//------------------------------// // 53: Apprenticeship (II) // Story: Empire and Rebellion // by Snake Staff //------------------------------// “Well…” said the holographic representation of Bastila Shan, “I have to admit that this was somewhat more convenient than anticipated. Perhaps the Force led us here.” “Or my stomach,” said Spike, earning him a glare. He scratched the back of his head. “Okay, bad joke, but can’t I just eat a couple more? They’re so good.” The three of them were clustered around a small hole in the earth, not a few hundred yards from where the Harmony had touched down. The night sky was clear overhead, soft white moonlight offering plenty of illumination even had the holocron itself not been glowing as it always did. Together, the blue and white light illuminated a little gap in the earth, not more than a foot wide, but descending further into the earth than either beam could penetrate. Inside, jutting obviously from the walls, were a number of small crystal formations. Mostly blue and green, with the occasional yellow, they glittered like tiny underground stars. “Absolutely not. Adeegan crystals were rare enough in my creator’s time, for all we know these may well be the very last in all the galaxy outside the Empire’s grasp.” She looked at Twilight. “These rare gemstones react to the Force inside you, all around you. They can even bond to you, given time, such that the crystal almost becomes a part of your body. A true wonder of nature, and of the Force.” “So, uh… what do they actually do?” he asked. “That’s a lesson for another time, I think,” Bastila declared. “One must take the first steps before one learns to run.” “Do you think these things could help with meditation?” Twilight asked, though she suspected they had an altogether different use. “Most likely. But I feel that it would be best to develop your own ability to sense the Force around you, before experimenting with outside aids.” “If that’s what you think,” she answered. “You know this better than I do.” “I like to think so.” “There is no emotion,” Twilight rolled the words over her tongue, “there is 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.” The alicorn knelt in the grasses of Dantooine, eyes closed and mind mulling over these words, this “Jedi Code”. The sun was once more warm and pleasant overhead, the breeze still soft and carrying the rustic scents of nature. Spike, after promising not to consume any more crystals should he find some, was off simply enjoying the planet’s seemingly-perpetual good weather. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Twilight opened her eyes, looking at the holocron sitting before her. “Emotion, ignorance, passion, chaos, death… these things all exist. I know, I’ve seen them for myself. Felt them for myself. Denying them makes you seem like some sort of lunatic cult more than anything else.” “Ah,” it flared to life, projecting the familiar image of the long-dead Jedi Master. “But you are looking at it in a far too literalistic manner.” Twilight blinked. “Think on this, young one. What is it that makes a Jedi?” She considered it. “The light side of the Force?” “That is correct.” Bastila nodded. “So tell me then, what does it seem to you that our code would describe?” “The… