the blow before landing a blow that would have killed the Rodian if they had been using real lightsabers. Tanya then gives the fallen Rodian a respectful bow before helping him up.

"Play that again," Mace Windu asks, feeling like he missed something important the first time.

"Old, her style is," Yoda notes after rewatching the video. "Recreate ancient Shii Cho, previous Battlemaster had."

"What does that mean?" Mace asked as he watched the video a third time, noting how even with the clumsy body of a toddler, Tanya did show she knew some variant of Shii Cho, the oldest and most basic of the lightsaber fighting styles.

"Mysterious the Force is. Meditate on this we should. Suspicion I have."

"What suspicion do you have?" Mace asked, Sa Tum staying out of the discussion.

"Old soul she has. First life, this is not."

"Are you suggesting she is a reincarnation of someone?"

Yoda gave a nod. "Future, hard to see it is." Picking to the flimsy copy of Tanya's report. "Coming, conflict is."

"Is that all of your concerns about Miss Degurechaff?"

Sa Tum seemed to hesitate for a bit before steeling himself and making a decision. "There is one more thing. I often sense a lot of dark emotions around her. Anger, frustration."

"Hmm, advance training perhaps she needs," Yoda suggests, looking to Mace Windu who takes on a thoughtful look as he leans back in his seat.

"Perhaps. I might have an idea to help her deal with her darker emotions."

—-

Lightsaber practice reminded me of being in the kendo club in school. A fun enough activity at the time, but I was not particularly talented at it and had given it up in favor of pursuing activities that would actually pay dividends in the future. Here, though, I had to be skilled in using the lightsaber in order to progress to a comfortable position in the Order. A bit of a barbaric requirement for advancement, but if that was what I had to do, so be it.

The weight, or lack thereof, of the blade took some getting use to. Thankfully there was a nudge of feeling from what I took to be the Force our teachers kept going on and on about which helped guide my movements in ways so I would not hit myself in the face with the practice blade.

The katas we were taught were a bit different than what I could vaguely recall from my previous life, but they had a logical reason for the difference. I learned using a bamboo shinai with plenty of heft to the blade, not a handle with some weightless light coming out of it.

Finishing up our warm up stretches, I began to head to my place when the teacher called my name.

"Tanya, you are going to be training with someone else today."

Looking up to her, I saw a man standing next to her. I did not recognize him and he most have come in while we were stretching. He was very tall, dark and bald with a very serious expression on his face. Was I really doing so poorly learning these new katas while trying not to get the ones I vaguely recalled mixed in that they had to call in who must be the battlemaster to help me?

"Children, please say hi to Master Mace Windu. He is here to provide Tanya some extra help with her technique."

Yep, I was doing that poorly. Only one thing for it then, go along with these lessons and try my best to catch up to the other children so I do not fall behind.

"Thank Master Mace Windu, sir," I say, giving a respectful bow while trying my best to keep my frustration in check.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

The Jedi Council was a beautiful room for its simplicity. Twelve seats spread out around a round pattern on the floor and large windows that gave a breathtaking view of the skyline of Coruscant. The simple architectural and design features of the room being all the decoration needed. It was in this room that the Jedi High Council met on various topics ranging from missions to concerns one or another Council member may have to discuss things that would normally be called gossiping if done by those not of the council.

Today's meeting was currently only occupied by some of the council members on the topic of how to handle the latest 'prodigy'.

"So, who is it that has you so interested in their future?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, his position very relaxed as he looked towards Yoda and Mace Windu.

With a click of a button on his arm rest, a holographic image of Tanya appeared in the center of the room. "Tanya Degurechaff, currently aged four, has been with our order since she was three months old. She has shown a remarkable gift for the more academic pursuits, while also having an advanced understanding of lightsaber combat for one of her age."

"Are you suggesting that a four year old is ready to take the initiate trials and become a padawan?"

"No. Maybe in another year she will be, it is her gifts that led us to look into her more, and certain suspicions have been confirmed and we need to decide our best approach to handling her."

"Are you suggesting she is some sort of spy?" Mundi asked, his eyebrows creased in serious contemplation.

Yoda shook his head. "Whisper the Force has. Her first life, this is not. Remember the past, she might."

Mundi's face dropped into one of shock. "Her life essence is going through a second life? Why would she choose now for a second life?"

"We are not sure she did choose a second life. I have been teaching her Vaapad to help her deal with some of her dark emotions. At the same time, I have been trying to gauge her." Mace Windu leaned forward in his seat and looked to his long time fellow council member. "If she does remember her previous life, it was from a time very far in the past. Possibly to a time when lightsabers were first made, possibly even before then if her fighting style is any indication. However, all her knowledge of history seems far more modern than that and while she is able to articulate it very well, sounds academic and not like she lived through it."

"So, we have a youngling who has the skills from a previous life, but not the associated memories. An ancient foundation that a new structure is to be built on." Mundi stroked his chin as he thought. "Well, if we are to teach her, we should give her freedom in what she wants to learn."

"Explain your thoughts, you should."

"Well, if she has the skills locked away inside her, skills of techniques we may have lost long ago, then we should let her relearn them on her own. We may learn a thing or two from her in turn."

Mace leaned back in his chair, nodding his head in agreement while Yoda tapped his walking stick on the ground.

"A fine plan, that is. Follow it, we shall." With that, the meeting was adjourned for now.

—-

The Jedi archives are a vast collection of knowledge from thousands of years of recorded history, including writings on just about every topic imaginable. The main weakness was a lack of instructions on the various force techniques that Jedi can apparently utilize. There were plenty of mentions of incredible things done on the field of battle, but every hint of how to do those things appeared to be locked away in the holocron vault with access limited to those with permission from the Jedi Council.

An excellent way of limiting access to the information that might hurt the organization while also making those not a part of the council respect and grovel at their knees. Sighing, with a shake of my head, I download another file on history. Being a foreign transplant has left me so far behind those native to this existence when it comes to historical context and the results said historical events had on the galactic political scene and the associated economic policies. Thankfully even here history is tied tightly to militaristic action, which has always been an enjoyable subject of study for me. The pressure to catch up to my peers was grating though.

I had been spending months training with Battlemaster Windu, trying to get my form up to snuff, but my rusty techniques from my previous life appear to be hampering me at every turn because no matter how hard I try, he has never gotten back to correcting my form in the Katas those of my new age are being taught.

And now I was being kicked out of the normal training to get a more personal instruction. Oh, sure, they tried spinning it as me being ready to be a padawan and move up in the Order to save my pride and encourage the other children along, but I could see what they were really doing. There hasn't been a padawan younger than seven in so long I couldn't find a record of it having happened at all. Clearly they thought this was the best way to get me caught up while giving me what looked like a gift.

Gathering my things, I head to the Requisition Office to get a heavy coat. The first step to becoming a padawan was that I had to make a lightsaber, and we could only do that on an icy planet called Illum. I would need the extra warmth from the little bit of information I could find on this 'Gathering' that I was being taken on.

If there is one good thing about this trip, it will be a chance to do what few from my last life ever got a chance to do, and go into space.

—-

Spaceships are not as fun as I was hoping. The quarters are tight, there are crates and objects everywhere, and we don't even get a chance to float around and enjoy bubbles of liquid because the ships have artificial gravity. The only difference between this and a slightly more roomy private jet was that at least in the jet you can watch the scenery pass by. Spaceships only have an outside view in the cockpit and all you can see during hyperspace is a bunch of flashes of light from the stars streaming by.

At least the other children are keeping to themselves and leaving me alone to catch up on my reading. And what a group of children they are, clearly fellow bottom of the barrel candidates. Jedi are, from what we have been taught, supposed to be calm, rational beings in control of their emotions. These children are loud, brash, brats not taking any of this the least bit seriously.

Focusing on the file on my datapad, I began reading through an admiral's account of one of the battles that lead to the end of the New Sith Wars, a ridiculous name considering how long ago said wars were, and the subsequent Ruusan Reformation that limits the size and arrangements of military equipment to this day. Even with the clear bias displayed against the Sith, painting them as diabolical trash willing to eat babies and kick puppies, the admiral's accounts of the battle are thorough and an interesting read on what naval battles in space are like. A slow deliberate dance of battleships trying to gain a positional advantage as the fighters caused distractions and aimed to take out the shielding of the larger ships to give a single decisive blow from one battleship to the other.

Imagining the careful maneuvering to use the gravitational wells of the nearby celestial bodies to help hide the actual trajectory of the torpedoes as the lasers light up the empty space in between, I can see why a group of otakus from my previous life would geek out and get so invested in such scenarios as unrealistic as they were then. Now, however, such battles are a historical fact.

Feeling a jolt I have learned meant leaving or entering hyperspace, I set down my datapad to join the others in the ship's hanger. It was about time for the Gathering.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

The caves of Illum are cold. Not the cold of a fridge. Not the cold of a freezer. Not even the cold of snow covered winter day. No, the caves of Illum are the cold of a planet far from the warm glow of its local star, buried deep into the ice of the surface, and built on the frozen core of a planet only considered alive because it has a breathable atmosphere and the kyber crystals we are looking for are apparently living crystalline lifeforms. The cold had managed to creep through the thick coat I wore and I could feel the chill in my bones.

