Jace & Locke Save the Day: Gettin' Heroic

Knowledge. The cornerstone of civilization, according to some. And Carlando was one of those who shard that opinion. Carlando was a Hutt. He was also a youngling. Some felt he was overly philosophical for a youngling. But when you spent all your free time reading datapads, it was to be expected.

But the blue Hutt wasn't in the archives now. He was slither through the hallways of the temple. The Grand Master of the Jedi Order was holding an open meeting. Carlando had only heard about Jace, so he didn't know what to expect. The most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. In Carlando's opinion, one in such a position had to be wise. He was not prejudiced against fellow younglings who devoted their time to studying the lightsaber, but he believed leadership of an organization such as the Jedi Order wouldn't be given to someone who studied only combat. Still, his mind was open, and he didn't doubt for a second that Jace would garner his respect no matter what kind of a Jedi he was.

Zheem understood that in any circumstance, particularly in trying times of uncertainty and war, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order would be very busy. Jace Beleren was an extremely important man. An open forum with his participation was not to be missed. It was under this pretense that Zheem arrived, dressed impeccably in Jedi apparel with a training saber clipped to his belt. He did not intend on practicing his combat skills at this meeting, but he took it for good measure. Luck did not exist in real life, but if it did, it would likely favor the prepared.

He spotted a sluggish gastropod in the periphery of his vision, and cocked his head to one side to observe. It was common knowledge that the Hutts were a species whose learned behavior consisted of self-indulgence and excessive criminality. Jedi teachings epitomized sacrifice and denial of self. The two did not mix. When there exists a Hutt Jedi, one takes notice. He knew that this one was named Carlando. He had never interacted with Carlando but had seen quite a lot of him in the archives, and surmised that the Hutt preferred scholarly pursuits. Zheem did not doubt the Hutt's character. A sentient with wickedness in their heart would stand out among Jedi. He walked past Carlando and into the room where the meeting was to be held. Seeing the Grandmaster standing in the center, he decided that, for now, he would keep his distance and wait for others to arrive. Zheem clasped his hands behind his back and hovered in the corner, quite uncertain of what to do with himself.

Jazen's footsteps were dwarfed by the sounds of the temple going about its daily buisness, but they still managed to echo the grand halls as he moved along them with great haste. Normally, Jazen rarely rushed anywhere within the temple, except for when his new Master wanted to see him. But today was different. Today, an event was happening, one that the temple hadn't seen for a long time. Jace Beleren, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, was breaking free from his duties. And he was using that time to hold an open class.

Locke was a great master, as strong and as wise as any knight Jazen had met. Under his tutelage, Jazen expected he would learn a great many things. But to learn from the Grandmaster himself was a great honor, something every Jedi thought about at one time or another. Since the class was an open one, anything could be requested, anything could be asked. Knowledge the Grandmaster had achieved from years of experience was within grasp. His skill with a lightsaber, said to be one of the most artful things one could see, could be witnessed and taught. And of course, there was the immense power Jace wielded within the Force, wisdom that could be passed on. Anything and everything could be learned and to let this chance pass by would be a loss only to the one who let it.

Jazen in particular didn't care what he learned from this class. Since he was still a novice by Jedi standards, anything Jazen learned could only help to better him. Personally, he would settle for being able to train with others as well. Hearing and seeing the perspective of another person could be as enlightening as learning oneself. And maybe Jazen could learn more about this Blades thing he had heard rumors about. Seeing that he was nearing the room, Jazen slowed his pace, calming his body with the Force. As his heart rate settled, Jazen let out the long sigh he had been holding in, then slipped into the classroom. His eyes fell on the two others in the room before him. Jazen knew neither of them, but he recognized the species. The first was a Hutt, a race one did not see often in this line of work. The other...was a Nautolan if Jazen was not mistaken. A young one by the look of it, his eyes covered by thick black goggles. Acknowledging the others in the room with a slight bow, Jazen stood off to one side of the doors, folding his arms. More would likely be coming and for now, all he could do was wait.

Tem walked briskly down the hallway, but a usual, his mind was racing, the Grandmaster of the Order was holding a forum of some kind for anyone interested, which would most certainly include the young googled padawan. He thought back to the last time he had seen Master Beleren, the class he held for the younglings, but it was sometime ago, so much had changed in the galaxy since then, even Tem's life had changed drastically, as he was no longer a youngling. He frowned at the thought of his first master Vincent Beole, he hadn't really time to get to know Vince before he disappeared, but he still was sadden at the loss. Tem shook his head clear of his sad thoughts, he was almost to the meeting, and he needed to calm himself.

