Master Jedi - Into The Light, Part 1
The first sun had just reached the top of the Tatooine sky when Luke crawled out of his secret training hole that contained the mysterious black rock. Jina was off to the side meditating. They had been training at this location every day for the past week, and while Jina enjoyed the mystique of the secret training area Luke was anxiously preparing for his sister which would arrive tomorrow.
After making it a few feet out of the cave Luke rolled onto his back breathing heavily and tried to rest. "Is it working?" Jina asked as she too quit her meditation to lay back in the shade of one of the rock pillars that surrounded the area.
"Honestly... I don't know. I wish I felt some massive amount of Force flowing through me... but I don't. Maybe I'm not doing it right." Luke rested his head on his hands and began observing the sky. "How are you doing over there?"
"I'm bored, and I'm covered in sand. If I could go down with you--"
"You're not going down there. You should be able to feel it from up here anyway." Luke interrupted.
"But it doesn't do anything!"
"It doesn't seem to be doing anything for me either, and I'm sitting right next to it."
"You're a liar." Jina complained.
Luke laughed. "So are you going to test your lightsaber today? It'll probably break again," he teased.
"Shut up. It almost worked last time." Jina frowned.
"If only almost were good enough. This is good though... I think. At least you're getting lots of practice. By the time you're done you'll be able to build one with your eyes closed."
Unable to get the next day out of her head, Jina changed the subject. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"No... But I don't think you can get ready for something like that." Luke's head suddenly filled with the worries of the next day.
"I've been seeing her during my meditation. She's very strong and scary. She has a lot of anger inside."
"She's not really like that. When this is over hopefully you'll get the meet the real Leia." Luke turned over tired of the bright suns.
"Will she join us... If everything works out?"
Luke could sense Jina's curiosity about his sister. Maybe she wants a woman she could look up to, he thought. Maybe she needs one. I guess that's why you're not supposed to take an apprentice of the opposite sex. "I don't know. It's hard to know how she will come out from all this, but ultimately my sister's a politician, a leader so she'll probably go back to what she was doing before all of this... If the Republic takes her back."
Jina got up off the hard, rock floor and stretched her sore muscles. "Let's go back already. I want to test my lightsaber."
Back home Jina shook off the sand and ran straight into the hangar. Luke hung up his robe and walked past his bedroom to what used to be the main office of the abandoned warehouse he now inhabited and opened the door up to Eshiy and his nephew Anakin. "Look what I did!" He yelled, enthusiastically holding up a drawing from his makeshift desk. His nanny was off to the side meticulously re-going through all of their things for the third time worrying whether she had brought everything they needed. Her short hair, rigid jaw line , piercing blue eyes and tone physique betrayed her gentle, caring manner.
"How are ya doing buddy?" Luke knelt down next to Anakin with a huge smile on his face and patted his head.
"He loves it," Eshiy replied. "It is the first time he has been anywhere outside the ship." Eshiy refused to look up from what she was doing.
"When you say it like that it's kind of sad." Luke said as he thought of how little time his parents had for him.
"Though it is not my place to say, I think he is lucky to have left at all."
Luke looked over at Eshiy. "I guess that's what happens when two busy people decide to have kids. He probably feels like your son since you've practically raised him."
"It is difficult, but I try not to think of such things. Back home a servant could be killed for it."
"Where are you from again?" Luke took the opportunity to ask, but only because he was sensing strong, mixed feelings from Eshiy. He was also sensing a strong will to hide something. He didn't really know her though he trusted his sister's choice.
Eshiy looked hesitant and embarrassed. "I am from Velusia."
"The Empire's slave planet... I'm sorry I asked. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Luke apologized, figuring that Eshiy was a liberated slave.
"Luke!" Jina yelled from the hangar signaling her impatience.
"Don't worry about tomorrow. Everything will be fine. I won't let anything happen to my nephew." Luke offered Eshiy some consolation though she had never appeared to need it.