The task before us was to identify an actual kyber crystal from the ice and the only way to do so was to find the crystal that called out to us. A test of our ability to listen to the Force and hear what it is saying. If not for the proof of such being possible, I would have laughed it off as pseudoscientific sounding religious dribble, but here I am following a path because a feeling not from myself was directing me this way.

Shit! My flashlight just went out. And now I can't see a thing. Ok, calm down. Master Yoda told us there would be trials we would have to face during this and that overcoming them and trusting in the Force were all important to successful completion.

So, look at the problem logically. I cannot see due to my light going out. The solution would be to get a new light. My materials available include a flashlight that stopped working, my clothes, a comm in case of emergencies, and the Force. There are records of Sith creating lightning out of the Force, so it is possible to manifest things out of the Force.

Carefully taking a meditative position to not get closer to the edge of the pit I had been traveling around, I begin to breathe slowly and steadily, focusing on what I need. My hands are cupped in front of me to focus my energy into trying to create a little ball of light. Slowly, as I breathe steadily and stay calm, I can see a small spark of light appear before my confidence takes over and feeds it into a brighter and brighter light.

Looking around, I can see that I had missed a few details of my surroundings with the flashlight's limited spot of illumination. These caves had a beautiful striation of blues and purples mixed within the white of the icy walls. Shaking my head to end that musing, I stood back up to continue my task. It would not do to get distracted and waste too much time when the entrance will freeze over come sundown.

Following the whisper of feeling deeper into the cave, I find myself at a rather perilous spot. I can feel the crystal I have been looking for in the middle of another pit. I can even see it from where I stand, on what looks practically like a pedestal in the middle, practically floating as it sod proud in the middle of a round area, walls smooth with no safe way down and no safe way up.

Gritting my teeth, I can feel my anger rising. This is where my crystal is? If I turn back then I will surely be cast out of the order, a penniless orphan having to make it on the streets. I have not heard of anyone being given a second chance at the Gathering and it was key to getting a major component of the badge of office they Jedi had when dealing with the outside world.

And if I go down there with no plan, then I would die of either starvation or hypothermia. A horrible death either way for its long drawn out nature. At least the train crashing into me was a swift death, even if the moment before death was dragged out by that damnable Being X.

Taking a suffering breath, I push my anger down and focus. Focusing on my breathing and lightly meditating as I thought on this, I could feel a grin begin to form on my lip.

Why would the Jedi be so focused on telekinesis and on body reinforcement when using the Force if they didn't want us to combine the two. Keeping the light going while I did this would be tricky with me having to split my focus, but I could manage.

First I wrap myself in the Force, I can feel it lightly squeezing over my entire body as I want to have a firm hold so I don't slip and can move freely. Then, carefully at first, I lift myself.

This is what I was hoping to feel on the spaceship. Weightlessly floating now to gently move me down into the pit. Careful and slow for now, I can experiment with flying later after I get to safety. With a gentle landing, I reach out and grab my prize, happy that all I needed to do now was find my way back.

Touching the crystal, the world warps around me and I hear a voice that sets the hair on my neck on edge.

—-

After Yoda sent the youngling off into the caves of Illum, he began to meditate to await their return. It always filled his heart with joy to be surrounded with beings filled with as much light as the young and innocent. Watching as they fumble into learning lessons that can only be taught with experience and the understanding slowly dawning on their faces will never get old, the simple joy of leaving ignorance behind for knowledge was a wonderfully precious thing.

The fact there was always one who would rush in and grab a random ice crystal thinking it was a kyber crystal that would work for a lightsaber was also always good for a laugh. Always one patience is the lesson needed.

Settling into meditation, Yoda reached out with his senses to feel the progress each youngling was making. Oh, it would appear some needed a lesson in working with others, a common problem for the young to focus so much on the individual and overlook the group.

Suddenly Yoda was knocked out of his meditation as a large surge in the force occurred.

"Tanya?" Yoda did not notice himself giving name to the one at the center of the surge, focusing more on what it could mean.

In nearly a thousand years of life, Yoda has not felt anything like this. Light and Dark side swirling and mixing and separating, but not fighting, instead dancing in harmony. And then it suddenly cuts out. Standing up, Yoda looks to the Padawan Learner he had brought with him. Anakin Skywalker, here helping with the Gathering while his Master was stuck in the medical center.

"Here you will wait. Investigate disturbance, I will."

Anakin nodded his head in agreement, distracted trying to understand what he had just felt in the Force.

—-

"So we meet again."

"Being X."

"There is no need to take that tone with me, for I am here to give you a boon."

"I don't want it. I want nothing to do with you."

"You seem to be under the impression you have a choice. Conflict is coming and you will be trapped in the middle of it all. If you wish to survive, you will require my help."

"So you once again ignore the wishes of others, failing to understand the nature of a transactional relationship."

"Oh no, I understand perfectly fine. To gain my power, all you will need is to have the kyber crystal I am blessing with you and ask for my help. Eventually, you will choose to pay for my power with True Faith."

"I doubt that will ever happen."

—-

Yoda came to the pit that Tanya had gone down into in record time, and was surprised when she came floating out of it, an ease to flight he had not thought capable of without a skilled pilot in a starship. An ease made clear with her being distracted while looking at the crystal she held in her hand as a little light ball bobbed up and down in front of her.

"Ok, you are?" Yoda asked as he moved closer to the young girl.

"Hm? Oh, Master Yoda. I found my crystal," Tanya answered with distracted air about her, showing him the crystal.

"Hmm, interesting," Yoda said, taking a closer look at the crystal, noting several oddities. First was the size. While kyber crystals could grow to massive sizes, the ones on Illum tended towards the smaller size due to the regular cultivation the Jedi made of them for their lightsabers. The one in Tanya's hand would work in a lightsaber, but if Yoda was any judge it would only just fit as one of the larger crystals usable for such purposes. The second thing Yoda noticed was a colored core to the lightsaber, a gold core deep within the otherwise clear crystal. The crystals of Illum all started off clear due to not being attuned to a Force presence yet. Indeed, the color a crystal turned often said something about the use of the crystal. To find one partially attuned was an interesting mystery.

Possibly one attached to Tanya's rebirth.

"Escort you out, I will," Yoda declared, leading Tanya towards the entrance of the cave.

—-

In the end, all of us near rejects ended up finding crystals and could move onto building our lightsabers. We had access to all the parts we could possibly need in a large variety of materials, a clear sign of the wealth the Jedi had as an organization to have a large variety of super specialized parts that only they could use. The instructions we got were simple and amounted to certain parts had to be used, but the goal was to create something comfortable to use.

The first thought I had was of my favorite pen from my last life, a gift from the company for five years of excellent service and a recent deal I had managed to close before I moved into my role in Human Resources where I spent the last years of my previous life. It was a sleek metal thing well balanced. Primarily it was a dark metal shined to perfection with chrome accents.

With this in mind, the parts I gathered were made from a mix of a zirconium and cobalt alloys for the main portions of the body and a ceramic/carbon fiber composite material for the grip. While I am no designer, I found I do like the aesthetics of the saber I had constructed. And with a flick of my wrist, I found it had a very satisfying spin in my hand while deactivated.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

Anakin was curious. He knew that he did not know what was normal in the Jedi, even after five years of being one, due to his late arrival to the temple, but he was fairly sure five year olds going on the Gathering and being in the middle of a huge surge in the force could safely be said to not be normal. And all Yoda would explain was that Tanya had an interesting trial during the Gathering, apparently one that required his presence to help her back out of the cave.

Deciding to gather up his courage and confront her, he began going to the area of the ship's cargo hold she had claimed as her space. He had been by a few times on the trip to Illum to see how she was doing, but all she seemed to want to do was read something on her datapad. Now Anakin was not a fan of reading, finding it difficult, but he could manage. He could even understand the appeal, he liked tinkering with machines to understand how they worked, but there was a limit to how much one could put into a hobby at a time, wasn't there?

Stopping when he saw her, Anakin found that apparently Tanya agreed with him as she was not currently reading. She was meditating in mid air while focusing on a ball of light in her hands. A ball that was changing colors and shapes. Whatever it was that she was doing did not seem to please her though, if the ugly scowl on her face was any indication.

"What are you doing?" Anakin asked, curious about this new Force power his master had not mentioned before.

"Trying to use the force to make a flashlight," Tanya said after she picked herself up off the ground after being startled out of her meditative stance, Anakin having quickly moved to help her up with an apology.

"Why are you doing that?" Anakin asked, not seeing the use when flashlights were easy to come by and their lightsabers could be used as one in a pinch.

"While I was in the cave, my flashlight stopped working, so I made a little ball of light to see with, but being able to direct the beam of light can be useful, but I can't figure out how to get it to go one way."

"Could you maybe reflect the light? Like what they do in flashlights?" Anakin suggested after a moment of thought.

Tanya scrunched her face in thought as she brought up her hand and summoned a ball of light, before creating what looked like a shiny come around it. It worked, directing the beam out of the opening in the cone.

"Hm. Thank you, I think I might have a few ideas for this," Tanya said before facing Anakin and bowing to him.

