First Steps on a New Path {Invite}

[Rugs]

Locke Nemsee sometimes found himself wondering if he was going crazy.

After all, here he was in the Jedi Temple, about to do something he honestly never thought that he would do. He was going to take on a padawan. Another one.

Time were getting hard for the Order, and there seemed to be a shortage of Knights and Masters willing or able to take on students, what with the looming war and all, so the Council had decreed that any Knight or Master that was willing to could take on up to two students under their wing. Locke had thought that would be a great idea. For Jedi other than him. But no, here he was, about to bring in another under his tutelage. Locke shook his head at that as he rounded a corner and stepped out into a small courtyard. Perhaps it was the will of the Force. Or perhaps he really was crazy. Whatever it was, it was too late to do anything but run with it now.

He stopped in a small courtyard and sat down on a little bench under a tree that grew near the middle of the open space. Then, he reached into the satchel he almost always had with him in the Temple and pulled out a dossier on the youngling he'd be taking on. Adrian Swade, his name was, and already he'd had a rather dark life, especially for one so young. Locke shook his head, slightly. A pity, that. But the past was past, and they'd be moving forward together now, along with Jazen, Locke's first apprentice. Locke smiled at the thought of Jazen. At first, he'd been terrified to take on a student, but he'd grown to like Jazen a lot. He was a good kid, and he'd make a good Jedi one day. I wonder where he is, Locke thought. He'd told Jazen they'd have another student joining them, but he didn't know where his padawan was at the moment. I'm sure he'll show up eventually.

But now it was time to wait. The courtyard was empty save for him, and it was the meeting place that had been assigned. Adrian would arrive shortly. And from there, they'd see how things unfolded.

[Timbrell]

((Personal thoughts in purple, Adrian's speech in orange))

Elated at finding a master, Adrian made his way to the meeting place with a spring in his step. His endless avoidance of other younglings and those that were his age had finally paid off and he silently pumped his fist as he walked, knowing that he may not have to interact with these awkward beings ever again. He had been informed from one of the shadier characters of the temple however that he may have to talk to at least one of them again as the master he was meeting had already taken a padawan and that he would be his second. This didn't worry Adrian that much though, he knew he had swapped a group of awkward younglings for a single padawan, a rather positive exchange.

His thoughts turned darker though as he made his way closer to the meeting place. He wondered how he would get along with his new found master as he wasn't the easiest to talk to neither was he very courteous to those he interacted with. These thoughts were blown away from his mind, when he thought of the advantages that related to the apprenticeship. He would learn to use the force in a more powerful way and that for Adrian was enough to convince him that what he was doing was right. Needless to say, Adrian's attention span was fairly poor and he had trouble concentrating on any of these thoughts for very long due to his excitement at his upcoming meeting with his future master.

No-one around - great! Feeling nauseous, it'll pass. This is my chance to escape from those meaningless endless drills! I don't see him or her. Don't know much about him or her. Better be cautious in approach.

The thoughts swirled around Adrian's head which as a side effect made him miss the details of everything around him but it kept him focused on his specific task - evasion. He didn't want his future master to see him before Adrian caught sight of him as to give himself time to prepare an adequate approach that would please his master and himself.

At the courtyard, he chose to hide behind a nearby tall object and look out from behind it. His hands were pretty clammy from excitement and his heartbeat raced at the concept of being seen by anyone before he wanted to be seen. Adrian's head peeked out from behind the tall object, noticing that no-one was in range of being seen but upon closer inspection, he sighted a silouette next to a tree in the open space. Maneuvering into a better position from the tall object, he finally set his eyes upon his future master. Pleased with what he looked like and satisfied with the approach plan he had devised, he cooked up the courage to take action.

With a confident set of footsteps, he walked over to the man on the bench and bowed before him, awaiting a response.

[Rugs]

Locke continued to wait, tapping his hand against his leg impatiently as he looked around the courtyard for his student-to-be. He was here, that much was for certain; Locke could sense his presence. But where was here? Hiding, is he, the Investigator thought as his stone grey eyes swept back and forth over the courtyard around him. Interesting...

But he could be patient, so he waited on the boy to show himself. And it wasn't long before he did show himself. He walked out to Locke and bowed and Locke stood and returned the gesture; an oddly polite thing for him to do. The boy was short, a little over a foot shorter than Locke was, but he was young; twelve years old, according to his dossier. That's the same age I was taken at, Locke thought back with a sudden burst of nostalgia. He could sense things within the boy, though above it all, there was an unmistakable layer of excitement. Understandable. After all, what youngling-turned-padawan didn't look forward to meeting their new master? It was an exciting time, and the point where their first real steps onto the path that they'd follow for the rest of their lives were taken.

The Force help them both, this boy was stuck with Locke to guide him.

But Locke would do the best he could. After all, his own master had been much like he was, and he'd turned out alright. Right? Well, regardless, Jazen was coming along just fine, and Adrian would, too. Locke would make sure of that.

