Chapter 4

"Master Yoda", - the pink-skinned Twi'lek bowed to the representative of an unknown race.

"Master Lairy", - Yoda nodded in response. - Has something happened in your enclave?

"Not really, Master. The group is doing well, learning little by little. I'm just worried about one child, actually. A boy, human..." - the woman fell silent, choosing her words carefully. - I feel like he doesn't want to stay in the Order.

"We cannot keep them against their will", - the old Jedi chewed his lips. - "It's dangerous. For them. For the Order. And we cannot release them before their time. Teach him, raise him. He must learn to control his power. Time will show his intentions".

"That's the thing, Master. He's not against learning, quite the opposite. But he's already set himself on leaving the Order at the age of five."

"We cannot keep them against their will", - the old man repeated.

"But there must be something we can do, Master."

"What does that have to do with me? It's your task to make a Jedi out of him."

"I can't do it. I always feel like I'm doing something wrong. He... he's a strange boy. I thought that with your immense experience, Master, you could influence him, show him that it's not necessary to leave the Order."

"You tactfully reminded me of my age," he turned away so that the woman wouldn't see his smile.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Master, I didn't mean to imply that you..."

"Old? Hehehe. It's hard to argue with facts."

"I... well... um," the Twi'lek fell silent.

"You find it amusing to embarrass children," he turned back to face her. "But let's return to the boy. You said he's strange. Can you explain why?

Well... I'm not entirely sure myself," she spoke thoughtfully. "Children are drawn to him. Like to an adult. But he's only five. And I get confused myself. Sometimes he's a child, sometimes he says something so mature. The same goes for his behavior. It's hard to put into words. And his development. I understand about midi-chlorians and all that. But I've seen Skywalker, talked to those who know the Chosen One. Yes, he has a very strong connection to the Force, but he only relies on that. For all his strength, he remained an ordinary child. But Rein... he's something else. It's like he really understands everything he's told.

"Isn't that your task?"

"Of course. But you know that understanding comes with time. Yes, I try to make sure the children understand everything right away, explain and break it down. But with him...," she shook her head, "he doesn't even need me to break it down. And that's his desire for development. He doesn't just want to know everything right away, demanding knowledge, he wants to go through the training program as quickly as possible. It's like he understands very clearly that the Jedi honed the training system for thousands of years. I recently gave him a ball to learn the basics of tutaminis. So he not only felt the energy but absorbed it. On his own, without my prompts. But what's interesting is that he didn't even mention continuing his training. However, he didn't stop training himself. Recently, he approached some mentors, asking them to show him the materials so he could study them on his own and move on to the next program. Or do something else. Do you understand? Not just "I don't need zoology," or "let me study something else, I'm not interested in this," but specifically the training program, so he can learn it quickly.

"Interesting," - murmured Yoda.

"Yes," - sighed the woman. - "Sometimes I get the impression that he's just in a hurry somewhere. As if he's afraid we'll stop teaching him."

"Rein... his name. And his last name?"

"Dakari."

"Dakari? Hmm, hmm. I remember a Padawan with that last name. Kind. Impetuous, but kind. He didn't have much strength. He left the Order."

"Do you think this is his son?"

"I think so, yes. You mentioned something about midi-chlorians."

"The test showed 19361 per cell."

"Hmm, hmm," - the smallest member of the Council chewed his lips. Even Yaddle, belonging to the same race, they say, was slightly taller than him.

"Master Yoda?"

"Dakari. A good boy," - the old man said thoughtfully. And slightly stirring, he looked at Laire. - "You know what to do. We can't keep him in the Order. The way of the wise is only their way. Teach, educate. Show him the Order. Don't stand out, but don't level him. He's a smart boy. He'll understand. Don't push. He'll choose his own path. Only on his own, otherwise - darkness. Go. No, wait. Take him to the technical hangar. If he's his father's son, he'll like it. That's it, go, "- he waved his hand. And slightly hunched, he headed to the center of the room. - Meditation awaits me.

***

"Rein!" - called out my mentor as our group was leaving the classroom.

"Yes, mentor Kadzhan? "- I turned to him.

"Have you read the books I sent you on the datapad?"

"I have read them, but I'm still trying to understand them."

"Is everything alright, Master Kadzhan? "- our curator peered into the classroom.

"No, no, Lairi, everything is fine. We're just talking about additional materials."

"Alright, I won't keep you then. Catch up with us, Rein. Do you know where to go?"

"I'm heading to History class with mentor Radau."

"After the woman left the classroom, I turned to Kadzhan."

"So you've read them, you say?" - I nodded. - "But you haven't figured it out yet." - Another nod. - "Well, I was going to give you more books anyway."

"I'm all for it," - I quickly replied. -" There's so much in the Archives that I don't even know what to look for."