"I do not know what is happening, but I trust you Mr. Skywalker." Eshiy offered him a quick glance that barely interrupted her sifting.
After patting Anakin on his head one last time Luke got up and left him happily drawing with his nanny.
Inside the hangar Jina put the final touches on her lightsaber. It was a basic dillenium tube with a rust colored grip and a small lip guard at the top, and she was very proud of it. When she finished she flipped it on and smiled as the yellow beam of her lightsaber extended triumphantly. "So it hasn't broken yet?" Luke grinned as he walked into the hangar and up to Jina. "Let me see," Luke extended his hand. After receiving Jina's lightsaber he began meticulously inspecting it making sure nothing was loose or out of place. He extended and retracted the blade multiple times to make sure it would respond quickly enough in the heat of battle then fiddled with the beam adjuster to make sure it was working.
Luke took the lightsaber over to a small bucket of water and after removing the lid he dropped it in initiating the first test. As the Jedi's only weapon a lightsaber must be able to withstand incredible punishment and survive the harshest conditions, Luke repeatedly told Jina. If dropping it in a puddle makes it short out what good is it? Jina bit her lip nervously hoping that she had properly placed and tightened all of the seals. A few minutes passed before he brought it up again then after a shake he turned it on and watched Jina's lightsaber extend normally. Jina took a deep breath relieved that her workmanship was good enough so far, but the last durability test remained. "Are you ready for this one?" Luke asked as he positioned himself at the center of the hanger where the ceiling was highest. Jina didn't respond, but her heart was racing. One more test and her lightsaber would be able to enter it's final phase of approval.
With a strong upward swing Luke hurled Jina's lightsaber high into the air and watched it land hard on the ground. He picked up her lightsaber repeating the process again and again watching it clank and bounce. The apex of the domed hangar ceiling was at least one-hundred feet in the air, and each time her lightsaber landed Jina cringed. "Now let's see!" Luke said as he picked it up and began a close inspection with it held right up to his face. As expected the dillenium alloy wasn't even scratched and all buttons were in place, but the outside was the least of Jina's worries. Holding the lightsaber close to his ear Luke he began tilting and spinning it listening for the slightest hint that something might be loose inside. When he didn't hear anything he began to shake it violently bringing it up to his ear to see if anything had come loose, but still nothing.
Finally Luke gripped Jina's lightsaber and put his finger on the switch. He looked at Jina who was biting her nails nervously then flipped it on. As was expected from a Jedi's lightsaber it passed the grueling punishment and turned on without the slightest problem. "I'm proud of you!" Luke smiled as he put his hand on Jina's shoulder. "You've built a nice lightsaber. I'm sure your next one will be even better."
"Next one?" Jina shuttered. "I think I've had enough gem cutting, circuit building and looped power cell theory for now. I thought I was training to be a Jedi not an engineer."
Luke laughed. "Yeah, I didn't like the idea much either, but I quickly realized how important it is." Luke glanced at his prosthetic hand remembering how necessity drove him to build his first lightsaber. "Besides, no respectable Jedi would be caught without a handful of extra lightsabers and a box of spare parts."
"Well, I'm not a Jedi yet so I think this one will last for a while. Now why don't we test it out?" Jina reached out mischievously asking for her lightsaber.
"Remember to turn the power setting down all the way - These aren't the training ones," Luke said nervously, hoping that Jina's lightsaber could even be adjusted to a safe level. Damn I forgot to check that, he scolded himself. She won't though. Jina wasn't paying attention, but she had already dialed her lightsaber down all the way. She was too busy admiring her approved workmanship staring at the glowing, yellow blade of her new lightsaber. Jina was proud of all the hard work and study she had put into it, and now it was time to see what it could do.
Luke had barely gotten into his stance, still tired from the morning meditation, when Jina rushed him. She came at him full speed leaping gracefully into the air, twirling then offering a quick strike from above. She landed in a roll then from the ground offered a few more attacks. Luke had no idea Jina was going to come at him this hard, and the fact that he barely blocked her attacks proved it. "Don't get too excited! This is just practice!" Luke said having planned on taking it easy the rest of the day.
"Sorry, but I'm feeling energetic today. Besides we haven't dueled in a while," Jina said with a determined look.
"Overconfidence is a weakness," Luke replied, now bothered by Jina's bravado. "You want to duel? Let's duel, but I'm not going to hold back!" Uncharacteristically, Luke broke his own rule about no Force powers during practice and came at Jina with a burst of Force-speed. He stabbed just to the right of Jina's head with a fake then quickly spun around with an upward swing. Jina back flipped out of the way annoyed and powered her saber down. "What are you doing? You're not supposed to use Force powers remember?"
"As of today that rule no longer applies. You finally have your own lightsaber so it's time you start preparing for a real duel."
"Fine!" Jina extended her lightsaber and rushed Luke again offering a series of attacks he easily blocked. With a heavy overhead swing Jina lured him into a strategy she had been planning for weeks. One of her lesson had given her an idea and just as Luke blocked she closed the gap between them and changed her stance into the close quarters Soto Gaen style Luke had discovered in one of Phrog's journals. The style was as new to Luke as to Jina, and she knew it was her only way to defeat him.
Her small size also benefited her as she locked sabers and grabbed his right arm. Again Jina had caught him by surprise, and now Luke found himself maneuvering from saber lock to saber lock trying to get away. She aggressively pursued him and with each step she would keep him locked up with her arms, lightsaber or feet. Luke was annoyed that his student had caught him in this position, but she had apparently been spending extra time on this new style. With a twist of her body Jina maneuvered Luke to her right side with their lightsabers locked in front. She had his left arm tied up with her right elbow and the moment she had been waiting for had arrived. With a burst of Force-speed Jina spun to her left and delivered a strong elbow to Luke's back and as he stumbled forward gave him a thrust kick that sent him to the floor. "Yes!" she cried out in excitement for having bested her teacher.
She really hit me, Luke thought as the pain in his back throbbed. It's hard to believe she's gotten this strong so fast, and smart too. It's my fault though. I never should have let her draw me in like that. Luke was about to get up when he suddenly thought of his sister. If Jina can beat me what about Leia? Maybe I've underestimated her. Maybe I've overestimated myself! Luke's eyebrows curled in determination as he got up needing to prove to himself that he could defeat Leia. Without warning he rushed Jina and with a quickness she had never seen before hit her with a flurry of attacks. She was able to block a few, but in seconds she was overwhelmed and her lightsaber was on the floor. To finish her off Luke force pushed her hard across the ground dragging her about fifty feet.
As Jina lay on her back there on the ground Luke realized how foolish he'd been. "Oh no," he rushed to help his student and dropped down beside her. "I'm so sorry! I got carried away and--"
Jina grabbed Luke's arm and wagged her head. "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have acted like that. The excitement got to me."
"Are you hurt?" He looked over Jina for any bruises.
"I'm fine." Jina sat up thinking about Luke's feelings. "I sensed your doubt earlier. I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Luke sighed and sat down next to her. "Like I said, overconfidence will only get you in trouble. Besides, I should worry about my sister. I don't know what she's fully capable of or if I have the power to bring her back."
"I know she's your sister, but you can't force her to switch sides. She has to make her own decisions." Jina called her lightsaber into her hand and began checking it.
"I don't think you understand... If she doesn't come back I can't allow her to leave."
Jina looked up at Luke and realized what he was saying. The thought of having to kill your own family weighed on her heart, and it was a something she couldn't possibly imagine doing. "I'm sorry," was the only thing she could think to say.
"The life of a Jedi is filled with hard decision so you better prepare yourself." Luke stood up and started walking away.
"Can't I stay and help you fight?"
"No. I need you to take care of the other things."
To Be Continued...