"So then," he said, looking over the boy. "I am Locke Nemsee, as you may know. And you are Adrian Swade, unless someone on the Council decided to play a joke on me..." He sat down again, motioning for Adrian to take a seat next to him. "For the next few years, we'll be spending a lot of time together. We'll train, go on missions... You'll learn from me, but I'll also learn from you." After all, the process of raising a student up in the ways of a Jedi involved learning on the master's part as much as it did on the student's. "And it is my hope that, when all is said and done, you'll be a fine Jedi and an asset to the Order we both serve." Or at least good enough to not be a liability, he thought sarcastically, but it wasn't the time for his snideness. Not yet, anyway. No, now was the time for Locke to be a good boy.

"I have another student. His name is Jazen Solari. You'll see him soon enough, I'm sure. You can't miss him. He's got hair white enough to be an Echani. He's about... four years older than you, and a good kid. I think you'll both get along just fine." He smiled softly to himself and looked to Adrian. "But that's enough rambling from me. Tell about yourself, Adrian. Your dreams, your aspirations... what you had for breakfast..." Locke's eyes twinkled with mirth for a moment. "Things like that."

[Timbrell]

Adrian began showing the preliminary symptoms of fatigue as he bowed. His thoughts slowed down to a crawl, his heart ceased bouncing up and down like a wild animal and he struggled to maintain eye contact with the man in front of him. He was returning to normal. His normal self being rather placid and a bipedal sloth. Words from Locke's mouth would surely garner his attention for a little while longer but he could not delay the inevitable. He had to catch his breath at some point and he refused to do it in front of his master. Adrian's body jerked slightly at being spoken to with the following words:

“So then, I am Locke Nemsee, as you may know and you are Adrian Swade, unless someone on the Council decided to play a joke on me.”

Adrian was not the sharpest tool in the box so the thought of him not being Adrian Swade immediately hit his head like a tonne of bricks. A droplet of sheepish sweat trickled down from his forehead as he finally realized what Locke had actually said, however the sheepishness he felt quickly melted away a second later by the invitation to sit down. Adrian finally regained his composure from sitting down and began to await what Locke would say next. The thought occurred to him that he didn't actually know what being a Padawan was about, even though he had always craved for a master to free him from the other younglings. He was pleased to hear the following words come from Locke's mouth however that relieved his doubt:

"For the next few years, we'll be spending a lot of time together. We'll train, go on missions... You'll learn from me, but I'll also learn from you."

Train. This word made an instant impression upon Adrian. His lifelong goal to enhance his knowledge of the force was coming true. The disturbing part of this however was that Adrian had no good-will in his heart, at least not yet anyway. He saw, using the force as something to benefit him, rather than the sentient beings around him, a rather selfish goal but one that has never been set right by anyone. After taking a few moments to digest the meaning of this word and letting loose a small smile at the thought of this, he returned to the rest of the statement.

The next word that made an impact, albeit a lesser one was: 'missions'. Adrian tilted his head slightly at hearing the word, he didn't quite know what to make of it. He wanted to leave the temple but he didn't know that there would be missions involved that would take him outside the temple and for a split second; he had the feeling that he didn't want to leave. These thoughts quickly left his head as while he was getting comfortable with the routine, his urge to flee from the other younglings was a very powerful feeling that trumped any positives that the temple offered.

After taking this in, Adrian saw from his master's face that he was going to elaborate on what he just said so he kept his set of questions under lock and key until Locke was finished. A few seconds later, Locke continued with his speech:

“And it is my hope that, when all is said and done, you'll be a fine Jedi and an asset to the Order we both serve.”

Adrian subconsciously nodded when this was said before he even digested what was said. He thought about the Jedi order for a moment. He saw Locke in front of him, a distinguished man in the order and sighed inwardly without making an audible sound. The Jedi order really did sound agreeable to him. His thoughts stopped dead at the sound of 'serve' running through his mind again. His thoughts soon returned, darker than before.

Serving. Serving. Serving. I don't want to serve. Slavery? Slave. I want to be equal. I want to control.

These dark thoughts failed to pass quickly and his eyes glazed up as he thought deeply about that word. This was the first time he was told he was serving an order. Before this, he always thought of the Jedi temple as a sort of orphanage for gifted children and this eventually would turn into a way of life for the adults who chose to remain. These preconceptions were turned on their head at this revelation. He was serving something larger than himself and he didn't like it one bit. However, his thoughts then lightened up at the thought of his master serving as well and so he would have someone to share his pain at serving with. His eyes returned to normal as he recovered from that massive bombshell and he again noticed that Locke was about to say something else.

"I have another student. His name is Jazen Solari. You'll see him soon enough, I'm sure. You can't miss him. He's got hair white enough to be an Echani. He's about... four years older than you, and a good kid. I think you'll both get along just fine. But that's enough rambling from me. Tell about yourself, Adrian. Your dreams, your aspirations... what you had for breakfast... Things like that.”