"Uh, no problem," Anakin said with a bit of nervousness to his voice, unsure how to handle being bowed to. "Hey, could you teach me that floating thing you were doing? I, uh, joined the Jedi late and my Master hasn't taught me that yet."

"Sure. You know how you pick up objects with the force?" Seeing Anakin use the force to pick up her datapad with a raised eyebrow, Tanya nodded. "Well, do that, to yourself. Just wrap yourself in the force and lift. Just don't squeeze too hard or throw yourself too fast until you get comfortable with it."

"That's it?" Anakin asked, surprised at how simple it seemed.

"Yes. Takes a lot of focus, but I am sure with practice it will become easier."

"Ok. Thank you," Anakin said before leaving to go practice, thinking that he would have to ask Master Obi-Wan about why he didn't teach him something so cool if it was so simple to do.

—-

The trip back to the Temple was fairly uneventful, although I did have to hear the other initiates yammer away about the Apprentice Tournament coming up. I wouldn't have to worry about it though, in order to participate you had to pass your initiate trials and have built a lightsaber. Which I have just done.

Shit. I was going to get my ass kicked. Most of the participants will have been training their lightsaber technique for years longer than I have and none of them will have needed to be personally tutored by the Battlemaster to get a decent form. I have to practice. I have to show I can be a good padawan. If I am not chosen as a padawan, then I would either be kicked out of the order or sent to the service corps. If I got kicked out, I would be stuck living on the streets, trying to survive. The service corps was a bit better, I would have a temple funded house, but I would be stuck doing a life of manual labor farming or some other low end job with no hope of a relaxing position.

If I became a padawan, then I could eventually advance to a Master and get an easy job that required little actual work but had enough respect attached to it that I could basically have a working retirement with plenty of down time for whatever I decided to do as a hobby. Like the librarian. Show up, organize a few things, help anyone who needs assistance researching something, and have all the time to read and relax. Not as good as what I might have been able to achieve in my previous life, but a comfortable future for this one and one where my hobbies would be entirely paid for by the Jedi temple with some excuse of it helping to learn about the Force or being for some other research.

Picking up the datapad that I had dropped in realizing my perilous situation, I put it away and grabbed my lightsaber to run through my katas. It wasn't a perfect substitute to sparring as far as getting better at fighting, but maybe if my form was good one of the knights or masters watching would decide I showed enough potential and take me on.

Igniting my blade, I watched as the purple beam slid out from the shiny chrome colored emitter shroud that reminded me so much of the tip of a finely crafted fountain pen. Apparently the color reflected some aspect about the Jedi it became attuned to, but there was no deeper explanation given, so I didn't understand why mine was purple while everyone besides the Battlemaster had green and blue. Apparently there was either something about me that was the same as the Battlemaster or it was due to Being X's meddling.

I chose not to think too deeply on it as I began to move through the steps of the first kata, moving slowly and deliberately as I made sure my feet were aligned appropriately and my hands guided my blade correctly, every step of the kata taken with a slow, careful, nearly meditative breath. Each movement carefully taken so my form was as flawless as I could do it. Then I began the second kata, with the same care, slowly moving through each kata before beginning again at the first and moving a bit more quickly, slowly working my way through the katas, repeating the process faster and faster until I was moving at a reasonable speed for combat.

I spent the entire day like that. And the entire next day, only stopping for meals and sleep.

On the third day, we made it back to the temple and I had to put the training on hold as we went back to our normal lives at the temple, the only difference being a few of us had a little extra weight sitting at our hips and I had a new concern on my mind.

—-

"Ah sister, so good of you to arrive," Depa Billaba said, giving Sar Labooda a light hug.

"How could I stay away when a member of the High Council personally suggests I take a look at this year's batch of padawans to be?" Labooda asked with a wet grin. "Seriously though, you must have some reason for calling me here."

Depa nodded in agreement. "I do. There is an initiate the council thinks you would be a good fit to take on, more I will not say until you have a chance to see the initiates in action."

"There must be something rather special about this initiate if the Council is meddling in their placement.

"There are a few, and we can discuss them if you decide to take them on, but I want to be clear that the Council merely thinks you would be a good choice, we are not going to require you to take her on and will accept another taking her on with no issue."

Accepting her sister's words, Labooda turned towards the ring where the matches would take place in where Battlemaster Cin Drallig stood to begin explaining the tournament format.

"The tournament will be a single elimination one versus one format. The order of the matches had already been chosen and the winner of each match would be the first to three burns on their opponent. Any questions?"

A small blonde human girl wearing robes of dark browns that made her pale complexion look almost ghostly white raised her hand. Being given a chance to speak she asked her question.

"Where is Master Windu? I thought he was going to be here."

"Master Windu is currently busy with his duties as Master of the Order, but he should be by to watch the final rounds of the tournament."

"Oh she knows Master Windu, at such a young age?" Labooda asked, remembering her encounter with Mace Windu at that age. "Must be a story there."

"There is." Depa agreed, giving no additional information.

—-

Master of the Order? The Master of the Order has been helping me with my lightsaber form. I have to win. If I don't win the tournament, then I will embarrass him. He is basically the CEO of the Jedi and no one will respect an employee that embarrasses the CEO. And if I have no respect then I will not be chosen as a padawan and after having embarrassed the CEO the Jedi will not want me working for them at all and will most likely just kick me out to the streets.

Ok, focus. It will be fine. There are 32 of us, so with single elimination I just have to win five rounds. And it is just to three burns each round, so all I have to do is touch my opponent three times with my lightsaber. Simple. Very simple. Just fifteen touches of my lightsaber to people bigger and stronger and more experienced than me. I can do this.

—-

"Ah, the first match of the tournament. Lebit is favored to win the tournament." Depa said, indicating a kiffar boy that was already showing the signs of the strength he would one day possess with better defined muscles than the other children.

"Yet by your tone, he does not seem to be the one you want me to pay attention to." Labooda suggested, beginning to look towards his opponent.

"True, I believe she is scheduled for the last match of the first round, so if they are to face off, it will be in the finals."

Looking around, Labooda's eyes eventually came to land on the young blonde girl who was currently staring down the Rodian girl that was to be her first opponent, rather than watch the match.

"The blonde one?"

Depa nodded. "Young Miss Degurechaff came to the attention of the Council about a year ago and a few of our members had kept a close eye on her since. We expect interesting things in her future, but we believe teaching a light hand in directing her may be for the best."

"Hence why you are trying to get me interested in taking her on instead of actually asking me to do so." Depa's nod was all the confirmation Labooda needed as they turned back to watch the tournament progress.

—-

When it came time for Tanya's first match, she and the Rodian stood opposite each other in their ready stances, the green bladed training sabers activated and humming in hand as they waited for the match to start.

With the start, Tanya made the first move, quickly going in to close the distance. The Rodian gave a smirk as she thrusted into what looked like a large opening in Tanya's form, the smirk disappearing quickly as Tanya deflected the thrust down and out of the way before countering with a thrust of her own before sweeping the blade into the older girl's leg, tripping her up. Tanya followed the larger girl to the ground, reversing her grip on her saber to stab where the Rodian's heart would reside with a downward plunge, before quickly getting up and with a swipe, tagging the Rodian girl for the third and final time in the neck.

It was the shortest match of the round, taking barely five seconds from the start to the end. Tanya turned off her training saber and helped her opponent up before the two bowed to each other, the larger girl's face stuck in a daze as she tried to come to grips with how quickly she lost while Tanya turned her attention to her next opponent, ignoring the way all eyes seemed drawn to her and the sudden increase in tension in the room from the other fifteen remaining combatants.

—-

"That was not Shii Cho." Lambooda said after a moment, looking to her sister.

"No it wasn't."

"Mind explaining what that was? Because that looked suspiciously like Form Seven."

"That would be because it was Form Seven."

Lambooda gave her sister a very unimpressed look.

"Specifically, that was her showing her abilities in using the Vaapad variant Master Windu has been teaching her."

"She knows Vaapad? What else are you not telling me sister? Why does she know Vaapad? Why the interest from the Council."

"Later, my dear sister, the tournament is still going on."

Labooda just gave a nod, letting the topic drop. For now.

—-

The rest of Tanya's matches went similarly to the first, with the remaining initiates paying increasing attention to her moves, trying to see something they could do. By the semi-finals, her opponent was shaking in his boots, unsure what to do against her. Trying his best, he managed to withstand her onslaught for the longest so far, at fifteen seconds.

Then it was the finals. Lebit vs. Tanya. Lebit was focused, calm, and ready. He showed no nervousness at facing the one who had gone through all her opponents like little more than wet flimsies.

Tanya stood ready, a determined look on her face, ready for this final match.

The match began Lebit in a defensive stance taking on Tanya's assault and deflecting her blows before countering, Tanya parrying the counter before giving her own riposte.

Lebit was showing that Tanya was not the only one with knowledge of a style besides Form One, utilizing his own defensive Form Three to counter Tanya's aggressive Form Seven.

