33 Reunion

Watching the younglings being taught by a rodian Jedi, I'm taken back to my own days of learning. To sum them up in a single word…

Monotonous.

Until they let us start practicing with lightsabers and learning how to use the Force, we were taught the Jedi Code, what the Force is, and meditation. Of course, there were also lessons on the galaxy and its state. Those were the highlights of life before learning how to fight.

But the Code? Meditating? The Force? Meditating about the Code and the Force? That's what we did nearly every waking hour for three years. They wouldn't teach us how to use the Force until they were sure that we had a good grasp on our emotions

The classes weren't as bad after they started teaching us how to use the Force, by that point we were actually able to feel something as we meditated.

The highlight of being a youngling though? Learning how to fight. The joy of trying something new, of defeating someone who underestimated you. The rush of power when you avenge your previous loss and stand over your fallen foe's body!

I take a deep breath then let it out slowly, letting my negative emotions escape along with it. Though the Sith Code does not encourage wrath and hatred, they do reside in the realm of the Dark. Should someone wish to utilize techniques within its domain, they must be versed in techniques to prevent them from losing themselves in it.

A quick glance around me reveals that no one noticed my little lapse in tranquility. Honestly, it's rather offensive. The Order that I tried so hard to destroy, that managed to weaponize me against my own army, no unable to feel a spike in Dark Side energy right in the heart of their home?

Pathetic.

I side-eye Shmi as she beams at her son, tears of pride in her eyes as she watches him train. I look at him and see that he's hard at work. Sitting on a pillow with his legs crossed and his hands cupped in his lap. He slowly breathes in and out as I watch, nodding my head. 'Yep. Hard at work.'

Luckily it seems that we've arrived when the "class" is ending. It's only twenty minutes before the Jedi dismisses the children. They walk out of the room at a sedate pace, giving the two of us curious looks as they pass by. The only one who hasn't gotten up and left yet is the scruffiest kid in the class. Anakin.

As I gently nudge his mother towards him, I can't help but scoff at the Jedi's decision to put him with the children the same age.

'Sure, he's the same age so he'll be more comfortable with them. But that means that he's missing the basic teachings all of the others receive. He'll be an outcast no matter what they do. The least they could do would be to ensure he's trained from the beginning.'

Shmi taps him on the shoulder and his eyes shoot open. He looks at her, shock filling his eyes before it's replaced by tears. He hugs her as they leak out, overwhelmed by happiness at being able to see his mother again. He didn't think he would after coming to the Temple. It's a touching moment. One that's ruined by the rodian.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Visitors are not allowed here! Child. Remember your teachings. There is no emotion ther-"

Irritated with his blatant disrespect for the moment, I decide to do what any right minded individual would do. I pick him up with the Force and throw him out the window!

Ignoring the shocked looks as the rodian's scream cuts off abruptly, I gesture for them to continue their reunion. When they only stare at me with wide eyes, I sigh. I pull the insensitive Jedi back inside from where he was hanging upside down.

"Really. You couldn't have just let them have a happy moment? All you had to do was not talk for a couple minutes! You're lucky that I didn't decide to just drop you." I glare at him. "Are you even listening? I'll hang you back out there!"

"Um," Anakin hesitantly speaks up. "Sir. I don't think he's awake."

I blink in surprise before peering at him more closely. 'It seems that the boy is right! He really fainted just because he got thrown out a window a little? That's even more pathetic than I thought they were! I jump from this high for fun!'

There's nothing quite like making an entrance when you're aiming to kill the leader of a multi-sector kingdom with dozens of planets under them. Good times~.

"Is he going to be ok?" Shmi asks. I roll my eyes before dropping them to the floor.

"They'll be fine. All they got was a little scare. Probably not even that much considering they were barely out there long enough for the two of you to hug. Anyways." I clap my hands, making the boy jump in his mother's arms.

"Anakin, would you like to stay here and learn from the Jedi? Or would you rather join me and your mother as I establish my own academy?"

He looks at me blankly. "... Wot?"

I snort. "I'm going to start an academy to teach people about using the Force. Similar to what the Jedi do. We won't be the same of course. But you will learn control all the same. Though it will take time to reach and build a suitable place." Though I already know where I'm going to be settling.

He looks at his mother in shock, receiving a hesitant nod. After all, she doesn't know if I can accomplish my plans. Nor does she know what competing with the Jedi could entail. But she belongs to me, even if not in body, but in mind. Her mindset has been subservient to whoever 'owns' her for many years. She won't change easily. But she will.

Seeming to come to a decision after a quiet conversation with his mother, he looks at me defiantly. "I want to train with the Jedi."

I shrug before waving at Shmi. "Very well then. Shmi, you have a commlink so call one of us once you're done with your reunion with your son. Don't be wandering around by yourself. I'll be irritated if I need to take down a random criminal organization to save you."

She blushes as I walk out, already knowing what I'll find once I leave the room.

"Hmm. Much care for her, you show. Hidden behind a veneer of humor, it is."

I look at the speaker. The one who's capacity for the Force rivals my own. Who's connection to it is far superior to any of those I've encountered from this time so far.

The Grandmaster of the Jedi.

Master Yoda.

Seeing how he's approached me so casually, he's not looking for a fight. Though I do see the lightsaber hidden in the handle of his walking stick.

'Clever', I think. But instead of praising him, I ask the most pressing question in my mind.

"Are you talking like that to mess with people?

𝌡𝌡𝌡

…

"Mom? What do we do with him?"

"Well, Master Revan left him there, so I guess we leave him alone? I suppose that we can try and make him a bit more comfortable though."

Shmi and Anakin work to make the unconscious rodian more comfortable before they start talking. Catching each other up on everything that's happened to them while they've been separated.