Tem stopped at the door and took a few deep breaths, clearing his mind and calming his body, then stepped into the room. He saw the Grandmaster sitting in the middle of the room, seemingly in a very deep thought. He also saw a Hutt youngling that he had observed several times in the archives, and a Nautolan that he had seen before but had never really talked to. Finally his eyes rested on a human padawan with ghostly white hair. He had seen them all around the Temple, but their names escaped him, he was never very good with names anyway, but he would be sure to meet them in the course of the discussion.

[[OOC: For the purposes of development, enough time has gone by since Zuryyk's previous injuries that he has just about healed]]

Zuryyk Lorak, age 10, walked resolutely into the room. He had, just this morning, removed the repulsor-footguard that had protected his injured ankle, now just about recovered. His arm was no longer in a sling, but it remained bandaged. In the weeks since sustaining the injury, he had begun to teach himself, with Tuataa's help, to wield his saber left-handed to compensate.

Zuryyk had heard that no less than Grand Master Beleren himself was to be hosting this discussion/forum. Zuryyk assumed that Master Beleren would not be the only Master present, and, eager as ever to learn, had decided he would attend. His training saber, freshly polished that moring, gleamed as it hung on his belt.

As he entered, he saw Zheem, another youngling whom Zuryyk had seen but never spoken to, two humans who, from their apparent age were probably Padawan. And then he saw Carlando - also a youngling, whom Zuryyk had heard of but, as the latter spent much time in the archives, which Zuryyk habitually avoided, had never actually met.
And in the center of the room, the Grand Master himself.

Ekerin had only been a padawan for about a month before news about the impending war had come to the forefront of the Temple rumors. This same topic he had discussed with his master, Sellah Bellae, already, and the Amaran quite appreciated her consistently frank honesty with him on the matters related. She didn’t try and sugarcoat things, trusting him to be mature enough to handle the information thrown at him. Truthfully, Ekerin was always more worried about what what he didn't know, than a matter that was illuminated and brought to his attention.

And they were scary creatures, those things left undefined under the veil of ignorance.

Now the Grandmaster himself was holding an open discussion for those of the Temple that wished to learn.

Ekerin intended to take full advantage of it to further himself as a Padawan. But what questions was one to ask the Grandmaster of the Order? Would he only get to ask one? Would he even get to ask a question? Surely, this was a high profile event; Jace might be busy talking to the knights and masters throughout the length of the discussion about galactic affairs, and could inadvertently skim over his query.

All these doubts muttered in the Amaran’s mind as he walked down the hallway towards the designated room for the discussion, brisk claws making a cacophony of clicks on the floor as he hurried his pace. Sellah had sent him on to this discussion ahead of her. Now Ekerin aspired to catch the Grand Master before he had the potential to be thoroughly entrenched in discussion with other Jedi.

Turning a corner, the doorway to the room came into view, and a fleeting ghost-of-motion entering the room caught his eye. So it looked like he wouldn’t be the first one there, and he was early.

Ekerin sighed irritably and rubbed his head with a clawed hand before continuing into the meeting room.

There, he saw the immediately recognizable form of Carlando, the only Hutt in the temple, to his knowledge, and an amiable one given the species’ tendencies at that. He had helped Ecky navigate the archives not too long ago, while the Amaran was looking for information Sellah had asked him to find. Ekerin waved to him cheerfully.

The next group of occupants he noted was the small gaggle of younglings and other padawans off to the sides of the room, the ones he didn’t know by name. They were waiting quietly for… something? For Jace to start speaking or teaching, perhaps…

Their loss!

Ekerin grinned smugly, exposing his salient, pointed teeth, and loped closer to the figure of Jace standing in the center of the room, making sure to bow respectfully as he neared.

“Hello Grand Master Beleren, how are you?” The Amaran greeted crisply, genuinely curious as to how the Grand Master felt. Just how were Grand Masters supposed to feel anyways? Wise and powerful; all the time? “My name is Ekerin Tavres, apprentice to Sellah Bellae.” Ecky’s light blue eyes glinted with the fact that he had just engaged one of the strongest living force-users in conversation. It was a humbling notion, causing him to lose his train of thought for a moment. “Perhaps, maybe, I—ah, we” Ekerin corrected himself, as he gestured with a clawed hand around the room. “--could have a lesson in unarmed combat?”

Korriban. Recently his mind had been traveling back to his previous experience there. What an experience it was but sadly also a tragic one. One Jedi had lost his life, another had been horribly scarred, and all of them had to face terrible challenges within the tomb. All in all, Jace wouldn't have considered it one of his best outings, but then again he had had worse. He had initially intended to go to the harsh planet alone, but the council would not have it. They had agree that an expedition there could prove enlightening, but the potential dangers were also great.

