Training in Solitude

Now that I'm clean and have time to make it to Coruscant, I need to train. I won't have guidance from Satele anymore. Having a Master fix the mistakes you don't know about is something that'll I'll miss. However, this ship is equipped with training droids just like the fleet command center. They will not tell me the mistakes I make, but I can figure out how I lost to them. Doing so will tell me the mistake I made. I walk out of the lavatory and get dressed in my clean robes. I make my way over to the kitchen on board and start to make some food. After scrounging around, I make myself a balanced meal. I can sustain myself with the force, to a degree. While I won't die from hunger or starvation, I still feel the desire for them. I haven't fully mastered the technique yet.

I sit at the table and turn on the holo-terminal. I go through the channels, and I find the galactic news station. A Chiss male is doing the reports. I watch as his holographic image fully loads in, and I can hear him talking. "The Empire and Republic are taking their wars to previously neutral worlds. The war has even spread to remote farming worlds with no strategic value, as the Empire continues to span many at Coruscant are demanding something be done." The treaty of Coruscant doesn't allow the progression the Republic needs for the war. While the Empire repeatedly breaks the terms, for some reason, the Senate is refusing to move forward. The war is going nowhere at this point, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

I keep eating as the reports continue, and I admit this new freedom is nice. "There have been many reports of spies in the Republic, and this has only caused more unrest on Coruscant. Much of the mysteries of the Empire are unknown, but it's safe to say that they are winning this war at this point. Just how long with the Senate take to make a decision?" He is a good reporter, that's for sure. Despite the power the Chancellor has, the true power in the Republic is the Senate. I finish eating and use the force to send the dishes to the kitchen. As I do that, I continue to watch the report. A new reporter comes on, and this time it's a human female. It's silent right now, so that means it's going to be breaking news.

I hate that term, and I hate the propaganda spreading around the galaxy for both sides. I clench my fist in frustration, and the ship whines in protest. I stop realizing what I'm doing. I have denied many of my emotions but kept some. Letting them come back will prove difficult, but I'm not a Jedi anymore. Not after the lies, they fed me. In truth, I don't think I could have ever succeeded as a Jedi. I might as my own man, though, funny coming from a 13-year-old. "This just in. The Republic is issuing a galaxy-wide bounty for one traitorous Jedi by the name of Nathan Opal." I stare at the holographic image of me, and a cold rage builds. Who betrayed who, I wonder... This is something the military would decide. Satele wouldn't have a say, but I doubt she is still on my side after what I did.

If Jesir didn't try and get in my way, I could have left without killing republic troops. Blaming me is the best solution for the Senate. Put some heat on the Jedi and get a break. I see the bounty, and it's a hefty 4.5 million credits. That's going to be attracting many people after me. "Nathan Opal has been charged with countless crimes. Some of the worst being several counts of murder and high treason against the Republic." I shut the news report off and stare at the table while in thought, they are definitely going to blame whoever they can at the moment. I stand up and walk towards the training room. I'm going to start with some meditation first, clear my mind as best I can. Once inside the training room, I sit with my legs crossed, and I close my eyes.

I enter a lull of calm, and I'm soon floating off the ground. I dive into the force, and the ship begins to groan. I take deep breaths and level out my control. The limit I forbid myself from passing is no longer a concern of mine if I'm going to find my parents. I'm going to need all my power at my beck and call, unafraid of losing control as I did on Hoth. As I feel through the force, everything in the room begins to float around me, not in chaos, more like flowing water. I spend the next 10 hours meditating like this, bringing up my total control. My force powers grow exponentially compared to other force users. It's one of the many gifts I had that made my fellow padawans and friends jealous. Caleb taught me so much. Most of it was forbidden.

I can only wonder why he left the Order, but after what happened to me. I can understand it. He must have been through something to make him lose faith in the Jedi. Maybe I'll be able to join him one day. I stand up from my sitting position, and I can already feel my fine control over the force has improved. I walk over to the droid console, putting it on the highest difficulty with all forms being used. The training I'm going to put myself through the next couple of days will be brutal. I won't temper my training anymore. I'm going to grow as strong as I want and as fast as I want. The droid comes out of its little compartment and activates its training saber. I force pull mine off my belt and activate it. I use the pommel on the bottom to lower its power, so the droid doesn't die.

I take a breath and get into my Ataru stance. "Begin!" I shout the order, and the training droid lunges at me, unleashing a flurry of attacks. The droid is much better than the two sith I faced and better than the training programs at the Fleet Command. Knowing the Jedi, they probably lowered the true difficulty for their padawans so they wouldn't get hurt or grow too fast. The difficulty of this training droid is incredible. I can barely keep up and defend, let alone get an attack in. After 10 straight minutes of sheer combat, I make critical mistakes, and it lands three strikes on me. The droid stops and waits on standby. I remove the top half of my robe to move better, and the sweat doesn't hinder me too much. I get into my Ataru stance and take a breath. "Begin!" The droid starts again with an entirely different attack pattern.

I spend 7 hours in total fighting at this level, and while I didn't get a single strike in. I have increased the gap of time between each time I lost. I lay down on my back and stare up at the ceiling as the droid waits on standby. I'm absolutely dripping in sweat. My whole body is numb. I've never trained my body so hard before. What made it so effective was the training method. Practicing against an opponent like this is awesome. I stand up and flow the force through my body. With my fine control rising, I'm able to sustain myself better. My body is losing its exhausted feeling, and my tired mind feels well rested now. I've spent 17 hours training both my force control and my martial arts. I'm not stopping here.

I decide to make it even harder on myself, and I use the force to lift heavyweights in the room. I bring them to me with the force, and I make them hover around me. I get back into my Ataru stance and take a breath. "Begin!" The droid lunges forward and uses a new attack set, every time it's different. Using obscure combinations and unpredictable moves. The next 3 hours are sufficient to say. Brutal. I was only on the defensive, and I lost and started many times again. I can feel the pain in my muscles and bones, the exhaustion in my mind. Spending 20 hours training your force skills may seem insane, but not to the Jedi and Sith. These are what the Master's do for warm-ups. They have to have training like this since we are in the middle of a war.

I stand again and keep the heavy objects floating. At first, they were like feathers to me, but pushing my body and muscles to the limit has made the difficulty rise exponentially for lifting them and controlling them. I'm going to sleep after another 4 hours, and I will spend 8 hours sleeping. Only to do this all over again, I'm going to repeat this until I reach Coruscant. I take a breath and get back into stance. "Begin!" I yell again, welcoming the hellish training. I get back in the grove and continue training. I heal my mind and body as I fight so I don't collapse. This training is going to help me improve a lot.