—-

"I'll take her on as my padawan." Labooda decided out loud, not needing to see how the final match would play out.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

Meditation is an important part of the Jedi religion. It helped the members keep to one of the core tenets of emotional control while also helping the indoctrination become a core part of the members' beliefs. It was also a great way to relieve stress from worry and focus the mind, making utilizing the force far easier. If not for the litany of benefits that meditation was documented to actually have from my past life, I might have been a bit more skeptical of the Jedi's insistence on regular meditation on just about every topic for every reason.

As it was, I mostly just found it a little excessive. There was no need to spend quite so much time meditating to receive the benefits, but I was not going to complain about being allowed to sit around and do basically nothing. Although, right now my meditation was to calm my nerves for the upcoming meeting I was about to have with Master Mace Windu.

After being informed he was Master of the Order and not the Battlemaster like I had thought, I sat down to look over who had what positions on the High Council and a few other important roles in the order. I hadn't done it prior because I was an initiate, basically I had an entry level position in the order with a long probationary period as I went through the training course and learned my job responsibilities. That was as far from the CEO as one could get. Or so I had thought.

I had not taken into account the Jedi community focus where everyone in the order was considered important and worth helping and that they take it seriously. To the point even the CEO will help out a low level employee learn the basics of lightsaber combat.

Having rectified the issue and memorized each person on the board of directors, so to speak, would help me when I inevitably ran across their paths.

Now I just needed to calm myself down for the meeting I was about to have. I must have disappointed Master Windu so badly because when he had sent the message about the time of our meeting, he mentioned it was going to be for our last training session for some time. I had tried so hard in that last match, but my opponent was too skilled in defending against my strikes, never leaving much of an opening for me to take advantage of. I just could not manage to beat him and win the tournament.

Hearing the door to the training hall open, I look up to see the grim visage of Master Windu as he steps in. Steeling my nerves, I prepare myself to apologize for failing to live up to his tutorage.

—-

Sar Labooda was a careful Jedi who found that researching a problem before facing it would often result in being able to come up with novel methods of solving the problem. Her current problem was how to handle and train her new padawan, which required looking up as many of the records that she could of said padawan.

There were very few records, Tanya being the youngest padawan in decades, but what was there was very illuminating to Labooda.

Tanya was born on Coruscant to a waitress and speeder bike mechanic. The pair were having financial difficulties at the time and instead of wanting to spend as much time as they could with the newly born child, they turned her over to the temple for the promise that the temple would take good care of her. Not that the Jedi would do otherwise, every sentient life was precious and worth protecting, but parents often are irrationally emotional about such things.

It was noted in her file that Tanya was a rather fussy baby for a long while before slowly settling down into a very quiet toddler. So far, nothing too out of the ordinary, but it was beginning at the time she could walk on her own that an increasing number of irregularities began to show. A thirst for reading, particularly historical and economic related literature, a shyness around her creche mates uncharacteristic of most children around those they literally had been growing up around since practically birth. And then there is her schoolwork, always highest marks in academic and physical areas while her emotional development was, not stunted but highly irregular. She could identify emotions and even had very impressive control over her emotions, but her ability to identify the causes of different emotional states seemed to be a chance cube's throw on whether she would get it correct.

All the other younglings her age at least got the answer correct at least three quarters of the time, but Tanya could just manage half the time. To add to this, Tanya seemed entirely incapable of actually sensing emotions. No, she relied entirely on body language and facial expressions. Her capabilities in using the Force were on par with her fellow creche mates, although her application in those abilities tended towards more creative approaches, and she could certainly sense the Force, but when it came to actually understanding what others were feeling, she was going off entirely what she could observe with her more mundane senses.

Labooda began to suspect that Tanya had a non-standard connection to the Force, a handicap that would have to be worked around. Making a note for herself later, she decided it might be best to work on Tanya's strengths for now and work in moments to help her with her practically civilian understanding of the people that surround her. She may never be able to reach a true mastery of being able to feel the emotions people try to hide so hard with a brave face and bland comments, but she should be able to see through such masks and be able to tell something is off about the situation.

Sar Labooda went back to her research to look over the saved copies of Tanya's school work, and she could tell that one of her eyebrows were raised. Having read through a number of civilian reports in her time researching for missions and reports, Labooda could confidently state that what Tanya had turned in was equivalent to University Graduate. One that finished school by working hard over having spent their parent's money to make it through. The diction was articulate, but clear. The prose was concise, yet illustrative of the point. And every single one has a number of citations for any facts given, with very precise location information within the work being cited.

Knight Labooda was very interested in the coming meeting to formally meet and be introduced to her new padawan; the explanations she was promised from the Council should prove most compelling.

—-

Master Windu was not one to enjoy spending time in the company of children. This was due to the expectations children often have on adults, the expectation of being played with and entertained and every question answered. Telling an adult no when they are being a bother was often an easy thing to do, but children were far trickier, with their begging eyes and often not willing to accept no as answer. When adults didn't accept no, Windu could smack them around a little or use a little mind trick on them and be on his way depending on how he felt at the moment. When it came to children, smacking them around was heavily frowned on by nearly every society that exists and children often had unusually strong wills that required more power to use. And even then, children could still prove oddly stubborn.

This leads to his lack of excitement for when he volunteered to train Tanya initially. His vows to help others would always override his personal discomfort in dealing with others and Tanya needed the help. Her anger and frustration was frequent and while she could keep it under control, the strength of the emotions worried Windu and he felt the best bet was to give her a way to direct at least some of it out of her to reduce the amount she needed to control and release into the Force. It was a fine line using your emotions and staying within the light side of the Force, but during their discussions while training Mace became increasingly sure Tanya would not fall, power not being a true desire.

No, she seemed to want two things and was concerned about how to achieve it and all Windu could do was help her on her path. The first of safety was easy enough to achieve, with training she would be able to protect herself and those around her. The second was trickier because it was not a problem with training or access, it was a problem with her perception. How does one get someone to realize they were already a part of and an accepted part of a community when they are blind to the openness of those around her?

Clearing his emotions, Mace Windu prepared himself for his final Vaapad lesson. Possibly the last of his life, the number of candidates he felt capable of learning the style, utilizing it effectively, and not falling to the dark side being so few it seemed more like a rounding error than an actual number.

Stepping into the training room, Mace Windu felt an oncoming headache forming as he saw Tanya practically prostrate herself in front of him.

"I am sorry Master Windu."

What has she done? Why would she be apologizing to him? Children took the strangest things so seriously, what could it be?

"All is fine. Perhaps before we begin, we should discuss what concerns you so, first."

Master Windu sat down in a relaxed position on the floor as Tanya sat upright.

"I embarrassed you after you have spent so much time helping me learn how to use a lightsaber."

"And what was the point of embarrassment that you caused?"

"I could not defeat my opponent in the tournament."

Just a problem with what she believed was expected of her.

"Lebit was the expected winner of the tournament. He was the most advanced student in lightsaber combat of his generation, the most physically fit and besides you, the only one to have begun learning a second form. That you managed to pierce through his Form Three to draw the match is rather impressive."

"Form Three?"

Mace Windu looked at the young girl in front of him and felt the headache form. She was so young that there was still so much she needed to learn. And if the precise time period they suspected she was reincarnated from is correct, there might have only been one form of lightsaber combat.

"Yes. Form Three, Soresu. It is a very defensive focused form that requires a great deal of stamina. The variant of Form Seven, Vaapad, is a highly offensive and aggressive focused form that also requires a great deal of stamina. That you managed to defeat all your previous opponents so swiftly actually gave you an advantage going into the finals from having exerted yourself so much less. Lebit's matches had lasted longer and while he won his matches, he paid for it through his exertion.

"If you had faced him in the first match, he would have likely won, Soresu being probably the best counter to Vaapad."

"So you are not upset because you did not expect me to win?"

"Yes. Now, let us get onto our lesson. Today I will be teaching you the final kata and then you will be meeting your new Master, young Padawan."

"Yes Master Windu."

The two stood up and took their starting positions, their purple blade igniting as Mace Windu began running them through the kata slowly, making slight corrections as necessary.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

The Jedi Temple was a massive structure, practically a city unto itself in the form of a single building. A palace built on top of and surrounding a mountain peak, and housing all current Jedi within its walls, even if most Jedi tended to be away from the temple at any given time. Within its expansive halls were several methods of transporting quickly from one side of the structure to another, though most Jedi chose to take a much more leisurely stroll through its halls if there was not a pressing need.

The Jedi Order has several traditions when it comes to initiates moving onto padawans. These traditions mostly amounted to paperwork that had to be filled out at the Tower of First Knowledge and a quick meeting with the Council of First Knowledge to congratulate the new padawan on their promotion and to give them well wishes for their future endeavors. For most initiates and padawans, this would be their only meeting with the Council of First Knowledge until they became a Knight themselves and might choose to work with the Council in training the initiates.

After this, the padawan was informed on where they were to meet their new Master, often being informed by Grand Master Yoda due to a personal interest of the Grand Master in meeting and congratulating each padawan himself, occasionally giving some advice.

For Tanya, it was Mace Windu who personally escorted her to the meeting with her Master, from one corner spire to another to an unusual first meeting.

Sar Labooda was already standing in the middle of the council chamber when Master Windu and Padawan Degurechaff came in, the other members of the High Council already in their seats. Tanya took her place beside Labooda as the doors closed behind her.