But why?

Yes, it had been a formidable experience, but he had been through many of those. Jace believed that he was missing something, something from that day. The reemergence of the Sith, the war, there had to have been something that he had missed on Korriban. The Jedi went over every detail he could possibly remember, searching for that missing element. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. Jace truly believed that trip to Korriban was the catalyst to everything. Well not necessarily the catalyst, but definitely a significant event in this whole situation. He decided to leave such thoughts for later, it looked like his first guest had arrived.

The first to arrive was a rather unique being among those in the Temple, and that was saying something. His name soon came to the Jedi, Carlando was the young Hutt's name. The Hutt was soon followed by another colorful being, a young Nautolan. He was slightly surprised at the next person to arrive. Jazen, if he remembered correctly. Yes, his Master was quite the...unorthodox Jedi, it would be interesting to see what he had to say. Tem was the next to arrive, he was no stranger to Jace, for he had attended the Master's last class. Soon after him came the final arrival for the moment, a rather furry one at that too.

The Amaran was the first to approach Jace, he was eager like the others but mustered the courage to talk to Jace. The Grandmaster couldn't help but smile at the padawan's question. Unarmed combat. Well it was his area of focus afterall, indeed it had kept him alive for many years as a Shadow. More accurately, he had developed his unarmed skills to keep his cover and keep himself alive. Though his form of combat was a good deal more dangerous than standard Jedi techniques. All in all, he was glad to see that more of the younger Jedi had gathered. He hoped it would be much like his previous youngling class.

"Indeed young Tavres, I am sure we can fit a lesson in unarmed combat somewhere today" He responded with a smile "But first, we will begin with something simple"

Jace then turned to regard the rest who had gathered, no doubt they were wondering what would be planned for today. He knew they had their questions, and he would do his best to answer them.

"I thank those of you who have gathered here today. As you know, it has become quite hectic, not just here in the Temple but also throughout the entire galaxy. I know many of you have questions that you would like to ask, and I will do my best to answer them. I know many of you would like to train, and I will do my best to train you. First I want to start with a simple task, one which should be easy for you all.

I want each of you to recite the Code to yourself, and then after doing so, choose the line which is most important to you. Then tell those who are gathered here, which line is most important, and why you think so. Remember this is a simple exercise, it is not a test, there is no right or wrong answer. You need not contemplate the deepest levels of the Force but rather yourself. Now who would like to go first?"

It was a simple task. Jace had given the same task to his youngling class before. Every teacher had their own method of teaching, and this was Jace's. In truth, teaching was still a very new concept to him, having been isolated from the Order throughout his knight years. What this task did was help him understand those whom he was teaching. Through their answer, he could grasp their frame of mind. He didn't expect some long winded answer on the various subtleties of the Force. Jace just wanted to know where each person stood and how they viewed the Order.

Little Nissa walked calmly down the halls of the Jedi Temple, her black hair hanging obtrusively across the right side of her face. As she continued down the halls she made it a point to keep her face steady, pointing forward, this would allow her eyes to observe her surroundings yet her gaze would remain unnoticed. It was a habit she got into when she was very young and new to the Jedi Temple. When she was young her constant curiosity persuaded her to closely observe those around her, but the new environment made her wary of attracting attention. She continued to look out through the curtain of hair as she observed the people that passed. With great interest she watched the Jedi that shuffled by her through the hall. Her keen eyes picked up on everything within her view; whether big or small no details escaped her sharp eyes.

She rounded a corner into an empty hall and her eyes fixed themselves on the door at the other end. She knew well what would be on the other side. Grand Master Jace Beleren. She had heard much about him but never had the pleasure of meeting him. This was one of two reasons Nissa had for attending his class. The second reason was the vast amounts of knowledge that she was sure Jace would be able to bestow upon her and the others that would be attending. She was indeed eager to learn more about fighting, but over all she preferred knowledge over fighting.

As she approached the door she heard voices from within. She took a deep breath and hoped she hadn’t missed too much. Letting out the breath she entered the room. Her dark blue eyes darted around at the people before her in a manner that to some might appear like a sign of nervousness. But Nissa was surprisingly calm as she finished up her observations. Many that had already arrived appeared to be younglings, there were a few padawans but not many. As she scanned the room her eyes stopped for a moment on each person before her. A quick glance was all she needed from the humans, but her gaze lingered on a few of the others such as the Hutt and the Nautolan. She thought both the Hutt with his beautiful coloring and the Nautolan with his hair like tendrils were extremely intriguing. The unique often caught the young girl attention. The man in the center of the room had to be Jace, she was captivated by him and she stared up at him in aw. Jace had indeed already started the class for he has just finished speaking as she entered. She approached Jace and asked coolly “Am I late?”