The student news was not new to him and he had already deliberated to himself that he didn't mind having someone else alongside him. Adrian's mind paid very little attention to the description that was given for Jazen and he instead focused on the question that would illicit a response from him. His mind thought over the different aspects of the question that was asked.

Dreams. Becoming a powerful force user. Aspirations. To become a powerful force user. Breakfast. Breakfast. Oh, breakfast. I wont say anything about that.

Adrian was very shallow with his dreams and aspirations but his common sense knew that he shouldn't say anything about becoming powerful. Instead, he said something that would be deemed slightly unsettling from a Jedi's point of view.

”I dream about my mother and my father. My mother was killed. My father showed me the force for the first time. I don't know how. As-p-ira-tions. Aspirations. To follow you and... Um... Use the force.”

Being a 12 year old, 'aspirations' was quite a difficult word for Adrian to get right but he eventually said it with confidence after the first attempt. The words afterwards were difficult but Adrian believed he had covered up what he was thinking pretty well. He also didn't know that Jedi could read his mind so covering up what he thought with something else would likely be thought of as deception.

Adrian looked up again, after losing his focus and continued with:

“What is your role? My mother was a doctor. Are we only Jedi? Do we have other things to do?”

Adrian's questions were pretty primitive but fairly clear. His pale jade eyes looked up at Locke with a yearning for information. He especially wanted to know about serving but that would likely be a difficult subject.

[Rugs]

Locke watched the boy with interest as he spoke, and opened up his senses as he tried to get a better feel for what Adrian was like. As he'd found earlier, over everything, there was the unmistakable layer of excitement and eagerness, but there certainly had to be more to the boy than that. He noted a slight spike in the boy's eagerness when he spoke of training. That was also understandable enough. It was an exciting thing, to be free of the youngling classes and under the guidance of a master, who would teach things that the youngling instructors did not.

So far, it had been much as he expected. But he was in for a bit of a surprise. When he mentioned serving the Order, he could vaguely feel something with in the boy change, just a bit. His emotions got different... darker, perhaps. Strange... Locke thought, and made a mental note of it. Although, perhaps there wasn't much to it. Maybe he'd misread, or perhaps the boy wasn't paying attention and was thinking on other things. Time would tell, certainly.

Locke's eyebrows lifted a bit when Adrian bluntly told him of his mother's death. And the news of his father was certainly unexpected. So was his father a Jedi, then? Perhaps one that left the Order for one reason or another? The Force forbid he was a Dark Jedi... Again, though, such thoughts would have to wait 'til later. The young Investigator chuckled lightly when Adrian stumbled through 'aspirations,' but he said nothing of it. Adrian was young, and he'd learn as he grew. Again, he sensed that something was off when Adrian told him that his aspiration was to follow him and to use the Force. Is he hiding something? Locke's brow furrowed ever-so-slightly as he pondered. Perhaps he's just nervous? Whatever it was, it seemed there'd be more to young Adrian than met the eye. These next few years would be interesting.

A smile grew on Locke's face at Adrian's final question. "Why, yes," he said, "we play a number of roles as Jedi. I myself have a specialized role as an Investigator, and there are other roles within the Order much like it. There are also those that heal others, or handle diplomatic missions..." Locke paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, and then had an idea. He reached out a little more with his senses toward Adrian--not intrusively, but gently--to try to prepare to get a better grasp on the boys reaction as he started to speak again. "But above all else, it is our duty to serve and to safeguard the Republic and her people. That is what the Order exists for, and that is what we do, in all things."

He nodded at that as he turned his head back to look at the young boy again. "And what, I don't get to know what you had for breakfast?" he asked with false sorrow in his voice before laughing lightly and ruffling Adrian's hair. "Nah, I'm kidding, I'm kidding... But here's a question for you. You know about the Force, obviously, else you wouldn't be here. But what is it to you?" He paused, thinking of a way to perhaps phrase the question so that Adrian might better grasp it. "What I mean is, when you think of the Force, in all of it's vastness, what do you think of? What purpose does it have to you, if that makes any sense..."

[Timbrell]

Adrian was fairly unhappy at himself for not conveying his feelings adequately across but he also knew that his true feelings were not feelings that he had been showing throughout his stay at the Jedi Temple. Others knew him to be passive and unresponsive but as he had demonstrated in the last few minutes, he was lively and active in front of those he liked and his feelings were well hidden. A sinister need for attention in front of those he passively manipulated, while downplaying the attention from those he didn't need. A trait of his father. A twisted meshing of his father's manipulation tactics and his mother's passiveness - colliding together to create Adrian's twisted personality.

Mind you, Adrian knew that he had passively attained attention from the highest levels within the temple. He just had an impulse that eyes were on him and that he was under heavy scrutiny. This scrutiny also played a sinister part of his longing to leave the younglings behind. His thoughts quickly drifted to his mother's death and whether those around him could sense that his father had been a part of it. He ceased to dwell on these thoughts as soon as Locke's was exhibiting signs that he knew what Adrian was thinking. Adrian was still unaware that the Jedi could read his thoughts but subconsciously, he felt as if he was being watched, the same kind of sensation that he subconsciously felt in the temple as he walked by some prominent Jedi.

Adrian's mind was then interrupted from this strange feeling by words from Locke:

"Why, yes, we play a number of roles as Jedi. I myself have a specialized role as an Investigator, and there are other roles within the Order much like it. There are also those that heal others, or handle diplomatic missions..."

Investigator. This word was powerful enough within Adrian's mind to make him twitch his face without his knowledge. He had heard all about the investigation into his mother's death. He didn't really care any more though, the last, first and only words of his father to him numbed the pain in a twisted manner. In his view; she had annoyed his father in some way so she suffered the consequences of doing it. After a short while of thinking about the long tiresome investigation into his mother's death that proved fruitless, his thoughts were interrupted by what Locke had to say next.

"But above all else, it is our duty to serve and to safeguard the Republic and her people. That is what the Order exists for, and that is what we do, in all things."

Adrian's face twitched at hearing the word: 'serve' again. His thoughts were fixed on that word and his thoughts skipped along the sentence like a stone being thrown into a pond.

Serve. 'Safeguard' Safeguard. 'Republic' Republic? 'Order exists for' Order exists for serving and safeguarding the Republic. Order exists and safeguards the Republic. So serving is not slavery? Serving is to assist with safeguarding? No. Safeguarding the Republic, involves being a slave for the Republic. Slavery to an ideal. Slave to the force to keep the Republic safe.

Adrian nodded at the same time Locke nodded. The thoughts were very quick to process, a very quick-fire way of thinking about things. His idea of slavery had come about from his brief glimpses into the force, when he was five years old. He saw people chained to the force. A very abstract dream that painted everyone into rainbow colours, with rainbow cuffs around their wrists. The dream whispered something about slavery still being slavery, even if the situation's bright. While Adrian had forgotten many of the details about the dream, the last message from the dream was clear within him. His curiosity about the Republic grew but before he could say anything, his pale jade eyes had picked up that Locke was about to say something else so he stayed silent.

"And what, I don't get to know what you had for breakfast?"

Adrian's mood lightened towards Locke. Adrian mustered a weak smile before his hair was ruffled and he had to take a moment to recompose himself. Nobody had done that before to him but instinctively, he knew it was a light-hearted gesture so paid it little attention while maintaining his weak smile. His face twitched once again but this time in eagerness to ask something about the Republic. Once again, his urge to ask something was rebuffed by the actions of Locke, who proceeded to follow on with a serious question.

"Nah, I'm kidding, I'm kidding... But here's a question for you. You know about the Force, obviously, else you wouldn't be here. But what is it to you?"

Adrian processed the idea in his head but he wasn't quite sure what Locke was asking. He blankly thought to himself: The force is the force to me. A powerful unseen creature. Before Locke cleared up what he had said, he thought back to the hallucination of hitting an animal with a vibroblade. The mere thought of describing the force as a creature, brought the memories back to him and surprisingly, he once again felt the energy come back to him as he looked a little drained before, when Locke was talking about serving and safeguarding. Something about that waking dream always reinvigorated him. Something he did right. Something that someone was proud of him for. He felt appreciated and immediately felt a new appreciation for the man sitting next to him. Locke then elaborated on what he originally asked.

"What I mean is, when you think of the Force, in all of it's vastness, what do you think of? What purpose does it have to you, if that makes any sense..."

Enhancement. Teacher told me that. Enhancement of abilities. Enhancement of my own abilities. Foreseeing. Teacher told me that too. Foreseeing events of the future. Freeing those enslaved. Animal. Animal!

"I think of a wild animal. A wild animal with powerful jaws and a long tongue. A jaw for hurting those who need to be hurt. A tongue for helping those who need to be helped. Fore-see-ing where people are, so I can break their chains, so I can free them from slavery."

Adrian was amazed at his thoughts and what he had actually said. He didn't even mention enhancing his own abilities, instead, he was extroverted. He said he wanted to help people. Something strange from someone who usually ignored those around him. The dream swayed him into this line of thinking and he chose to picture the force as an animal. The same type of animal that walked over to him in the hallucination. This time, he didn't attack it, he chose to portray it's body as the force. He had very limited knowledge on what he had done but this was a step in a bold new direction. He also noted that he had trouble pronouncing: 'foreseeing' but this was a minor issue compared to the feeling he had inside. He had changed.

Adrian didn't feel it was necessary to say anything else. What he had said was enough in his eyes and he felt like he couldn't say anything else. The feeling of freedom enveloped his senses after a while however and his pale jade eyes eventually were able to look at the man next to him again. Adrian breathed a sigh of relief. A major obstacle had been overcome and he now looked to Locke for opinions on his answer.

[Rugs]

Locke continued to watch Adrian as he spoke, looking for any signs that might give him a bit more insight into what the boy's personality was like. From what he could tell, the boy seemed to be on the soft-spoken, quiet end of the spectrum, but who could say for sure? Locke was far from soft-spoken, and he'd acted much the same as Adrian was now when he'd first met his master all those years ago. Wait, all those years ago, he thought. I'm twenty-six! I'm not that old! Not yet... Anyway, back to Adrian...