"That's true, our Archives are quite a labyrinth. In that case, here you go," - he handed me a memory chip. -" Return it at the next class."

"Thank you, mentor", - I bowed, taking the chip. - "Without you, I would have been struggling to figure out what to read."

"That's why I'm here," - the man smiled. - Alright, go catch up with your group. And I ran off. Since our conversation was short, I caught up quickly. The rest of the day went as usual, but after classes, Lairi surprised me. She escorted the group to our corridor where the children started dispersing to their rooms, and then she called me over. We stood there for a moment, silently looking at each other.

"I understand you're interested in technology," - she began.

"Um, well..". - I started to choose my words carefully. - "My father is a technician. "- And just in case, I added, - "Yes, I love... tinkering with technology." We were silent for a while longer.

Alright, come with me.

"After these words, my curiosity was piqued. Strongly. I don't know what she had in mind, but I'm already interested.

After a couple of minutes, I realized that she was leading me to the elevator. And that means wherever we're going, it's not on our "Youngling" fifth floor. Excellent, here's the elevator. Oh. The second floor. It's getting more and more interesting. The second floor in the Temple can be called technical, although that wouldn't be entirely accurate. It's where the hangars are located, for both planetary and space vehicles. It's where various warehouses, large and small workshops, and the receiving area for cargo entering the Temple are located. And a couple of "small" generators, meant only for this floor. But the most interesting thing is that I've already tried to... how to put it... gain access to the knowledge there, but alas, I was quickly escorted away. You see, free access there is only allowed from the age of eight. Aren't they jerks? By the way, when I was turned away, I was a little surprised. Of course, there are places where anyone is forbidden to go, not counting personal rooms, but I had somehow gotten used to the fact that a lot is allowed here. I'll even go further - there's not much that's forbidden in the Order at all. But very often, you come across disapproval. Like, if you want to do it, go ahead, but remember, the Order doesn't approve of it. But it becomes clear why sensible adults aren't taken as Jedi. No, surely not just because of that, but still...."

Just think about it, the Jedi take either infants or very young children and then begin to raise them. And it is precisely from this early upbringing that a person's thinking pattern develops... a rational one in this case... everyone knows that. It's enough to just shake your head firmly at the right moment, and voila - the mini-block is ready. I still remember a moment from my previous life when I was walking home from daycare and saw a familiar child, but couldn't remember his name. So I called him "hey, you," and even pointed at him with my finger so he would understand who I was talking to. And predictably, I got hit on the hand by his mother. She said only a few words, I don't remember them verbatim, but the meaning was simple - it's rude to point at others and shout "hey, you." That's it. A block for life. I haven't liked those words ever since. I've been rude many times in my life, but I don't think I've ever addressed anyone like that again after that incident. And that's just one moment that I remember, how many more were there? And I'm not saying it's bad, the Jedi really raise good... rational people. It's neither bad nor good, it just is. But such an upbringing can no longer affect me. I'll also note one more thing. In my previous life, I came across a couple of statements that the Jedi are fanatical Light Siders. Well, I can authoritatively say that this has not been observed. Yet. After all, I hardly ever interacted with adult Jedi, aside from my mentors.

In the end, Laire led me to the gates of a huge hangar where there was a whole bunch of different planetary technology. From speeder bikes to something resembling a bus. There were machines of different races, droids of different models, workbenches, disassembled technology... I definitely like it here.

Stopping for a moment at the gates, Laire looked over the hangar and, finding someone with her gaze, headed straight for one of the speeders.

"In the end, Lairy led me to the gates of a huge hangar, where there was a whole pile of planetary technology. From a speeder bike to something resembling a bus. Equipment of different races, droids of different models, workbenches, disassembled equipment... I definitely like it here. Stopping for a moment at the gates, Lairy surveyed the hangar and, finding someone with her gaze, headed straight for one of the speeders.

"Hello, Dzik," she stopped next to a huge man. Bald, mustached and, judging by his expression, good-natured.

"And hello to you, Safi. What brings you here?" he glanced at me.

"This youngling expresses interest in technology," she placed her hand on my head. "I thought he would find it interesting and useful to visit here. I wanted to ask you to look after him."

"Hmm. The youth is interested in repulsors?" the man grunted.

"You bet I am," I answered. And for some reason added, "My father is a technician."

After my words, the man seemed to be thinking about something, looking at Laire.

"Well then, will you look after him?" the woman broke the silence.

"Of course. If he has a technician for a father," he glanced at the Twi'lek, "how can I not help him?"

"Excellent. In that case, I'll go," the woman said. "Don't stay here too late," she gave me a stern look.

"Of course, Mentor Laire," I replied.

"Dzik," the technician nodded.