With a slight movement of his long fingers he brought the lightsaber pike towards him as it gently floated through the air to his outstretched hand. Longingly a sigh escaped his mouth as he walked over towards his long cloak which was caught by a slight breeze as he pulled it up from the concrete floor underfoot. While he gazed out the window of the temple he saw thousands of people in one glance, and the force was abound in those figures which flitted upon the walkways, and inside the speeders in an attempt to get wherever it was they needed to be. It was about the time when Mordin himself would need to be gone from this place, to end his meditation and move onto the place wherein a lesson would be taught. The teacher was to be the Grandmaster, but even he had no idea what to expect in all of this, or what might become of it. There was a slight anticipation which bored itself into him as he thought about it now, for there would no doubt be something of note told during the whole thing. As the Padawan gathered his things he headed towards a nearby door, and left the room with the swoosh of the automatic door opener.

This hall was filled with people, and an aura which told stories of the light. Of the people who had walked down these tiles a million times, and the vision which they sought. It was the resonance lives long lost, but that vision which they saw was still realised to this day, and those people lived on through their actions. So was the story of the Force, a never ending tale as the universe tries to correct itself, and they their instruments. With a bold hand he brought the staff down upon the tiles of the floor with a click as he made his way through these old halls.

Soon he’d be amongst others which wished to learn, to grow upon the force, and progress was always a good thing, even if it was progress simply for its own sake. Now, though, a threat loomed on this galaxy, it gnashed at the heels of civilization, and threatened these people which call it home. Mordin saw this as the primary reason for this meeting, but his’ were not the ideals of every man, so it could only be pure conjecture what this would entail. Briskly he walked for fear of being late, for one did not simply miss something for being late, they also were simply rude. Manners were something most cultures saw as a good thing, and he tended to agree with them.

As he approached the door he could hear a faint voice, it sounded as if it wasn’t the Grandmaster’s, so he quickly stepped to the door and entered as quietly as he could. There were others there already; Ekerin, one of the few people he knew by name in here, and also a padawan was the one who had spoke. Most everyone here was padawan, actually, and he had seen the large hutt before, but only in passing, and it simply stuck out because one did not see a one of them very much in the halls of the Jedi. Once the padawan had spoken, the Grand Master began to speak to all of them, and proposed an exercise.

” I want each of you to recite the Code to yourself, and after doing so, choose the line which is most important to you,” Jace asked of them, as the Aquitan settled in amongst the others.

Quickly he ran through the verses of the Code: There is no emotion, there is peace… was its beginnings and slowly it went through those virtues which it stood for, those which it felt were necessary. These were the doctrine of the guardians which shaped the galaxy, and stood as a harbinger of that which is light. A girl came in at this time, but his mind had already been set to speak, and he would take this chance to step forward with his opinion before he was lost in an uproar.

With a slight step forward Mordin offered his own insight, ”All of us have a job, one instilled to us within these line. One which is greater than anyone here, and it manifests itself all over this galaxy through trillions of beings, Jedi, and normal sentience alike. It is to bring harmony to this Galaxy which we call home, and without it what are we but just another religion? There is no chaos, there is harmony it says, and with that one line it gives us a reality which to base ourselves. A purpose which to guide our actions. A means to stay within the light.”

Slightly the Padwan looked at the pike in his hand, and contemplated his own place within those word he himself spoke. For a second he looked back up as he finished, ”I believe we are all here for a purpose, and we simply the ones who have dedicated themselves to that purpose.” With that he was quiet once more, his opinion on the table, and the thoughts which were in his head spilled out for all to hear.

The Jedi Code - as Shii Cho was the basis of all lightsaber combat, These few lines were the absolute core of everything they learned - these few lines were the essence of what it meant to be Jedi.
Zuryyk began reciting them to himself, under his breath.

"There is no emotion, there is peace." A Jedi does not fall prey to his emotions, but faces them and learns to understand them.
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge." There is only so much one can learn from studying and poring over books - Zuryyk knew this from having spent hours doing exactly that on subjects that, as yet, he knew he could not master.
"There is no passion, there is serenity." This one Zuryyk had trouble with, as a Jedi should remain in complete control of his emotions. A flaw of Zuryyk's, though one he did not readily acknowledge - at least in public.
"There is no chaos, there is harmony." The Force flows through and connects all things - a lesson Zuryyk had finally learned not so long ago. Strangely, many of the texts Zuryyk had read omitted this line.
"There is no death, there is the Force." Death is an inherent part of life, and so not to be feared or regretted - all things die, but the Force is eternal.