The young boy's face twitched when Locke mentioned that he was an Investigator. That was certainly interesting, though Locke didn't know what the reason for it could be. Perhaps Adrian had met one earlier in his life? Interesting... But there was no use to be had in guessing about it, at least not right now. No, he had to watch and pay attention to Adrian as things unfolded. Especially since he was moving into talking about serving once again...

There it was.

Adrian's face twitched. It was small, and someone else may not have noticed it, but Locke's line of work as an Investigator had taught him to look for subtleties in people's expressions, and he'd seen it. That's really quite interesting, Locke thought. As far as he knew, the idea of being the guardians of the galaxy was quite appealing to most younglings, but Adrian's reactions every time he said the word 'serve' perhaps gave indication that perhaps the opposite was true for him. But what could be the reason for that? Or am I putting too much thought into this? Locke could try to push deeper into Adrian's mind if he wished; at this point, the boy's mental defenses probably weren't that strong. But he would not. He could not. Not to his own student. That had the potential to ruin any sense of trust the two might have--an essential element for a master/padawan relationship--and there was no telling what would happen in the Council found that he'd tried to force his way into his student's mind to see what was there. But by the Force, why was there that sudden darkening in Adrian's emotions at the mention of serving the Republic? Locke would have to find out with time. And change Adrian's opinion on the matter, if he could.

Locke awaited Adrian's answer to his question with some degree of eagerness. It was always interesting to hear other people's views on such things. And it would certainly be a lie to say that Adrian's response wasn't... interesting. Locke Nemsee, what have you gotten yourself into this time, he thought flatly. This kid is off his rocker. The Knight was careful to keep his face as blank as he could, but that response was really quite unexpected. "I see...," he said slowly, as his mind raced to find a way to respond to Adrian that wasn't rude. Apparently, he'd have to keep being 'good master' Locke. "Well, then I guess I'll tell you what it is to me..." Locke's gaze went distant for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "Well, it's like a river, I suppose. It's vast beyond imagination, and all of us are within it, surrounded by it. And we are all guided by it to where it would choose to send us. . Though perhaps some of us are more submerged in it than others, and affected more strongly by its deeper currents... " He laughed softly as he looked at Adrian out of the corner of his eye. "Just go with it, I'm not really the best person with these kinds of things... Of course, I suppose we could fight against its will, or even try to control it," he shook his head slightly, "but that's not something that ever really works out in the end." Locke thought on that for a minute in silence. He didn't really know if that made any sense at all, but it was the closest thing to what he imagined in his head. Oh well.

His attention returned to Adrian and he thought about what the boy had said. These next few years would be interesting, that was for sure. Adrian was certainly interesting, at least. Locke glanced up into the Coruscanti sky, which was starting to take on the brilliant oranges and reds of evening. What next, I wonder... Ah! The usual preferences questions. "So tell me this, Adrian," he said. "How much do you know about handling a lightsaber, or of wielding the Force? Do you have any preferences for what you might want to learn as your training progresses?" Not the most exciting of questions, but it would be information Locke would need to know to better get an idea of where Adrian was and how to go forward with his instruction.

[Timbrell]

With his concentration slipping, Adrian was now mumbling under his breath about slavery and rainbows, clearly he was having issues coping with these two extreme ideas. He looked up at Locke who was to Adrian: quite a blank picture in terms of the expression on Locke's face. Adrian actually felt quite embarrassed now. He only just realized the true extent of what he had said. Feeling the sweat again, Adrian decided that he would try to answer normally instead of talking about his dreams which to him were very real but by the expression or the lack of expression on his master's face told him that the level of understanding was limited to one's self.

Disenchanted slightly at the lack of recognition of these dreams. Adrian didn't know what a river was so the analogy of what the force was like was wasted on him.

River? Submerged? Strength. The force is a strength. What is a river? It likely means strength. Yes. Strength.

Locke's speech about the force had been totally twisted by Adrian in his mind. After having previous experience of removing the thoughts from his mind and concentrating on the present, he was able to not tune out completely. This enabled him to hear Locke continue with his speech.

"Just go with it, I'm not really the best person with these kinds of things... Of course, I suppose we could fight against its will, or even try to control it, but that's not something that ever really works out in the end."

Control. This was a word that Adrian loved to hear and it precipitated the same kind of response as the word: 'investigator' and 'serve' did - it made him twitch. This twitch however was different from the usual sort however as he was fairly aware of it happening. A physical longing for control. He fought for control over his pain when he was being beaten by his father, he fought for control when he saw his mother die. He knew the word: 'control' more intimately than any other word and he hungered for that feeling emotionally. Thinking back to the previous part of Locke's speech he thought about fighting the will of the force. Adrian thought about fighting the will of the force and whether the force was responsible for having his mother killed. The next moment however, he rationalized it - knowing that it was his father that did it. Not that he blamed him for doing it.

Wiping these thoughts from his mind yet again, he didn't notice he was breathing much heavier than usual. He had become emotionally charged in the moment, thinking about control. A dark impulse but mainly misguided in the way he thought about it. After all, every sentient being needs to take control over their lives - Adrian just felt the urge to control his life and the force a little stronger than the average soul. Adrian's composure returned after a short while of looking around him and he admired nightfall, for it had always helped him meld away from his troubles. After controlling his emotions and again taking into full account who he was sitting next to, he re-affirmed his interest in Locke by looking back at him. Adrian sat still and waited for what Locke had to say.

"So tell me this, Adrian, how much do you know about handling a lightsaber, or of wielding the Force? Do you have any preferences for what you might want to learn as your training progresses?"

Lightsaber. No! No lightsaber training. Please! It was enough of a challenge in the temple. I shall tell him that I need no lightsaber training. Maybe he will think I no longer need training with a lightsaber if I tell him that I lost my training lightsaber. I do want to learn about the force though. I'll tell him about my interest in that.

"I wish... I wish I could run faster! I wish I could become invisible to hide from those that stalk me! Yes, stalk me. To cast ill-us-ions more powerful than the ones I know now! To create an image like myself to distract others from seeing the real me. Lightsaber is just a weapon, yes? A tool. I don't have a lightsaber at the moment anyway. I-I-I lost it somehow. I didn't like the lightsaber drills. I couldn't defend myself properly. They say... They say I'm the worst in the class with a lightsaber. I don't need one, right?"

Taken aback at his own enthusiasm, he went silent for a moment and didn't really give Locke a chance to respond to what he just said before standing up from the bench and facing away from Locke but not moving away yet. Adrian immediately flew into a crying frenzy, a rather odd thing to do for a twelve year old boy to do but he couldn't help it. His arms flapped and his legs shook violently as he stood up. Adrian was deeply upset. He felt as if he had embarrassed himself too much in the eyes of his master. All the dark thoughts within Adrian melted away as he stood there and wept. His crying intensified at hearing his own words again. He had lost control and he didn't like it one bit. Half way through crying he said something that was what he wanted all along:

"I-I-I want to leave this place, leave this world. Take me somewhere far away, I don't want to stay here any more. I want to leave. Leave this place. Leave it!"

He cried his words out and they were barely understandable, aside from his angry outburst at the end. Adrian had lost control again.

[Rugs]

There it was again.

That twitch.

Interesting, Locke thought, and not for the first time. It had happened around the word 'control' this time, so perhaps there was something to be had there. The kid certainly didn't have the best poker face, but then again, he was twelve. Are they intentional, I wonder? Or are they all happening subconsciously? More things that would probably be made clearer in the coming days and weeks, but they'd certainly give Locke things to think on once all was said and done with this first meeting.

He noted that Adrian's breathing had suddenly become much heavier, like the kid had just finished sprinting throw the halls a moment ago. But he hadn't. Adrian had been sitting on the bench, right next to Locke. Hardly strenuous activity. So why then, would Adrian suddenly be breathing so hard? Locke could feel... something off with his emotions, but he couldn't say what that something was.

And then the lightsaber question came.

It had been such an innocent question! Locke didn't think it'd set off what came next. First there was the immediate spike of trepidation at the mention of lightsabers, which threw Locke for a loop. And then Adrian started going on about how he didn't want to learn how to use a lightsaber; no he wanted to be fast, and to use the Force to make illusions to keep others from seeing the real him. Then Adrian launched out into all of these reasons--excuses, in Locke's mind--about why he didn't need to learn about lightsaber combat. Locke was about to respond when the child suddenly got up and went to stand in front of Locke with his back facing him. Something was rising up within Adrian, and Locke's brow creased as a worried expression broke out on his face. "Adrian, " he called out to him, but either Adrian didn't hear or he paid no mind, because he almost immediately went into a frenzy, and started crying of all things. He wanted to go away. Far away from the Temple, far away from Coruscant. Locke was, for once speechless.

Oh, Force, Locke thought as he slowly stood up, what do I do? He was an Investigator. Years of dealing with the inhabitants of the Galaxy's backside had perhaps left him a bit calloused, and he'd never thought he'd have to deal with something like this. Jazen was older than Adrian, and seemingly more emotionally grounded, so the thought about what to do in a situation like this had never crossed Locke's mind. To put it simply, the young Knight was lost. What do I do?

He couldn't just leave Adrian crying there. Locke had to do something, but what? The man was used to cracking jokes about people, not comforting them; and the former would most definitely be out of place here.

