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20+ chapter ahead. -----------------------------------------------

Well, three months later, we started Power Forging lessons. The textbooks we got on the datapad were called "The Basics of Forcing and Changing Inanimate Materials." And you know, even the basics were impressive.

Once we were seated in front of the tutor, he telekinesked a small block of metal weighing fifty grams to each of us.

- This," he began, "is the most common piece of metal. The simplest form of it is iron. If there's anything that can be changed more easily, I don't know about it. - And when he was silent, he levitated another bar onto his palm. - For a long, long time Jedi have been able to manipulate inanimate objects, infusing them with power and changing them as they needed. The most famous example you learned in History class. You remember what kind of swords the Jedi originally had, don't you?

- Swords that conduct the Force," said Palatte, who was sitting to my right.

- Right," the instructor nodded. - It was, however, a rather delicate work, but by no means the hardest. The problem with such blades is that they take quite a long time to create. And the best of them, the now legendary ones, were exposed to the life of their creators. And sometimes refined by their apprentices as well. With much more intricate work you are yet to learn when you are ready to create your own lightsaber. Over the millennia of the Order's existence, Force Forging has, if not reached its highest point, but surely somewhere close to it. This is despite the fact that very few have a talent for it. Nevertheless, anyone with a talent for it can learn the basics, and the basics are on the level of mediocre knowledge for the time when metal swords were commonplace. Time is a constant, and so is development. But let me show you what you will be dealing with.

When he had finished speaking, Mentor held out his hand, on which there was a piece of metal. In a second, it began to melt. When I saw it, I even squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, suppressing the urge to wipe them. After it finally melted, the mentor moved his palm, showing us the liquid metal. A moment, and he tossed up the solidified and blob-like lump of iron.

- There," he showed us the result of his action. - That's the first thing you have to do. If you can't "melt" the iron, there's no point in going any farther.

- And what happens next? - I asked.

- Hmm, next? - the man smiled. - And then it will be much more complicated.

Then he held out his hand in front of us again, and showed us how the metal was again assembled into the shape of a square bar.

- Well," I said, "can you make anything out of anything?

- Of course not," he grinned. - There are a lot of restrictions in this art. For example, you can't affect living things in that way. It is very difficult to manipulate organic objects. It's even harder on stones. You can't make something you don't understand and don't know how it works. I can't make a droid, because I'm not a cyberneticist, engineer, or even a technician. The whole science of Force Change is based on understanding.

- So to build a lightsaber," I said again, "we have to understand how it works. How does each of its parts work?

- If you want to assemble it from scratch, from the materials at hand, yes. But even then you would need to have the necessary materials, or be a Power Forge master at the highest level. And you'll need a crystal, of course.

- What else could be done that way? - I asked a question. - Or only shape-shifting?

- No," the man laughed softly. - Changing the form is only the beginning. It is much more difficult to make an object stronger or to give it certain functions, not foreseen by nature or physics. Magnetizing a piece of wood, for example. And it's still too early to talk about adding Force attributes.

- Attributes? What attributes?

- Mmm... to make it easier for you to understand... This block of iron," he tossed it in his hands, "can be made to change color depending on your mood. Or make it so that when you touch it, it can throw a person back with a forceful jolt.

Wow.... Whoa.

- How many Jedi can do that?

- Three for the whole Order," the mentor said with a chuckle.

Yeah. Bummer. I don't think I'm such a genius.

- Whatever," I voiced my thoughts. - So what do we do now, Master Gassid?

- Ready to get started, huh? Well, you'll have to put the Force on your bars first.

I knew how to do that, but, as it turned out, not completely. When I showed him my piece of iron, my tutor pointed out that I had to give it COMPLETELY. Not just pump the Force into it, but infuse it all the way down to the atoms. When I asked him how to do this, he had a simple answer. First of all, I had to pump it, as I did, then I had to "feel" the Force in it, then I had to "feel" it, and then I had to pump what I "felt". And without waiting for another question, I explained: everything must be done gradually, that's why I didn't tell you at once. It's just that I'm in such a hurry, I can pump the Force into things, but other people need time. I sniggered at that, glancing at "my" pets. These will not hold much longer, I'm chasing them for nothing?

I also asked the question about the "leakage" of the Force from the "pumped up" objects. I had noticed this before, but somehow there was no reason to be more specific. As it turned out, very few materials in the Galaxy can hold the Force. Not even crystals are capable of it. There are even materials that can't even absorb it. And then there's such a parameter as conductivity. It is especially noticeable on the example of crystals, in which this ability varies within very high limits. For example, synthetic crystals don't retain the Force very well, but they let it pass through them at a terrific speed, which can increase the power of the blade very much. However, this is very much up to the user. In this case, it is possible to use the Force in the same way as in the other cases, but it is not necessary to use it in the same way. And because the Power itself is still a part of the crystal user, he can use these features. This leads to a real hunt for certain types of crystals. It also raises the price in credits quite a bit.

By the end of the lesson, all I managed to do was "feel" the metal bar. Even that gave me the feeling that if I wanted to, I could "melt" it, like my mentor. But alas, it was only a feeling. When Gassid called the end of the lesson, I asked him for permission to take the bar with me, and the answer was "of course. The others started asking after me, until the tutor announced loudly that we could take the equipment with us.

And then it was on to a not-so-gray day again.

Another month passed, and in the library, that is, the Jedi Archives, I became so familiar that I was noticed. And though it sounds threatening, it was a good thing for me. Slowly but surely I was beginning to gain the trust of Jocasta Nu, the chief archivist of the Archives. The aunt, or rather grandmother, turned out to be quite amusing. With her rather good-natured, I would even say, kind character, she was a fanatic... uh... a fanatic of the Archives. To put it simply, she worshipped only two things: the Jedi Archives and Count Dooku. Yes, yes, that one. She considered him almost the best Jedi of all time, quite often mentioning him in and out of place. I'd like to see her face when she finds out he's a Sith. Though no, I wouldn't. She's a great grandmother, no matter how you look at it, and the collapse of one of her ideals would probably hit her pretty hard.

But so far the horizon was clear, and ever since I met the perky old lady, almost every visit to the Archives has rubbed her with one question or another. At the same time, I have been admiring the information collected here. More precisely, its quantity. The goal was simple: to achieve free access to the Great Holocron. It is clear that while I am a youngling, I will not be left there alone, but I did not intend to find out any terrible secrets. Not even new ones, in fact. But learning what I already know, only in more depth, could help me a lot. If the training of the younglings was conventionally high school, then the knowledge of the Guardian was undoubtedly university knowledge.

It was after one of these visits to the library, when I returned to my room and was about to leave soon for Drallig's class, that Ahsoka pulled a new stunt. She brought another child with her. As if I didn't have enough of my own.

Sprawled out, as usual, however, on my bed, she was flipping my fucking datapad with a girl I didn't know. She wasn't just tossing it around, she was using telekinesis.

- Stiletto, what the fuck are you doing?

If it wasn't for her friend, and who else could she have brought here, the datapad would have met the floor. But luckily, the shaken and out of control Togruta was backed up by a shava, a gray-skinned, horny, black-striped, pony-tailed girl.

- Uh... Raine... and we're here... here. Practicing.

- With my datapad?

- Oh, come on," Shawa said, "what's wrong with it? It's strong, you could throw it against the wall.

- .... - I've got to pull myself together and calm down. - Who are you?

- My name is Joss Zileng," she poked her nose up. - And I will be the best Jedi in the Order.

- After me," Ahsoka corrected her.

- After you, everyone else will be, and I'll be before you.

- Ha! At least get to me first.

- Lift up your head, I'm already taller!

- Quiet! - I almost exploded. By some miracle I bellowed the words, instead of shouting them out. - I don't care who's taller or better, but if you ever touch my datapad again, you're going to find out the hard way. Are we clear!?

- Yes!

- Yes, of course.

- Give me that," I snatched my datapad from Joss' hands. I mean, telekinesis, of course. - And why are you in the corner," I turned my attention to the boys, "are you still going to grovel in front of two girls? Was it hard to take my datapad from them?

To which I received indecipherable: "well", "as if", "we this".

- Oh, piss off. You little twerp.

I took a flash drive out of my pocket and plugged it into the datapad and downloaded to it everything I had downloaded today from the archives. I could have walked around with the datapad, and in fact I did, but once I found out that the droid there could get one of these things. A special library one. Allows you to download everything once on a new medium. After that, the choice of what to walk around with was out of the question. You know, a thumb drive the size of my thumb and Versafunction 88.

- You're a year younger than us, by the way," said the shava.

- Only a year! - Ahsoka quickly answered her, already standing next to her. - Only a year. - Already me.

- Did you come here with something in particular? - I turned to them, sighing. - Or just to pass the time?

- We want to train! - Ahsoka said cheerfully. And I did not even immediately think of what to answer.

- I.... Oh-ho-ho... I have the next two hours occupied. You know that.

- And then? - She made puppy dog eyes.

She's an asshole. She had learned, like any child, how to pick on me long ago. Now, if you tell her off, she'll be snotty. And I don't think having a friend around will stop her.

- Ahsoka...

- Well, Rayne, it's not like I ask you to practice that often.

Yeah, well, she knows her limits. Whatever.

- All right. What do you even want to do?

- Fencing!

- Power moves.

Nah, chicks are awesome, especially the little ones. I mean, Joss and I don't even know each other, but she's captured the moment very well. Although, if I were really a kid, I'd definitely side with the Ahsoka I know. What was their gut feeling about this?

- Fencing," Ahsoka didn't give up.

- We can fence with each other, too. You told me he was good with the Force.

- He's a better swordsman than we are.

- What? Him? Better than me?

- Him. Better than you," said the togruita, with obvious satisfaction.

- All right, then. Let it be fencing.

- Lord, give me strength," I muttered. - In two... and a half hours, be in the fencing room.

- Done! - Ahsoka jumped up and down.

- That goes for you too," I looked at the boys. Well, what, I'm the only one who should suffer? - Woman-worshippers.