He continued repeating them under his breath until one of the others spoke - a tall, gray-skinned humanoid, with pointed ears and a long neck.

"There is no Chaos," Zuryyk repeated once the other had finished, "There is Harmony."
He stepped forward.
"I think this, more than any other line, embodies what it is to be Jedi. The Force moves through all living things. That's true, but not just living things. Everything is connected by the Force. And things that seem disparate in fact are not - and it is because we understand this, or seek to, that we are Jedi."

He turned to face the Grand Master directly. "Master, I've wondered: Why is that line missing from some of the texts in the Archives about the Code? It seems so important."

Jazen waited quietly in his corner of the room as more guests arrived, glancing them over as they flowed in. The first to arrive after him was a youngling, whos bright red hair would make him stand out in a crowd. Next was another youngling, this one a Zabrak if Jazen had his species correct. This was followed by a young Amaran, a unique species to see within the temple. Because of the being's furry face, Jazen was unsure as to the age and gender of the newest arrival, but that quickly changed. Unlike the rest of them, this young Jedi went right up to the Grandmaster and requested what he wanted to learn during this lesson. Why hadn't he tried that? They waited for a few moments more to see if anyone else would come, then the Grandmaster decided it was time to start.

Jazen remained where he stood, listening intently each word that escaped the Grandmaster's lips. Jazen actually didn't have anything he wanted to ask the Grandmaster; he could always ask Locke later if he really wanted to know. And most of the things he might want to ask would most likely be asked by the others. Jazen had come to this class because he knew the topics would be many and varied and just by being part of the class, Jazen would learn. Having the Grandmaster teach them those things was an extreme added bonus.

At the Grandmasters suggestion, Jazen pulled to the forefront of his mind the Jedi code. There were actually two versions of the code, but Jazen suspected the Grandmaster wanted them to use the one they followed at this current time. There were five lines to that version of the code and Jazen ran through each line in his mind, thinking about how it applied to him and its importance.

There is no emotion, there is only peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. Each line had its own meaning depending on the person. But after much debating, Jazen turned his attention on the second line, the one concerning ignorance and knowledge. Jazen spent many of his free hours learning as much as he could, whether it be during sessions within the Jedi Archives or out of the streets around the temple itself. Jazen hated to admit it, but learning about another culture or the history of the Jedi Order sent powerful spikes throughout his body, much more so than fighting did. He still loved to train and spar, but he couldn't explain why obtaining knowledge made him feel so alive. And despite his short time with Locke, Jazen was learning just how deadly a weapon knowledge could be.

Another youngling entered the room while they were all thinking about Jace's question, and to Jazen's surprise, it was a young girl. It wasn't odd at all to see a female Jedi, but up until now all the participants of this class seemed to be male. Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later and Jazen merely shrugged off his initial surprise and went back to contemplating his answer. He was about to answer when another person entered the room, an Aquitan. Another rare species to see. The newcomer was quick to answer and Jazen held his tongue while he did, listening to him while he waited to unleash his own answer. When the Aquitan finished, Jazen stepped forward to speak.

"Greetings Grandmaster. In response to your question, I find that the second line of the code is the most important to me. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. My reasons for believing that are simple. If we, as Jedi, ran blindly towards every problem that arose within the galaxy, we would more than likely do more harm than good. If on the battlefield we drew our blades and charged headfirst into battle without a second thought, we would most likely fall.

Knowledge is what allows us to make the choices that shore away from these terrible outcomes. By learning about another culture, we learn how to act towards them so we don't accidentally offend them. By reading the battlefield before we take it, we find the way to overcome it with the least amount of violence. And by reading the situation before acting upon it, we can find the way that requires the least aggressive action. Like a Jedi should. There is a saying, I believe, that the mind is deadlier than any weapon. With Jedi, that saying becomes a fact rather than fiction. I believe in this line of the code and I spend every day filling my head with the knowledge that could someday save my life or the life of others. That is all."

Nissa watched and listened silently as the first padawan responded to the question given to the group. She listened to him and the padawan that followed with interest, the third young man caught her attention when he began speaking about ignorance and knowledge. She smiled and held back a giggle as a thought crossed her mind ‘knowledge is power… but ignorance can be such bliss’.