"We do not like to involve ourselves too much in the first meeting between a padawan and their master, but there is certain information we feel it is important for the two of you to know," Master Windu began before passing the explanation onto Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"It has come to our attention some time ago that there are special circumstances surrounding Padawan Degurechaff. Circumstances that could impact her training under Knight Labooda," Ki-Adi-Mundi began, Tanya's face carefully maintaining a blank facade while Sar Labooda gave off a sense of peace.

"First life, this is not. Young body, old soul."

Tanya's emotions became a boiling mess that was difficult to read with how quickly she shifted emotions, but confusion was the one coming to the most.

"From our observations, you have reincarnated from the ancient Je'daii Order."

"Je'daii?" Tanya asked, only hearing a slight difference in the pronunciation.

"Yes, the predecessors to our own Jedi Order. We do not know if you can remember any of your previous life from that time period, but we believe that your spirit remembers the techniques used from that time," Mace Windu explained. "We look forward to seeing what you can recall from your previous life."

After a moment, Tanya gave a bow. "I will not let you down."

Sar Labooda gave her own bow. "I will help guide her on her journey."

With that the Master guided her new padawan out of the council to their new quarters.

—-

Sar Labooda guided her young padawan to the residential area of the Temple in silence. The trip included a single stop by requisitions for some decorative beads.

The pair did not speak during the walk, both in thought on the revelations made in the High Council chamber and neither sure how to open up a dialogue yet to discuss the situation. The residential area was located fairly deep into the structure of the temple, about halfway towards the center, and the apartments reminded Tanya heavily of her previous life and the apartments she had lived in. Small, efficient places that due to size constraints encouraged a more efficient and minimalistic style of living.

The apartment the two were going to be sharing entered into a small living room area with a couch and chair on an area rug, a door to the one bathroom, two doors leading to the pair of bedrooms just big enough for a bed each and a little desk with a chair, and off to one side of the living area was a little kitchen nook. There were no windows and if not for the soft tans and browns of the decorations it might feel a bit like a prison. As it was, it just felt cozy with the easy access to the rest of the temple.

"Let's get your padawan braid started," Sar Labooda said, sitting on the couch and indicating for Tanya to join her. Tanya gave a nod and sat on the couch as well.

Tanya's hair was of a modest length, hanging only to her jaw line. Plenty of length for the rat tail braid that Labooda began putting in just behind Tanya's right was, putting in a few beads to make the braid more noticeable and interesting to look at, but not so many it would be distracting.

"Why don't you go ahead and get settled in for the day. Have you had a chance to leave the temple as an initiate?" Labooda asked after finishing off the braid.

"No. We never got a chance to leave the temple." Tanya answered easily.

"Then we'll begin tomorrow with a trip around Coruscant. Get you around some normal people to see and experience a bit of their lives." Labooda decided, Tanya nodding along and agreeing with her master's decision.

—-

The following morning Sar Labooda woke to the smell of brewing caff. Getting dressed quickly, she heads to the kitchen area to see what was causing the smell only to be surprised to see Tanya floating in mid air as she was looking for a mug to put the brewing caff in.

Taking a moment to observe her new padawan, Labooda noticed the flight, while impressive, was sluggish and the movements jerky.

"You know, drinking that is not good for you," Labooda commented with a raised eyebrow, only to get a grunt in reply. Hiding her laugh at the revelation that her padawan was not a morning person, Labooda decided to needle her a bit to develop a comfortable relationship. "It is going to stunt your growth. You are barely going to be taller than Master Yoda."

Getting a glare, Labooda couldn't hold her laughter in any longer and let a few chuckles out before grabbing a mug of caff herself. Freshly brewed, but not of amazing quality. Acceptable to start the day.

Setting the mug down, Labooda went to start a simple breakfast. Just taking a stove top cooker, adding in some grain with a bit of dried vegetables and water and setting it to cook.

Looking towards the living room, Labooda felt a smile form on her lips as she saw Tanya sitting in the chair, nursing her coffee. They would need to set up a chore schedule to avoid their space becoming a mess, but Labooda was alright letting the young girl take it easy for now.

When the cooker went off, announcing that cooking was done, Labooda separated out the meal into a pair of bowls and set one in front of Tanya on the little caff table while she took her place on the couch.

The pair ate the meal in silence, Tanya still waking up while Labooda was enjoying the peaceful moment.

"Where are we going first, Master," Tanya asked, sounding like she was testing the word out as she got used to the new dynamic.

"I was thinking of going to the market and we can try to find a few things to stock the pantry with besides the standard fair," Labooda answered before giving a mischievous smile. "I find the temple's offerings a bit bland."

Tanya gave a simple nod before pecking away at her food as she continued to wake up.

—-

I was happy that our first outing was to the market. Master Labooda was right that the temple's meals were a bit bland. Designed to be nutritious, but lacking the flavor to make it enjoyable to eat.

The market she took me to was an open air affair with a bunch of little stalls hawking their wares for our perusal. Going through was an interesting experience as I could not identify most of what was available and the little I could I did not trust to taste anything like I would expect. Thankfully more than a few allowed us to try small samples, helping me realize something about this new body.

I had a massive sweet tooth. All of the sweet things made me want more sweets, while most of the other flavors did not interest my palate nearly as much. We did find a few things that would be somewhat healthy and I found to be somewhat pleasing.

Another thing I learned about my palate was that I no longer seemed to enjoy spicy hot foods. That was a bit upsetting for me considering that it was a bit of a pleasure in my last life to occasionally indulge in the heat, to feel the burn on my tongue.

That would have to be something I would need to rectify over time, if for no other reason so I could see someone else crying from the heat that I used to enjoy.

We spent the entire day slowly exploring the little market, meeting all sorts of alien species and robots. Although I suppose it would be more appropriate to call them droids as they do here. Not entirely sure of the difference, but it might be a good idea to look it up to avoid any confusion or possibly insulting someone or something. Later.

For now, I believe I will just prepare for bed, capping off a long day of shopping. At least it wasn't for clothes.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

"Your meditation has gotten much better," Obi-Wan told his floating padawan. They had a very interesting discussion when Obi-Wan first saw Anakin practicing holding himself up in midair, but after a very honest admittance that Obi-Wan did not actually know how to do it and that he would teach Anakin any technique he did know, the pair seemed to have gotten a bit closer.

"Thank you Master," Anakin responded with a smile. "What are we going to be doing today?"

"I just got another mission from the Council that I will have to go on."

A frown crossed Anakin's face and a tinge of sadness crossed the Force connection between the two before Anakin could stop it.

"So you will be packing your bag. Prepare for cold weather, we leave after lunch." A smug smirk was on the Master's lips as the Padawan opened his eyes to give an unamused glare.

With a small motion, Anakin sent a pillow flying to hit Obi-Wan in the head. "That is not nice Master, making me think you were leaving me behind again."

Obi-Wan just gave a laugh as he stood up from his meditative posture to start on a light breakfast for the pair of them.

—-

Becoming a Padawan reminded me in some ways of going to college and moving into an apartment with a roommate. Except my roommate was my tutor and generally the one who decided what we were going to do. Master Labooda did give me a lot of freedom to pursue my interests, but I could tell she was also making sure I followed a specific curriculum to a certain degree.

She wasn't even trying to hide it, giving me regular tests and making notes on a datapad that she regularly checked over before doing a lesson. It was likely her making sure I got all the lessons I would be missing from being made a padawan so young.

The revelation that the High Council already knew about my status of being reincarnated was worrisome, especially their thought that I was from a long time ago in their history instead of from an entirely separate universe. Thankfully I was able to spend the last month in the free time Master Labooda provided me looking up what I could about the precursor order to the Jedi Order. This Je'daii was one of, possibly the first, to have a structured intragalactic presence of Force users. At some point long ago, a group of dark force users split off from the main order and became the Sith while the remaining chose to focus heavily on the light side and became the Jedi.

Basically, a religious schism happened and there were thousands of years of crusades between the two orders that left many dead and various worlds ruined.

The specifics of the Je'daii order seemed to have mostly been lost, so I was going to have to focus more on the more modern legends of what Jedi could do to create 'lost' techniques that the High Council was expecting me to recall.

While working on that, I also did a much deeper dive into the various councils and found some interesting information. Nepotism is rife in the order when it comes to getting high positions of authority. Just about every member of each of the councils is made up of either the padawan of a previous member, someone in the padawan line of a previous member, or is directly related to someone already on the council.

This was good for me. Very good. The Master of the Order had taught me his personal fighting style, one of his padawans is currently in the High Council and is the sister of my Master. I have a good in. And I know an excellent networking opportunity for the future. One that should further set me on the path of an early and relaxing 'assignment' to a tropical beach planet. For 'research' and 'unlocking' my memories.

Anakin is apparently the chosen one, some prophecy about restoring the balance to the Force, and is the padawan to Obi-Wan 'Sith-Slayer' Kenobi, an excellent pedigree already. To add to that, Obi-Wan was the padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn who was offered a position on the council before his death at the hands of the Sith Obi-Wan killed, making Obi-Wan the one who avenge the death of a prospective council member. And Qui-Gon was trained by Dooku who had sat on the council and was trained by the Grand Master of the Order, Master Yoda.