So he did the first thing that came to mind. "Hey, hey now," he said softly as he walked over to Adrian. He crouched down a bit by him, and put his arm around Adrian's shoulder and looked at the padawan. "There's no need for that, ok?" Locke's voice was soft and understanding as he spoke--another rarity from him. "Look, there's a whole galaxy out there, and I promise you, we'll travel it together. But at the same time, this Temple is your home; it's our home. It's the very heart of our Order." His mind raced to grab out for something to say that might help calm Adrian down. "And don't worry about what lightsaber training was like before. You'll get better, I promise... But it'll just come down to working at it, just like everything else you'll learn." And though he couldn't reason out why, he suddenly had the thought to add on one more thing to the end. "And don't worry about impressing me. I'll always be there to support you the best way I know how, no matter what you do. After all, I'm on your team, right?" Locke smiled at Adrian and ruffled his golden hair again as he stood back up.

The words he'd spoken earlier to Adrian were suddenly back in his head again as he glanced out over the city again before returning his attention to his student. " You'll learn from me, but I'll also learn from you." Those words were turning out to be truer than he'd expected them to be. Already, he was dealing with things he didn't have much experience in dealing with, and he had a feeling this was just the tip of the iceberg. These next few years really will be interesting. But underneath it all, at the core of his being, there was a small knot of doubt. Of fear. What if he wasn't up to par for being the kind of master that Adrian would need? What if his time with Adrian left the boy off worse, rather than better? What if Adrian fe- No. He couldn't let such thoughts cloud his mind. He'd been filled with the same fears before he took on Jazen, and everything was going just fine with him. Adrian might present a different sort of challenge, but he'd do whatever he had to for the boy. It was his duty as his master.

Though it probably wouldn't hurt to go have a chat with one of the wiser masters for a bit of advice when he got the chance...

Locke suddenly realized he'd taken to staring off into space and returned his attention to Adrian. Well, maybe it'd be best to let him do some question asking after that... "So then, Adrian," he said, changing his voice to a more conversational tone, "do you have anything you want to ask me?" He spread his hands in a gesture of openness. "Anything at all?"

[Timbrell]

Adrian's body began to calm down at the voice of Locke trying to soothe him. Stress was a large factor for his breakdown. It had been there since he started the conversation with Locke but very minimal and had gone unnoticed until Adrian heard lightsaber training talk. That's what made him wild. He deeply disliked the sound of the lightsaber and he despised the hue of his lightsaber. Others thought of him as a weakling with his lightsaber and he hadn't truly managed to control the force yet so he was simply branded weak as well as a poor prospect that would inevitably lead to a dull life in the Agri-corps. His mind among the chaos heard the following words:

"Hey, hey now, there's no need for that, ok?"

Adrian's ears picked up the softness of Locke's voice. His trembling completely halted but his eyes were still streaming tears. A slight throbbing noise was now emanating from the back of Adrian's throat. He was comforted but still crying, a soft weep that no longer indicated his lack of control but his intention to stop crying. As his crying began to subside even further, Adrian had a rather unsettling feeling come over him - he developed a headache. He had to concentrate with all his might to not only settle himself down completely but to make any sense of the thoughts within him for the headache clouded his judgement. He settled down a bit more to hear more of Locke's speech to calm him down.

"Look, there's a whole galaxy out there, and I promise you, we'll travel it together. But at the same time, this Temple is your home; it's our home. It's the very heart of our Order."

Adrian smiled within his tears. The galaxy. In youngling practice, he had saw many of the planets that surrounded his own. He longed to be out there, to be among the stars. Exploring. He didn't know the word but he knew he wanted to explore. Having very little memory of his surroundings when he was little, he just wanted to be somewhere fresh. Not wanting a safe home, he just wanted to travel with someone he liked and felt safe with. Locke's speech continued:

"And don't worry about what lightsaber training was like before. You'll get better, I promise... But it'll just come down to working at it, just like everything else you'll learn."

Lightsaber training. He really didn't want to hear that again but this time he tolerated the idea rather than rejecting it. This time however, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that it didn't matter what lightsaber training he had before. The idea of a fresh start really appealed to Adrian and the whole episode a few seconds ago had subsided totally. He had rejuvenated his respect for Locke and he especially liked this idea of a fresh start so much, he decided to put away all his previous experience and decide to ride on the ideas as they come. Looking around at Locke, this time, he saw that Locke was about to say something else so even with a headache, it still restarted his interest in the conversation.

"And don't worry about impressing me. I'll always be there to support you the best way I know how, no matter what you do. After all, I'm on your team, right?"

With rose-red eyes, Adrian didn't need to say anything or even think about what Locke had just said as it just re-affirmed his commitment to putting away his past problems and looking forward to a fresh future with a man he now deeply respected. As his hair was ruffled and Locke stood up straight, his thoughts were now mostly free and he felt good about himself aside from the small matter of a headache - just one of many that he had endured during his stay at the temple.

There was a small time after this episode for Adrian to catch up with everything. He had completely lost the plot for a while there and only now was he beginning to notice night time in Coruscant so prominently. He coughed with a dry demeanour twice as he stood there and faced one of the only trees in the courtyard - what a day he had endured. Despite everything seemingly conspiring against him, he had prevailed. He thought that Locke would have no interest in him after this outburst but after his comforting words but he was wrong. Knowing that he was wrong in how events had turned, he smiled to himself again for a few seconds before returning to a straight face. Turning around now to see Locke who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. After a short while however, Locke seemed to regain his presence in the conversation and eventually confirmed it with a question.

