3 Chapter 1 part 3

I might not have known about the drug then, but what happened, coupled with the many fantastic books I had read in my native world, allowed me to make a pretty definite conclusion. But nevermind, it isn't too hard for me anyway.

...

All in all, the celebration was undoubtedly a success. And certainly memorable. At least for the fact that I had to sit for two hours surrounded by children who, given the chance, would have torn a kitten to pieces. And the next day, after the guests had dispersed to their homes, Father boasted about the new crystal given to him by one of the guests.

I named my gift Bain and carried it with me everywhere for the next two months. Even though Uncle had said it would only last a month, I decided to play it safe. Father called me more and more frequently to the workshop when he was working on orders. We even went back to Talarskaya Cave one more time, where I still didn't feel anything. And a couple of months later, two Jedi knocked on our door. At that moment, I was in Father's workshop, and when the pale mother walked in, I felt her fear and hopelessness very clearly, which turned into sadness.

"Jedi," that's all she said in response to Father's worried look. And for once, I watched as a person grew pale before my eyes.

And those emotions... I was very scared at that moment. Canon is canon, but when people whose love you feel every day are so afraid of two Jedi, it means something. You don't want to know what I thought then.

The work, of course, came to a halt. I was picked up by my mother and taken to my room, and Father, apparently, went to meet with the Jedi. My mother didn't stay with me either. A few words that everything was okay and that I had to stay in my room, a kiss on the cheek, and now I was alone. I had enough patience for about thirty minutes, which I tried to kill with Bain's help, but I couldn't relax. So, passing on my mother's words, I quietly slipped out of the room. My parents were with the Jedi in the living room, and they had no intention of keeping their voices down.

"...the Order's policy," I heard an unfamiliar voice say. "Approved by the Republic, by the way. He either becomes a Jedi or cuts himself off from the Force." I didn't notice any negative emotions in the voice, by the way, even though they had been trying to persuade my parents for half an hour.

"After that, he becomes an emotional cripple," the father replied. "With a strong chance of going insane.

"That's why no one likes to do it. Understand, neither the Order nor the Republic can afford to ignore the gifted. Statistics show that only two out of ten such people don't fall into darkness. The Force will awaken in him sooner or later, I already feel it, and then he will be faced with a lot of temptations slowly but surely leading him into the depths of the Darkness. And I'm not even talking about accidents. What will you do when he gets angry and on pure instinct unleashes his rage on those around him? You're adults, you should understand that children sometimes just don't realize when they're doing harm. Are you ready to take responsibility for the death and injury of local children? Mastery of the Force is a difficult task and a great responsibility. I'm not specifically talking about your son right now, but if even one child out of a hundred... out of a thousand among those we miss falls into the Darkness and gains enough power, they can bring incalculable harm. And we can't let that happen."

"If your beloved Republic hadn't reduced its army and fleet, you wouldn't have to be so afraid of new dark lords emerging.

"The Order is outside of politics. It's their decision, and we're doing what we can. It seems like the father is giving up his position. Well... from what I heard, they're telling him almost directly that if they don't give me to the Order, uncles from the Republic will come and forcibly take me away to a place where I'll be cut off from the Force. Or maybe it won't be from the Republic. I mean, maybe it will be the Order itself.

From one side, they can be understood. There is no fleet, no army. One dark lord can gather quite a force and start a war of destruction. On the other hand... it smells like corruption. It's easier for the Republic to search for and take children from their parents than to maintain a fleet, the money for which can be put in their own pockets. So parents don't really have a choice. Either they give me to the Order, or undergo some kind of unknown ritual with unpleasant consequences, according to my father's words. The next ten minutes showed that the conversation was going in circles. Both parents and Jedi had the same arguments, but said in different words. So, after listening to the Jedi speak for the third time about how dangerous it is to leave a gifted child unsupervised, I went to my room. It seems like it's time to pack.

The guests didn't leave until two hours later, after which my parents tried in every way to show me that everything was okay. But even Bain didn't believe them. He ran after me and meowed sadly from time to time. He could sense that something was wrong. My parents only told me in the morning that I was going to the center of the Galaxy, and their tired faces and dark circles under their eyes spoke of a difficult night.

"Can I take Bain with me?" I asked my father when he dropped the news on me.

"I doubt it, little one. Most likely, you'll have to leave him at home," he replied with a sad smile. "But don't worry, we'll take care of this rascal," he patted me on the head. My mother, sobbing, ran off towards the kitchen.

If I were an ordinary child in my place, I would probably already be crying. Even I felt very uneasy. And what was happening in my parents' hearts... Actually, I could feel very well what was on their minds.

Will I become a Jedi?" I asked, hanging my head.

If you want to, son. You can leave the Order, I'm speaking from experience. But you'll have to study there for some time.

I'll be back," I nodded. "Dakari doesn't abandon its own.

Right. And we'll be waiting for you, son. No matter what happens, no matter how long it takes. You have to remember, this is your home, where you will be waited for. And loved," he hugged me. "Always."

The rest of the day passed in a haze. If it weren't for my empathy, maybe it would have been easier for me, but with each passing hour, it was getting worse and worse. Especially when it came to my mother. All I could do was try not to show how terrible I felt.

We had to leave for the city in the morning. All night I could hear my mother crying, and that was despite Bain's crying. I couldn't interpret the other sounds he made. Here was another crybaby on my head. I couldn't even imagine how my father was feeling, but I could feel it myself. For half a day, I tried to calm my mother down, but as soon as I mentioned that I would come back, she started sobbing and quickly retreated to her room, not coming out for another twenty minutes. So, it was difficult to tell who was more sleep-deprived than the others in the morning.

After breakfast, we went to the garage, where my mother had me in her clutches for about fifteen minutes. And when she finally let me go, my father approached me. "We've packed your necessary things," he said, squatting down. "But there's something I want to give you personally," he added, showing me a long plastic cylinder he had been holding all this time. "I don't know if you'll need this, but you can sell them if you want. The Order doesn't provide much money for Padawans. And then...well, here they are," he finished, opening the cylinder.

Inside were crystals for a lightsaber. Four pieces from my father's collection.

"This one," he touched the crystal on the far right, "is a Lorrdian gem. When inserted into the hilt of a lightsaber, it helps predict an opponent's movements. Or so they say. It's also said to help deflect blaster fire."

"This," he said, pointing to the next crystal, "is Kasha. It helps to clear the mind. In battle, this can be very useful. And this little stone you should remember - it's a kyber crystal from a krayt dragon. It helps to increase the power of the lightsaber blade without consuming extra energy. And the last one - Luxum. It adds an ion effect to the blade. I think it'll be just right against droids. What to do with them," he said, closing the cylinder, "they'll explain to you at the academy. I'd give you more, but a lightsaber and its crystals are such individual things... I hope you'll make use of these. But if anything, feel free to sell them, I allow it. Just do it through your mentors, I ask you. They'll be much harder to cheat. - As if they won't cheat me," I thought. - And don't worry, he ruffled my hair. - However I feel about the Order, they won't cheat you with these crystals." Is he reading my thoughts?

"Barloz," my father said, stopping not far from the vessel. "They got themselves a nice little ship."

I didn't know what was nice about it. But the vessel looked... unimpressive. It was around forty meters long, I couldn't tell exactly. As for the shape, it was difficult for me to determine from my perspective, but it looked like a projectile with a cockpit at the tip and a huge antenna above it.

Not even five minutes passed before a Jedi emerged from the ship. A man-human in his thirties, in traditional Jedi robes.

"Here, son," my father handed me a small backpack. "The Academy will provide you with everything you need, but your mother packed you... " he choked up, "lunch. And a container of crystals." Then he pulled out a leather belt and, sitting next to me, fastened it to my waist. "You'll grow into it," he noted. "There are three anonymous chips with some money in the pockets. Spend it wisely, son." Oh, Lord, does he really think a four-year-old understands what he's saying? Well, he understands everything, he just can't do anything about it.

"I'll be back, father," I said for the umpteenth time. But now I didn't stop there. "After all, I'm your heir. Dakari. You'll be proud of me... when I come back. Just take care of Beyne. And tell mom that as soon as I get a chance, I'll leave them."

With each word, I had to speak more quietly because the Jedi, though slowly, was probably allowing us to say goodbye, but he was still approaching.

"We'll wait for you, son," my dad hugged me. Then he stood up and, squinting, looked at the approaching man. "It's because of people like you that so many hate us," he said harshly.

"Let them," the Jedi replied. "As long as there is someone to hate." Passing me from hand to hand to the man, my father tousled my hair.

"Don't disgrace the Dakari family over there, little one."

Leading me through the entire ship, the Jedi brought me to a small room with two rows of chairs and a holographic projector. Apparently, something like a cabin or conference room. He left me there, warning me that we would be taking off soon. Apparently, they were only waiting for me. And five minutes later, I felt a slight hum, which soon stopped. The Jedi returned when I was almost asleep. I wouldn't say he was gone for long, but a sleepless night was still a noticeable trial for my young body. He came back with his Padawan, and in my opinion, the boy couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen.