So, if I get closer to Anakin, I should be able to leverage that in the future as an extra form of 'connection'. Having already helped him with the levitation trick should get me an in, especially if I just so happen to see him and just so happen to decide to check how he is coming along with it.

That would have to wait for now though. I have no reason to know his schedule and we are not currently close enough to warrant me randomly dropping by. The limited space that Jedi typically congregate would have to do for meeting up with him again.

For now, I needed to focus on recalling every detail about Star Wars I could from my previous life. An unfortunately short list.

Darth Vader is dangerous and should be avoided if possible.
The Death Star can destroy planets.
Darth Vader is the father of Skywalker.
Skywalker's first name is Larry? Lars? Duke? Been too long.
Anakin Skywalker might be related to Vader's son. Need to find out if he has any siblings.

I was never a big fan of science fiction and only saw the first movie when I was young. It was a very well made cinematic film, but I preferred more historical war movies. And maybe I would occasionally go see a comedy, but such silly guilty pleasures would not help me now.

In fact, even fantasy movies would have provided me a great deal of help in figuring out Force techniques, considering how much the Force matches up to magic.

Actually, I might be able to use my limited memory of some common magic spells from the anime and manga I enjoyed as a child to come up with something. Be a little tricky considering the elemental nature most magic spells align to, but the Sith were said to have used the force to produce lightning, so fire, water, earth, and air should be doable as well. I would just have to be creative in my approach.

Organizing my notes, I prepared a potential list of some tricks that should be easy to create using my current abilities. It would take time and practice, but I should be able to keep the High Council happy with me.

—-

Obi-Wan was glad to be able to take his padawan on this mission. He had been so busy with missions requesting him specifically that he felt they were drifting apart. The lack of time able to train his young protege also weighed heavily on his mind too, making Obi-Wan feel like he was failing as a Master. He couldn't show his concern though, he had to keep a brave face for Anakin.

He had to keep a steady and calm presence for the Order, he was the vaunted Sith-Slayer, a title he had not strived for, but one that came with a burden of adoration and being an example for all the younger padawans and initiates to look to. Not just his one padawan. If it was just Anakin, he could show weakness. He could be imperfect. He could be human. But with all these extra eyes on him, it was his duty to be the perfect Jedi. To never show weakness. To never give into his desires.

To never turn down an assignment, especially one requesting him specifically. Who knew beating one Dark Side user would make him so famous, so popular, so tired.

It was this tiredness and a desire to spoil his padawan in a small way that led to Obi-Wan letting Anakin fly their ship.

Flying being a generous term currently as their engines had been shot out and they were rapidly approaching the ground.

The hostile pirates blockading the planet was not in the initial report. Neither was the fact they had set up a base of operations.

"There!" Obi-Wan yelled, pointing to an open area near the pirate fortress.

"On it," Anakin said with a cocky grin as managed to direct the falling ship to the indicated area.

The crash was rough, but the pair survived with only minor bumps and bruises, the trail of the ship carving up a path in the snow surrounding the fortress up to the side the ship had come to a stop at.

"Here," Obi-Wan tossed a commlink to Anakin as the pair put on their warmer robes. "We need to get a new ship and get out of here."

"What about the mission, Master?"

"Parameters have changed. Pray they don't change any further."

—-

Labooda was unsure whether or not she should be impressed by Tanya's skills with a lightsaber. On the one hand, the younger girl was only five and showing comparable skill to a padawan of several years. On the other, she apparently has learned many things over a previous lifetime and was subconsciously drawing on that experience.

Deciding that she would have no experience with Vaapad specifically, Labooda chose to be impressed. If Tanya keeps up her training, Labooda will quickly be losing their sparring matches regularly. Labooda was fine with this as she had never been particularly interested in lightsaber combat, having always preferred more academic pursuits and practicing her Force techniques. Things Tanya also pursued with a wonderfully refreshing vigor, even if the topics she preferred researching did not always match the same ones that tended to catch Labooda's eye.

Their regular discussions were refreshing and invigorating for the older woman, until she had to go back to the curriculum the Council of First Knowledge and the EduCorps recommended a youngling to learn. Having to follow a specific schedule of education was effective, but stifling the tangent that the pair would travel down in their research and combined pursuit of more knowledge.

When Tanya was ready for her trials and became the Knight she was sure to be, Labooda was going to suggest she look into working with or even joining the EduCorps, Labooda was sure her padawan would be happy and flourish in such a setting.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

"Slower. Think how to apply the katas Master Windu taught you and strike with deliberation," Master Labooda told me as I started getting too excited in our sparring match. Although spar might be a bit generous. We were going through the motions of a spar at a slow pace to practice strikes and blocks while being given the chance to think of what the best move would be.

"Good. That is a better pace," Labooda acknowledged as I adjusted my pace to better match hers.

This method of sparring was apparently something known as moving meditation. A way to sink deep into the Force while continuously moving. Most children found it an easier way to get into a meditative trance over the classic sitting still method and it was a valuable skill for a Jedi to have because it allowed one to listen to Force more easily in combat. I found I preferred the traditional sit in one place and clear the mind approach, but if my Master insisted I had to become proficient in moving meditation, I would just have to practice it until I could sink into a meditation at a moment's notice.

"Good. And stop," Master Labooda said before we began to do our cool down stretches. While not physically challenging, I was put in mind of the couple of times I had done yoga in my previous life. Yoga, despite how slow and simple it looked, was a very thorough work out. Controlling one's movements so carefully during a spar also proved surprisingly good at warming up the body and working out all sorts of muscles I had not thought about.

Thankfully, I had a young body that will recover quickly from any abuse I put it through. Far better than my previous body before I died, which was just beginning to stiffen up and it was starting to get harder to get out of bed. I had not even realized how much aging was affecting me until I began to notice how much more energy I now have and how flexible my body is. I'll have to remember to take better care of myself in this life to stave off that uncomfortable stiffening from creeping up on me.

"Alright, let's practice your Force abilities," Labooda said as she pulled out a Sabacc deck. I groaned internally as I sat on nothing in the middle of the air, a comforting pressure like a second skin coming to me. The practice Labooda put me through was an interesting mix of dividing my focus while listening to the Force.

I would keep myself in place in the air while moving objects around the room while leaving an illusion in its original spot. All this while I had to guess the value of the card she drew. It was the last one I was having issues with, I could not get a good read off Labooda's mind when she gave me a second chance after actually drawing a card.

The illusions I left behind were getting better, although they started getting a bit vague and blurry as I created more. At first I would just leave a glowing light at the spot, but as we continued to practice I began to copy the items.

Labooda seemed disappointed that I could not perform any sort of telepathic ability with any regulatory, when all other Jedi were capable of doing such readings with a fair degree of success.

Aside from the frustration at the telepathic part of the exercise, the training was enjoyable and I could see how I could use these techniques in several situations. The exercise only takes a few minutes to get through before we are done and heading back to our apartment to wash up and have lunch. Today we were going to have some white grain that reminded me so much of rice, with some steamed vegetables and a protein rich fruit that when grilled and basted in a dark sweet sauce reminded me of grilled eel. A simple meal, but one that gave me such a pleasant, nostalgic feeling for my previous life.

Japanese style dishes, despite no Japan existing, were surprisingly easy to either recreate or find a close approximation. There was even a soup stall some distance away that served a noodle soup so close to ramen that it made me look forward to the scheduled rain shower days just to go there. Nothing better for a rainy day, especially after a good day at work, than a nice warm bowl of ramen.

After lunch, we were going to meet up with some senatorial contacts that Master Labooda knew. The Jedi regularly worked alongside and under the direction of the senate to investigate and negotiate a variety of situations around the Galaxy, so having a connection to some senators was considered important for Jedi to have in order to better keep tabs on the happenings around the Galaxy.

At least, that was the spoken reason. It didn't take much to realize that what was really going on was a religious organization keeping a degree of soft power going and ready to use over the politicians in control of the government. An ancient tactic utilized in nearly every society and still common both at the time of my previous life's death and in this new existence. And if I was to be a part of such a corrupt system of religion hovering over and able to control the politicians, then it would be a good idea to play my role well.

—-

Anakin was crawling along the ceiling of the fortress, keeping to the sides and the shadows. Tanya's technique of floating was proving incredibly useful for stealth as he slowly made his way to the security station in order to lower the blast doors of the ship dock.

Arriving outside the door, he looks around to find no pirates. Dropping down, he opens the door and gives a smile at his good luck. These pirates had left no one to man the cameras or the controls. Quickly going to the console, Anakin begins to work his stuff to open the blast doors. Turning, Anakin spots a datapad sitting on a nearby console and grabs it before heading out.

"Master, I found the security room, the blast doors are now open, I'll meet you at their ships," Anakin says into his comlink.

"Good job Anakin. I'll see you there shortly," Obi-Wan responds, sounds of blaster fire coming through his end of the link.

—-

The meeting with the senators was held at a bar. My Master was taking a five year old into a bar to meet grown men. A bar that screamed sleazy activities occurs there, with bright neon signs and rough, well worn furniture.