As he spoke she began to contemplate the code for herself. Going over each line in her head, as she was sure everyone else was doing the exact same thing. Her favorite line was and had always been ‘There is no passion, there is serenity.’ It always conjured up an image of a symbolic lake, as serene as the Jedi. As Jazen finished speaking Nissa, brushed her hair out of her face and stepped boldly up in front of Jace. In comparison Nissa was tiny when face to face with Jace but she looked up at him fearlessly and began to speak.

“There is no passion, there is serenity. Passion is like the ocean, with the waves and the storms you never know what’s coming, it’s chaotic and dangerous. Serenity is like a lake, calm and crystal clear. If you let your passion control you then you’re caught in the storm and waves of your own emotions with no way to control it. If you allow yourself serenity, then your thoughts will be like a lake, calm and crystal clear. In order to do our job the Jedi have to be able to think with a clear mind.”

As she finished her black hair fell back down into her face covering her deep blue eyes once again. She stepped back and took a spot next to Jazen as she waited for the others to reply.

Ekerin nodded quite contentedly at Jace with the latter's promise of training in unarmed combat, before stepping back to join the ranks of his peers. The Grand Master began to speak, and asked everyone present to recite what they believed to be the most important part of the code, and why it was so to them. A few others trickled into the class quietly, but the padawan’s mind was focusing already, and gleaned no specifics on the newcomers.

The Amaran's mind immediately went to the line, "There is no passion, there is serenity." and again considered what it meant to him, and his future time that would be spent training with Sellah Bellae. The Selonian had told him right from the get-go that she was passionate about her work as a Jedi, yet her presence in the light was unmistakable.

Causing a bit of a conundrum for the padawan…

Yet Jace's question still desired an answer. Fortunately, there were others already ready with their answers, buying Ekerin time to consider his own answer, and soon enough, it was his turn.

“There is no passion, there is serenity. This is the most important to me simply because it’s an attribute I have to work on.” The Amaran stated, russet tail flickering behind him anxiously. The other answers were so much better vocalized than his, and it tweaked a chord of envy in Ekerin, but he preferred straight-forward truth.

With a bit of time to spare now, he scanned around the room to take stock of who had just arrived. An Aquitan, with a lightsaber pike no less, a weapon Ekerin wasn’t very familiar with, and another younger human, in all likelihood probably still a youngling, female this time; his sensory memory recalled that she had answered before him.

After these musings he respectfully turned his attention back to Jace.

As soon as Carlando close his huge icy-blue eyes to meditate, the answer jumped to him. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. It was almost amusing how readily the Force seemed to be to accept him as its keeper of knowledge. Still, his mind wandered through the ethereal, reflecting on the aspects of the Jedi.

As he had done when he first met Ekerin, he thought of himself as a Guardian. Fighting on the front lines, along with countless other Jedi. He heard a far off, yet clear and firm voice remind him, Jedi are keepers of peace, not soldiers. He had not heard this voice before, but he agreed with it, whoever it was.

Taking in a deep breath and centering himself in reality again, he slithered forward a few paces, and spoke like the voice, firm and clear. "There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. We must always remember our past, whether we are proud or ashamed of it."

What an interesting bunch indeed

The faintest of smiles crossed the Grandmaster's face as he listened to each of the responses. Arrayed before him were beings of various species and each with their own perspective. It was one of the reasons that Jace felt the Jedi were truly great. They accepted any species, and no matter what others said, they allowed varied opinions and views. No wonder some Jedi focused on teaching, Jace discovered new things every time he did. It truly was a pleasure, especially considering recent events.

There had been some complex answers such as the Aquitan's, and simpler ones such as the Hutt's. None of them were wrong, for the Jedi Code held its own meaning for each person. The response that surprised Jace the most was the Amaran's. It was not every day that a Jedi openly admitted their faults. Pride was dangerous, and those who wielded the Force tended to be more susceptible to its nature. Every person had a certain sense of pride, it cannot completely be removed. It especially tended to be present in the younger Jedi who a little experience in seeing what being overly proud could lead to. Either way, Jace was rather impressed.

"A good question, young one. Just like many instances in history, things are forgotten and rediscovered. There are trends, it is the nature of the universe. The Code was established thousands of years ago, and then refined, and rewritten, and reread and so forth. Over the years things are omitted, others are added, it is the way of such things. Thus it happens even to such things as the Jedi Code, though the meaning itself is not lost over time."

Jace paused for a good minute after this, considering where to go next with this class. He had only come with a vague idea of what he wanted to do. There was the unarmed combat that the young Amaran had suggested, and indeed he planned on doing that eventually but not yet. Having padawans throw fists at each other might cloud some of their thoughts. He wanted them thinking before they started training. Indeed they should be thinking about that very punch they throw. Well if he didn't know exactly what to do, he would leave it up to those present.