"Well then, let's get acquainted. And then I'll show you where you'll be living for the next few days. So," he rubbed his hands together, "my name is Kor Chu-tal. I'm a thirty-year-old Jedi knight and unfortunately, the one who took you from your parents. Please forgive me, young man, but neither I nor your father could have done otherwise. You'll understand everything when you grow up. And this young man here is my Padawan. His name is Danil Sak and despite his gloomy appearance, he is a kind young man. Now let's go, we'll show you your cabin, and then Danil will take a couple of tests from you. But don't worry," he smiled, "it won't hurt at all. And if you want, later he can give you a tour of the ship." After these words, the boy sighed but didn't say anything. "He will show you where everything is here. Well then, shall we go?

The cabin turned out to be small. Three by three meters, to be precise. It was fine for me and my child's body, but I had no idea how adults could live here for weeks. When Danil used a device that looked like a gun to take my blood, I asked a question: "why?" and got an equally simple answer: "to measure the level of midi-chlorians in your blood." And then I asked a slightly more complicated question: "why?" To which he thought for a moment and replied, "It's the way it's done." Preliminary tests before a full examination at the Academy. I wanted to ask my question again, but I felt sorry for the guy - he had no way of knowing why he was doing the same job twice. But it became clear that this wasn't just curiosity on the part of individual Jedi."

"And will you tell me... well... this...?" I asked another question and hesitated. "The results of the analysis?" he clarified. And after my nod, he shrugged, "If you want. It's not a secret."

Awesome. I was afraid I would have to suffer from curiosity. Although, recalling the canon, when they measured the level of midi-chlorians in Skywalker Sr., Obi-Wan, who was just a Padawan at the time, clearly stated that they were more than Yoda's. So he had some knowledge on that matter. However, there are many nuances here. Take, for example, the fact that I don't know what era it is now. Maybe a hundred or two hundred years before that Jedi kept such information secret. Oh, if only I knew what time I was in. I know that it is now 969 years after the Ruusan Reformation, but that means absolutely nothing to me. Actually, I'm lying, it does mean something. This year means that I arrived before the Rebellion and the New Republic. And that means I arrived before the Yuuzhan Vong, who wiped out a third of the galaxy. Or was it a quarter? Anyway, a lot. And the worst part is that I don't know anything about that war. Almost. If according to canon, I watched the movies, watched a couple of seasons of the animated series... read a few books, then about that period... If I think about it, there's also a lot, but those were just links on the internet, information not visually supported. For me, it's like statistics - read it, forget it. If the Force allows me to stimulate my memory - that's awesome, if not - I just have to hope that I'm far enough away from those events in time.

What else can be said about the flight? The tour of the ship was boring. At least, they didn't show me anything interesting. Except for the bridge. Or what do they call it here? The cockpit? Oh yes, they also told me how many midi-chlorians I have in my blood, or rather in each cell. Drum roll... 19361. When I asked if that was a lot, they told me "above standard." Interpret that as you will. Well, at least it's above standard, so that's okay. I wouldn't have been upset even if it was "below" - it's easier to leave the Order that way.

I was ecstatic when we finally arrived at our destination. Over three weeks of doing nothing can drive an adult crazy, and I, despite my consciousness, am physically a child, and my biochemistry demands action. When I asked to be taught something, they put me in a cabin and lectured me on meditation. I was too scared to ask to be taught anything else. Although, what could be scarier than meditation? Anyway, I was happy to arrive on Coruscant. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. The sooner I finish my training, the sooner I can go home. The main thing is not to stand out and avoid my teacher. If memory serves me right, if a youngling doesn't have a teacher in the Academy, they become... I don't remember what it's called, but in short, they become a farmer or something like that. There are several departments there, I think. But I don't know how Padawans are chosen. Whether the Council selects them or the Knights do it themselves... Oh well, I have more than one year of study ahead of me, and I'll know for sure about all that later. I could ask Daniel, but technically, I don't know anything, so asking such questions seems silly. Hmm... there are more cons than pros to being four years old, after all.

The Jedi Temple was impressive, especially when viewed from above in a glider. It wasn't as striking as the city as a whole, but there was definitely something about it. When I saw it, I thought the Jedi were just being greedy. Maybe they didn't have enough space for anything serious when they were allocated a place in the capital, but they didn't want to give up any extra square footage. So they built... a house. One huge house, and called it a temple. A temple to what, I still can't quite understand.

And also, as we approached this building, I thought about the dozens... hundreds of spine-grinders (kids) that I would have to live with for the next ten years. Lord, save me!