A bar that had a pole built into the bar on one side that had a pair of Twi'lek women dancing around it. Due to my physical age, I was only able to give a critical evaluation of the pair. They were physically fit with appropriately sized curves to be considered arousing in general according to societal norms of my last life, their smooth skin looked slick and glistening and their head tails, lekku as they were known as, trailed down to their mid backs. They were both in brightly colored bikinis that gave only a modicum of modesty and on their foreheads they had on headpieces that matched their bikinis.

We were meeting senators in a strip club. I look to my Master and raise my eyebrow at her, feeling incredulous at her audacity to take a five year old here. I may have memories of a previous life, but that does not change the physical age and as far as Master Labooda knows I only have memories from this life.

"You are taking a kid there?"

Labooda folds her arms and gives me a look with a raised eyebrow. "You are hardly a child mentally. I am sure you will be fine."

Shrugging, I followed her in and to a table where a fat blue skinned Twi'lek and a slick looking human that reminded me a great deal of a sleazy Casanova, biker type.

"Ah, Jedi Labooda, so good to see you," the blue Twi'lek said, setting his utensil down next to the meal he was eating and got up to greet my Master with a grand gesture. "And this must be your padawan, I am Orn Free Taa, senator to Ryloth."

While fat and slovenly looking, Senator Orn was at least very polite with excellent manners.

"Name's Garm Iblis, senator from Corellia," the human greeted with a lot of his glass. A rather American greeting, give name and position with a very casual and relaxed manner. No formality at all.

"A pleasure to meet you both," I say with an appropriate bow to men in such positions.

"None of that now, we aren't here for any official business. Just a few old friends meeting up for a few drinks and to catch up on old times," Senator Iblis said, waving me off.

"Thank you for taking some time to meet with me and my padawan," Labooda said as she sat down, leaving me to take the last spot with a very good view of the stage.

"Liking what you see?" Senator Iblis asked with a laugh, making me realize I was staring at the dancers. I was never one who spent much time going to such establishments in my last life, finding it a ridiculous waste of time.

"I'm sorry, I just was not expecting to be meeting up with such august persons as yourselves in a place such as this," I respond, trying to keep the embarrassment from showing on my face.

Senator Orn gave a tsking noise as he ate his meal. "I find that I need to keep tabs with the Twi'lek slaves that end up coming to establishments like this and make sure they are at least being treated well."

"Slaves?" I could tell my voice was hissing as I said it. "Is slavery not illegal within the republic."

It would appear I had touched an old topic as the three older people sitting at the table looked at each other with varying looks.

"You set this up didn't you," Senator Iblis said, pointing his drink at Master Labooda.

"You chose the location," she answered with a small smile.

Senator Orn heaved a heavy sigh and looked at me. "You are technically correct, but the situation is rather more complicated than that." Indicating the pair dancing on the bar, he continued, "these two sold themselves into slavery in order to help their families back on Ryloth pay off certain debts owed to some rather unsavory individuals. Frankly, their lives are actually better than they might have been had they stayed. You see, Ryloth is far from these core worlds where the laws can be more strictly enforced and Ryloth is a rather poor planet. The only things we have to export are spice, and our own people."

Santos Orn gave the pair the first lingering look I noticed him give them since arriving. "I wish there was more I could do, but Republic does not have the resources to send to stamp out the slave trade so far away, and with Hutt space allowing slavery freely, certain diplomatic considerations have to be made to establishments owned by Hutt enterprises."

"It is horrible," I could hear myself say as I stared at the Twi'lek slave dancers. "Taking people out of the economy, weakening the flow of money through the system while removing their incentives to perform well."

With the new information, I could notice some signs I had glossed over previously in my surprise at being in such a place. "They are faking their joy rather obviously. Their smiles are not reaching their eyes, and their dancing is sluggish and repetitive. No creativity or excitement in their movements. Free women working in an environment where they are rewarded for better performance would be more interesting to watch."

It took a moment, but a laugh broke out from the Corellian senator. "Sar said you were a smart one, but she never mentioned you were one to find such interesting problems with something most people say is a moral or ethical problem."

Looking at the man with a raised eyebrow, I couldn't help but feel a smile begin tugging at my lips. The joy of an academic debate present. "Morals tend to be built by what society deems important and ethics are how the society works to achieve those morals. Thus a society that values slavery would find owning another sentient a moral action and it is ethics that would determine how the slaves are to be treated. No, to end something as despicable as slavery, other considerations must be made to make it as unviable as possible, removing all incentives that makes slavery an attractive prospect for slavers to pursue."

"If you can come up with such a situation, I would be happy to work with you to enact it to help my beloved one," Senator Orn said, a small smile on his lips nearly hidden by his cheek fat.

Firming up my resolve, I give a nod. "I will." I could not let something so counter to a proper free market as forced labor continue existing.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

Garm Iblis enjoyed a slow trip back to his apartment on Coruscant. His eyes had long since gotten used to the sight of the Republic Capital as he gazed off into the distance, his mind instead focused on the conversation with the Jedi Apprentice, or whatever the relationship was between a Padawan and their Master. There was no doubt that Garm would be hearing from her again and he felt it would do well to keep tabs on her progress, it was always a useful tool to have a friendship with a Jedi or two.

Although that friendship also came with certain risks as a large number of citizens did not trust such an isolationist order that felt the need to involve themselves into a number of situations, Garm felt that Corellia was full of people that were mostly either positive or had no real opinion on the Jedi.

Padawan Degurechaff would prove a very valuable ally if she did come up with a plan to help a large number of people avoid or get out of slavery, something Garm could sign up with and show off to his constituents as a move towards leaving an evil institution that was prominent not long ago in Corellia's own past. Although, not by name, several corporations had taken control of several key industries and enacted practices that were slavery in everything but name. It had taken a lot of effort and regulation to give the workers fair wages and safe working conditions and the scars were still being felt two generations later. Old graffiti was still scrawled on some of the old converted warehouses that now exist as barracks for ship dock workers. Graffiti that spoke of and reminded the workers of how only a few decades ago corporate money had turn free men into slaves. Graffiti that the workers protected to remind the companies they worked for that they will not stand for greed over lives. That lives are more important than profit.

With a sigh, Garm shook himself out of his thoughts and straightened himself up as he arrived at his Coruscant apartment and his wife. Their marriage was one of politics and any affection or attraction they might have had for each other had died out a long time ago, but a divorce would ruin both of their careers far more than any apparent unfaithfulness they might have indulged in.

Entering into the residence, Garm went through the motions of calling out to his wife, taking off his jacket and shoes, and heading to the dining table for dinner their protocol droid would have prepared.

"Gavid called," Garm's wife said in an uninterested tone. "He is still seeing that Mirialan hussy."

"Oh, well I hope he is enjoying himself," Garm replied, not bothering to deal with his wife's racism. She was far to set in her ways and was too strong a supporter of the humanity first movement to change her tone. "You remember Sar Labooda?"

"The Jedi?" Drinna confirmed, a bit of heat in her tone of voice.

"Yes. She is training a Padawan now."

"Is she at least training a decent person?"

"Possibly. Near human at least. Padawan Tanya looks like she is maybe a four or five year old human, but I don't think Padawans begin training with a master until they are a teenager, so probably either a slow aging species or one that happens to look like children."

The scowl on Drinna's face said exactly what she thought about that information.

"I'll be having some friends over tomorrow, so you can go do whoever you want," she said, changing the subject.

"I think I know some people that can keep me occupied and warm." Garm replied, making a few plans. He had been spending a bit of time charming his secretary, maybe it was time to see about sealing the deal, so to speak.

—-

Anakin was in the pilot seat flying the stolen pirate ship while Obi-Wan was contacting the Jedi Order to relay the developments of their mission. Namely that a pirate base has been set up and the Judicial Forces would need to be sent to clear them out. A relaxed smile was on the Padawan's face as Obi-Wan put up the commlink.

Anakin took his eyes off the stars streaming by as he felt his master lay a hand on his shoulder. "Good work Anakin," Obi-Wan said before plopping himself into the co-pilot seat.

"So, that's it for the mission?" Anakin asked, turning to monitor the equipment.

"Yes. Our mission parameters were to survey the planet to see if it would be a good place to expand the agricorps operations. Pirates are not conducive to any agricultural pursuits, so until those pirates are cleared out, our scans would be useless."

"Why didn't we clear them out ourselves then?"

"Because you are too young for combat missions." Anakin gave his master a look with a raised eyebrow, which Obi-Wan responded to with raised hands. "We are in a time of peace, no need to be sending our youngest padawans into dangerous situations before they are ready. Next year you should be able to join me on all manner of missions you are too young for. Why I didn't go on a mission with an expectation of combat until I was seventeen."

"Oh? And how was that?" Anakin asked, devising that hearing such a story from his master's past was a better way to spend time than brooding on not getting to go on the exciting missions yet.

"Well, it was a long time ago, so pardon me if I get some details wrong, but the Mandalorians were having a schism and my Master and I were sent to help broker a peace between the two sides..."