"Alright, I know more than a few of here have some questions and possibly doubts they want clarified. You may have questions about the Republic, the Jedi, or even the nature of the Force itself. I leave the floor to you know, if you have something you would like to ask, then now is the time. Hopefully I can clarify some if not most of your doubts."

Things were easier this way, he didn't necessarily have to have a lesson but he could still teach. Jace was new to this, so he was still learning. One of these days he needed to get some tips from Vreem, but that seemed unlikely to happen anytime in the near future. Hopefully just as he had received interesting responses to his question, he would receive just as interesting questions.

{I wasn't kidding when I said Locke would drop by >.> I was just waiting for a proper time. He'll probably stay on the sidelines, though, I'm just trying to give this thread a proverbial kick in the pants}

Rumor had reached the ears of Locke Nemsee that Jace Beleren would be presiding over an informal gathering, to teach anyone that might be willing to listen. A little bit of sniffing around led the young Investigator to the conclusion that this rumor was true, in fact. How fortuitous that he held it today, he'd thought upon learning of it. As an Investigator, Locke often spent a great deal of his free time monitoring various sources of information to keep as up-to-date as possible on the dealings of the numerous nefarious organizations that plagued the Galaxy. Information was money in his world, and he worked hard to maintain his deep pockets. Of course, there was also the time he had to spend with Jazen, working to mold the boy into a proper Jedi--or as close to proper as a student of Locke's could become, anyway. Fortunately for Locke, his information gathering was done for the day and his work with Jazen wouldn't be until much later in the evening. That left him with a sizeable chunk of the day to spend as he wished.

How could he refuse?

And so as he walked down the halls, coat flaring out behind him from his brisk pace, leaving his blaster and lightsaber clearly visible on his waist. Locke hummed some tune he'd heard out on the streets of Nar Shadaa a few missions back, and his mind turned to the upcoming meeting with the Grandmaster. He'd never met Jace in person, but he knew of him. Everyone knew of him. He was wise and powerful surely, with years of experience that Locke did not have. Besides, it was always good to have chance to learn, right? A Knight Locke may have been, but he didn't think for a moment that it meant he was done learning. Far from it; if anything, his walk as a Jedi had only just begun.

It wasn't hard to find the room the meeting was taking place in. All Locke had to do was follow the Force, to the many signatures that were all gathered together in one of the larger training rooms. As he grew nearer, he felt one that vastly outshone the others. That could only be Jace. The other signatures (along with a very familiar one that could only be Jazen) were weaker, and seemed to point to padawans or younglings, or perhaps a mix of those ranks. Hardly surprising. What other group might be more eager to learn from a master like Jace than the youths that filled the Temple?

Locke didn't enter immediately. No, the nosy Investigator waited near the door first, trying to see if he could listen in on what was going on. As far as he could tell, Jace was offering the gathered students a chance to ask him questions. Locke smiled, expecting a tidal wave of sound to erupt from them, but he heard nothing. His brow furrowed, and he held his breath, wondering if the sound of his breathing, quiet though it was, had been covering them up. Nope. Nothing but silence. Well, perhaps they were contemplating a question to ask? Or maybe they were playing the 'wait until someone else speaks up' game. Either way, the silence probably wouldn't last long, so he took the opportunity to head in before he'd be interrupting something.

Locke stuck his hands in the pockets of his long coat and moved, opening the doors with a gentle nudge of the Force. "Or maybe you could ask Jace here about what we hide from you in the sections of the archives that are off-limits to younglings and padawans?" he said warmly as he strode into the room. His eyes swept over the group that had gathered, and he spotted Jazen near-instantly. Also present were a few human children he didn't know, an Amaran he didn't know, a Zabrak and a Nautolan, both of whom were unfamiliar to him, and a Hutt, of all things. There was also a youth from some species he didn't recognize. Still, he offered them all a nod of greeting, and then he looked to the man that stood at the head of the group--the man who could only be the Grandmaster.

Locke offered the same friendly nod of his head to the Grandmaster that he gave the younger members, and grinned. "Pleasure to meet you in person, Jace. I'm Locke Nemsee, Knight and Sentinel." Locke made a point not to note that he was an Investigator. There was a saying among the Investigators, in that only other Investigators and the Council needed to know who the Investigaotrs were. Jazen knew, of course, since he was Locke's student, and he trusted the other students, but still, he did as he was told.