"Safi," I returned the nod, after which the woman headed for the exit.

"Well then, little one, let's get to know each other. You can call me Dzik. I'm a senior technician, the brigadier of the sixty-third brigade of technicians. And what's your name?"

"Rein. Rein Dakari. Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"You kept looking at Mentor Laire all the time. Why?"

"Huh? Um. How can I put it? You see, in the Order, they don't approve of connections with the outside world," he began cautiously. "Friends, loved ones... parents."

"Yeah, I know."

Heh, I know. In general, I was surprised that you speak so freely about it, and Safi doesn't react to it at all. You two are lucky. Anyway, let's forget about sad things. Come on, I'll show you the inside of the X-34. An excellent speeder in all respects. Except, perhaps, for the price. I recognized the speeder. Despite the fact that I had watched the third episode of that same movie a long time ago.

How much does it cost? - I asked the big guy.

More than ten thousand, kid.

Wow. Half of Han Solo's ship. And Luke and Obi-Wan sold theirs for a couple of thousand. Granted, it must have been worth less at the time, plus it's not new. But two thousand? Or am I mistaken? Kenobi seemed to have said back then that it was too little. Ugh, what's the difference now anyway?

Overall, I liked Dzik. He was big and kind-hearted, didn't pay much attention to the fact that I was only five years old, but also didn't treat me like a child. He introduced me to his squad, half of which were rejects, and showed off his droid - R3-T1, which looked almost identical to the R2-D2 that I remembered. And he had good reason to brag - R3 droids were produced in limited quantities and only for certain authorized organizations. I doubt that would stop many people, but the fact remained that they were rare. Dzik just got lucky that he works in the Temple and got one through connections. As he explained, he didn't even have to modify it much. Just optimized it for his own use. After that day, I had to rewrite my schedule for my free time and what I set aside for myself after bedtime. I even considered reducing the time I spent on daily meditation in favor of some lessons. Like Technology. But after considering it, I realized that I wouldn't be able to do that during class, and I didn't want to offend the teachers. After all, an offended teacher is not only likely to cancel some privileges and goodwill, but it's also quite dangerous. In the end, I had to approach Lairy and clarify how useful meditation really is. And she answered. She answered in a way that made me ask her again. After all, I'm not yet ready for such deep philosophical topics. From what I could understand, meditation... or rather, through meditation, a Jedi expanded their connection to the Force. Note that it didn't strengthen it, but expanded it. Meditation allowed them to understand themselves and their surroundings, which in turn allowed them to use more Jedi techniques. And better ones, at that. Although when it comes to "better," training is still the most important thing. Of course, meditation provided more than that, but it was this aspect that didn't allow me to cut back on the time I set aside for it. And then there's Ahsoka, also known as Tano.

I don't know how or why, but she found the room where I lived. I wouldn't say the girl was a regular there, but she came often enough. Since I mostly meditated in my room, that aspect of my development was threatened by her presence. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one living there and I was able to redirect her attention towards the others, which, except for Rama, our young fighter, nobody was happy about. Ahsoka turned out to be quite stubborn, and it was hard to get rid of her for long. One time, I couldn't take it anymore and was rude to her. God, if only I knew where that would lead. Those damn creatures. The whole room was in tears, except for me. Ahsoka started it, Palatt picked it up, and then Rama joined in... One by one, the kids started crying, and in the end, I felt like a monster in a messed-up garden. An irritated monster. Fortunately, the doors were locked.

Once, after coming back from my fencing practice, I sat on my bed and realized that for the past few months, I had been living like a cat on a fishing barge. I barely had time to try the latest catch before the next one came, and the fish were always different. But I had to eat them all, or at least take a bite. The boat will soon dock on the shore, and the silly humans will take away all the fish. Meditation, Jedi Archives, fencing, hand-to-hand combat, energy absorption, the second technical floor... And these are just the areas I wanted to explore. I really wanted to create my own droid, ventilate the issue of a lightsaber, search through the Archives that made my eyes go blurry, learn to absorb energy not only by touch, start learning another Form of lightsaber combat, or even a couple more. I also started to think about my finances, but for now, there were no options since I was too young. And I only had two hours before bedtime and two or three more after that to do everything. However, as I found out from Ahsoka, after about six years, we would get another hour of free time, and Lairy confirmed that this would happen every year. So, by the age of thirteen, I would have ten hours, but by then, I would have to decide what to do next - leave the Order or wait another year. If I waited, I would have to avoid those who would want to take me as an apprentice. I didn't want to become a Padawan for many reasons. Although, if I didn't, I would be sent to one of the civilian Corps, which wasn't great either. Not to mention that most of these corps were located outside the Temple, on other planets. Which meant goodbye, Archives, and many other things.