—-

Delving into the legal rabbit hole that was intergalactic trade agreements and the current situation of slavery was a sobering experience. Slavery was technically illegal. Technically. The wording of the laws however made a very thin veneer of safety for the common person to avoid ending up working for no pay at the pleasure of another. Indeed, slavery was just another institution of commerce throughout the galaxy that only required a vague reason for a person to be declared not a real person.

There were a few groups that were made up entirely of clones due to having lost more traditional methods of reproduction long ago, and maybe two have rights as sentient beings thanks to having an exemption placed in the books. Indeed, having taken a side stroll into clone rights, most people viewed clones the same as droids, just made out of flesh and organic tissue instead of metal and inorganic parts. Both could be programmed, both could be customized at the time of order, and, despite any evidence to the contrary, both were deemed incapable of truly being self aware.

I had made a few notes to add to my proposal that in order to help end slavery, droid and clone rights would likely have to be addressed as well or the slaves can just be classified as clones or organic droids.

Setting that aside, my proposal to help the Twi'lek people was multi-fold. There were several key ways Twi'lek were made into slaves on Ryloth and for several key reasons, all of which would have to be addressed. The first was dealing with the rampant poverty of Ryloth in order to raise the Twi'lek out of having to sell themselves or a family member into slavery to make ends meet. The Twi'lek on Ryloth needed jobs that paid a fair wage.

To this end I examined the books and found labor laws were kept to a system level due to the Republic's long standing respect for specie's traditions. As such, the Ryloth system would need to enact some minimum wage laws, several proposals I copied from other systems that already had such on the book to give those in power the option to pick the labor laws that best suited their needs.

Of course, a fair wage does not matter if there are no jobs available, so I also included a proposal for infrastructure overhaul on the planet, Ryloth having fallen far behind the rest of the galaxy in development, which would create a number of labor jobs paid for by the government. As part of this proposal, the local system government would likely need to take out loans, so I wrote up a proposal to get the banking clans on board with part ownership of a new industry I was also going to propose to help deal with one of the major reasons Twi'lek are such popular slaves.

Twi'lek are naturally beautiful people. They have a grace and sensuality to themselves that many species are naturally drawn to. So a large number of Twi'lek are forced into sex trafficking and becoming pleasure slaves. If they can be placed into an environment where their natural charm can be used to their benefits while surrounded by security that prevents any kidnapping, then people would be willing to come to admire and spend time with Twi'leks for a large number of reasons. And what better way to have security be a part of something where beautiful people wander around barely clothed than to create casinos. A lot of money and sex and all manners of vice on sale protected by ever watching eyes in the skies and security personnel on the floor. And the Twi'lek will fit the role of waitress, dealer, and entertainment easily enough in such establishments. Throw in a few in the security booth watching the cameras and you have a primarily Twi'lek staff helping the local Ryloth economy by spending their earnings at local businesses when they are off the clock.

The number of planets with casinos is a surprisingly limited number, most of which exist in Hutt space, so rebranding Ryloth as a center of pleasure and gambling would not step on many Republic toes and the more illegal games would remain in Hutt space keeping the Hutt Cartel from being too interested in shutting down an upstart enterprise before it is able to begin.

This was the core of my proposal, a massive casino complex to bring in revenue to help all the other little proposals get the fundings they needed mature, with other enterprises proposed or proposed modifications to existing enterprises already on planet to provide other avenues of revenue and profits to interest the big interplanetary corporations to invest and play along.

Before I ran this by any politicians though, it would probably be a good idea to have it looked over by several other Jedi eyes to see if there are any obvious flaws I missed that could embarrass the Temple by association. It would not do to hurt my future prospects in the Temple by making the Jedi look like a bunch of ignorant fanatics who don't understand the first thing about financial laws.

 

[Half_Baked_Cat]

Sar Labooda was proud of the dedication and focus her padawan put into everything set in front of her. Most masters have to convince or force their padawans into doing anything that didn't catch the young apprentice's attention, even Labooda would admit to having had a bit of a rebellious streak when she was young, never wanting to practice her lightsaber forms or keep up with the physical conditioning and instead wanting to just lounge around and read or research some history.

Tanya on the other hand put her all into every task, even when the little scowl she would make made it clear what she thought of it. Labooda had been kind enough to not give into the temptation to pinch those cheeks still so full of baby fat when that adorable little spell made an appearance, it would not do to appear to be less mature than your padawan after all. That would just undermine the relationship.

All that effort though paled to the work ethic Tanya was currently displaying creating her proposal on how to end Rylothian slavery. Every so often a Jedi would come up with a proposal and submit it to try and end slavery here or there, or they would free someone or a few people, but most of the proposals amounted to little more than volunteering to go undercover to try and dismantle a slave trade organization. Looking at some of the research material Tanya had been checking out, Labooda was certain that an entirely different plan was being designed. And finally, after several months, Tanya has asked for a second set of eyes to pursue the proposal to help solidify the arguments and facts.

Which is why Labooda has been sitting at a terminal in the archive for the last several hours with a dictionary, law book, and a list of trade agreements to use as references as she got lost in the technical jargon Tanya was using that apparently made sense to someone that understood economics.

"Something I can help you with?" Madame Jocasta asked as she looked at the far younger Jedi looking frustrated.

"Yes. My padawan wrote this paper and I am having a bit of difficulty parsing some of the language." Labooda said, tearing her bleary eyes away from the screen.

"Ah young Tanya, right? I did start reading some of the things that she had been checking out to understand what would interest such a young mind so much. Let's see here." Jocasta began to read through the report as well, becoming very quiet and thoughtful.

"Well, I can see why you are having a bit of difficulty. Not many focus on the minutia of intergalactic trade agreements or how to set up a series of new, interconnected ones. Now let's see if I can figure out what exactly she is proposing."

"This whole thing is suppose to help end slavery on Ryloth," Labooda offered as she looked up a term she thought she knew that was being used in an unusual context.

"Oh, that may be the goal, but that is certainly not what she is proposing," Jocasta said with a kind smile.

"Excuse me, Madame Jocasta," a deep voice said from behind the pair. Jocasta quickly, but smoothly rose from her position to address the one that called for her.

"Yes, Master Windu?"

"I need to check on something in the holocron vault."

"Alright, let's get you all situated then," Jocasta said as she began to lead the Master of the Order to the vault door.

"What had you two so distracted?" Windu asked, not unkindly.

"Oh, Miss Labooda's padawan wrote a rather thorough proposal and we were checking through it for errors."

"Oh? And what is Padawan Degurechaff proposing?"

"Looks like she is proposing several business incentives contingent on certain labor laws being enacted for Ryloth to help combat poverty while also setting up several private and governmental organizations to protect Rylothian interests. Going to take a lot of politicking to get it anywhere in the senate, but from what I can see from it, I think her plan can reduce at least some of the slavery there."

"Once you are done with it, send a copy to me and I'll bring it up to the High Council."

Jocasta readily agreed as she helped open up the vault door to let Mace Windu into the highly protected Vault.

As she headed back to continue helping Labooda, Jocasta came across Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Ah, Madame Jocasta," Obi-Wan started off with a bow before holding out a data chip. "I was just looking for you. Here is my report from my last mission."

"Ah, thank you, so many of your fellow knights could learn a thing or two from you," Jocasta complimented as she took the data chip and continued on walking to where Labooda had set up shop. "It can be so difficult to get some of them to submit even a simple completion of mission report, never mind how you regularly give a decent explanation of what occurred."

"Well, you never know when some small detail from a previous mission might give insight on a future mission."

"Right you are," Jocasta agreed as the pair came upon Labooda who had turned another terminal towards her as she cross referenced a few documents.

Obi-Wan gave a whistle at the amount of material being referenced. "What do we have here?"

Labooda turned and gave a nod of greeting. "My padawan has become interested in trying to reduce the amount of slavery occurring in the far reaches of the Republic."

"Oh? And how is she planning on doing it?" Obi-Wan asked, thinking of some of his childhood friends who went down a similar path.

Labooda gave a laugh and started paging through the text that she was primarily focused on. "That is what I'm trying to figure out. She has gone into very fine detail on multiple aspects of the problem and she has even suggested that if her proposal proves successful, then certain parts can be scaled up or modified to work in other systems."

Obi-Wan stroked his face that had a healthy stubble growing. "Hm, my padawan might be able to give some helpful insight."

"Oh?" Labooda asked, giving her full attention.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, he was a slave when my Master met him, so he knows what it is like to be in such a society personally."

"I'll just leave you two to talk while I go ahead and process this," Jocasta said, indicating the data chip in her hand before heading back to her desk at the center of the archive.

The two Knights waved farewell to the Master before turning back to their discussion.

"Oh, doesn't your padawan practice his lightsaber forms a lot?" Labooda asked, remembering something as an idea came to her.

"Yes. I think he will be a fine swordsman someday," Obi-Wan said with an indulgent smile.

"Perhaps he would be up to sparring with Tanya. I've never been particularly skilled in lightsaber combat and she is pushing me to my limits as is, it would be good for her to face someone that can actually challenge her."

Obi-Wan gave a nod with a smile. "That is a fine idea. Perhaps we should meet up early tomorrow?"

"We usually are in the training halls at oh seven thirty."

"We will be there," Obi-Wan said before leaving Labooda to her research.