He spoke to Jace the same way he spoke to every other member of the order, in that he did not attach a title to his name. Of course, Locke had a great deal of respect for the man, but titles were something he didn't do. They were all brethren as Jedi, and he had a feeling that some (not all) members that were higher up in the ranks got a bit too attached to the honorific that came with the position, even though it wasn't the title that made them Jedi. Sure, he'd gotten scolded for it before, but it didn't faze him.

"So come on, kiddos," he said wryly as he turned back to the children gathered before the Grandmaster, "surely there's something you have to ask Jace? You can't imagine the opportunity you have here with him before you." With that, he moved back to the side of the room and leaned against the wall. He'd stay out of the way and observe. After all, it wasn't his class. But one of the students needed to speak up, or Locke certainly would.

Silence had drifted into the room after Jace had asked for more questions. Since Ekerin had recently asked about unarmed combat training, and it was still first and foremost in his mind, he had sat back to let someone else pose a query. Blue eyes flickered up to look at the patterned ceiling as he folded furred arms across his chest.

While patience and maturity were two of the Amaran's most notable characteristics in his usual behavior, meeting the Grand Master wasn't exactly usual. Ekerin had questions to ask; not little things, not to him, they were important questions, and he was going to ask them in a moment if no one else piped up.

With an anxious glance around the room, Ekerin took in the Nautolan, the Zabrak, Carlando, both humans, and the Aquitan, scanning to see if any looked ready to break the silence. He found the results of such a scan to be unhelpful in his decision-making process, and prepared to ask another question, but before the first words could make it out of his muzzle, a Knight waltzed in through the doors, wielding edged sarcasm.

He used his weapons without discrimination on those younger than him, and Ekerin, one who fully intended to make good use of the Grand Master’s time, was stung by his words, and the conceited way the Knight seemed to just settle into the back of the class after that.

Stung enough to get irritated.

Stung enough to say something.

Ekerin’s parry was subtle. “I have a question, Grand Master Jace.”

His riposte was not. “Who let this arrogant moron into class?”

Suddenly the room was encroached as everyone began to speak at once, and the Aquitan was slightly embarrassed to be the one to suddenly bring about such an onslaught of commotion. With a slight sigh he sort of tried to stay out of the commotion for now, not really giving any more insight into the matter as his mind drifted away from the scene at hand. Of course at first he’d paid attention to whatever the others said, but now his mind was easily distracted from all of this talk for it held very little interest in the young Jedi. Upon his lap he rest his pike, it balanced perfectly so as to allow him to place his elbows on each side of it, and lean forward with his hand placed on his chin. With a distant look he sat there, and waited for the entire situation to move onto something more exciting. He’d come here in hopes to learn something dedicated towards better success in the war, not to talk idly. Mordin had no doubt that Jace knew what he was doing, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy with it. For while the Padawan did not agree with the war he knew it was a necessary evil, and from that perspective it could almost be considered good. While it led to death, it prevented billions if not trillions of innocents from being persecuted, and dying under the Sith.

All of a sudden he realized the entire room had become incredibly quiet, and he looked around to see that all the other people in here seemed to be waiting for something. Perhaps they waited for someone to say something, or Jace to demonstrate something, or worse for Mordin to answer something. With a choked gaze he roved his eyes around this room, his face probably a slightly paler shade of gray than it had been earlier. Luckily no one seemed to look at him in particular; perhaps the Amaran had glanced by him for a second, but he seemed to be the only one doing much of anything. A single sigh of relief came from his mouth as he relaxed a little bit, and in the meantime a man walked into the room with an aura of trouble about him.

The Aquitan’s already slightly upturned nose wiggled a bit as he looked at him, and his tail flickered a bit as he spoke. Perhaps the words were meant to be helpful, but it wasn’t so much that as what happened next which made him jitter a bit. After the person who looked to be a human talked, a voice came from those around him, and he turned to see the Amaran talking. Both of his ears turned slightly forward as he listened to the fairly curt beckon of Jace’s attention. Then came the next sentence, and a slight chuckle escaped Mordin’s lips which he could not help but to control. While his words might have been a bit abrasive the Aquitan couldn’t help but be amused, and mentally gave the young canine-like creature props for his bold nature.

When he’d first stepped in he’d heard something about unarmed combat, and the ‘things they didn’t tell padawans and younglings’ might have been a subtle hint towards him teaching them about such things. ”Is he here to teach us about unarmed combat as your partner, Grand master?” Asked the Padawan with a slightly mocking tone to his voice, for he didn't think Jace's partner would have a very fun lesson.

While Mordin heavily doubted that was their intent, it might lead them to the lesson, which would please the Aquitan greatly.