"Do you have anything you want to ask me?"
"Anything at all?"

Ask him if he could do his training somewhere else. He said that we will travel and even though this is my home, travelling would be good. Fur creatures! I want to see creatures made of fur! One of the teachers said Kashyyyk was a friendly place. Beast riders sound awesome too. Perhaps I should ask him about Onderon? Wait. I should just ask about going to another planet.

"Do you know Ka-sh-yyyk? You said you would train me, can we do it on another planet? I have only known this planet in my life... It would be good for a change. I hear there are creatures made of fur there. Someone was telling me a tale about beast riders on Ond-er-on too, they sound maj-es-tic!"

Adrian's excitement again built up in the same manner as before. The depression had completely left his system now and the redness around his eyes was subsiding. The headache was still there but by now, he had learnt how to cope with it so it wasn't much of an issue anymore. Adrian quickly remembered something else he wanted to ask from before:

What can you tell me about the Republic that you spoke of before? Why do we... safeguard it?

Adrian deliberately changed the word: serve for the word he had heard before: 'safeguard'. A fairly quick switch but was noticeable none-the-less. His heavy breathing stopped after asking these questions and now he seemingly held his breath for answers. He would likely have more questions later.

[Rugs]

Locke smiled as Adrian seemed to come out of his sorrow and the tears stopped. Glad that's over, he thought, before Adrian went to ask his questions. The first one was interesting, though Locke supposed it was a bit expected after Adrian's expression of his desire to be gone from Coruscant. Ah, but the second... That was a good question, and one that went after the core of what the Jedi Order was about, at least in Locke's mind. He liked that. Locke noted a slight pause in Adrian's speech right before he said 'safeguard,' but he let it go by without thinking too much on it. But first, he'd need to look at Adrian's first question.

Adrian's description of Wookiees made Locke laugh softly. "Ah, yes. Kashyyyk. It's a forest world, and the trees there are massive. And yes," he said as a mirthful spark came to his eye," there are fur creatures there. Wookiees, they're called. They're huge, bigger than any man that I've ever seen, and they are incredibly strong." He grinned wryly at Adrian. "But don't let that fool you, though, they are intelligent, more so than you'd think."

"And the beast riders... Ah, now there's a storied group of people," Locke said as he looked out at the cityscape of Coruscant. "The story goes that they were exiled into the wilderness, with the hope that the beasts of Onderon would consume them, and rid the world of a number of 'criminals' in the process." Locke returned his gaze to Adrian and laughed dryly. "I suppose that was pragmatic enough, eh? Get rid of some political enemies and feed some animals at the same time. Everyone wins, right? Well, except for the ones they sent out into the wilderness, I suppose... Anyway, it turns out they were wrong. The exiles weren't consumed by the beasts, but rather, they took control of them, and rode back to challenge those who had cast them out." The Knight's expression became thoughtful as he absentmindedly scratched the stubble of the beard that always coated his jaw. "Of course, the story doesn't end there, but it's certainly an interesting one." He grinned wickedly at Adrian as he looked down and said "I'm sure there's more of it in the Archives if you ever want to take a look."

Kashyyyk. Or perhaps Onderon. It was an interesting thought. "Sure, Adrian, we can go to one of those worlds." Perhaps it would be good for them--all of them, himself and Jazen included--to get away from the hustle and bustle of being caught up on Coruscant or away on missions for a little while. It'd provide a chance to re-center, and to refocus, before heading out once more. The Force only knew he needed it. "That's a good idea, kiddo." But which world would they go to? It could be a decision for later; there was no immediate need to make a choice. Now it was time to move on to the second question.

"Come with me," he said as he walked over to the side railing of the courtyard. It was one of the smaller courtyards higher up on the Temple, and one side of it faced out to the sprawling cityscape of Coruscant. And now, with the sun setting and the sky exploding with color, it afforded a brilliant--almost breathtaking--view of the city and the life within it. "Look out there, Adrian," he said, "that's why we safeguard the Republic. Not for the building, or to protect the monuments to our civilization, though those are certainly valuable, but to protect the people out there who cannot protect themselves. We, as an Order have stood by this Republic for thousands of years, and I'm sure we will for thousands of years to come. We are the light that shines to shield the galaxy against the dark is always trying to consume it, and we are all willing to sacrifice whatever we have to in order to ensure that this Republic survives. It is our duty, and it's needed now more than ever..." He trailed off at the end, letting his words hang for a moment. The Republic was at war. He'd seen it first hand, at Rhen Var, though he tried not to think about the things that had transpired there. There would be plenty more of that coming as time rolled on, and he'd rather not dwell on what he'd already gone through. All of them would know what war was like by the end of it, though. He glanced down at his student. Even Adrian, as sad as that may be. But there's no point in getting all melancholy over it, now is there, Locke? The Force will do as it wills. We'll make it through just fine, I'm sure.

"So," he said, "anything else?"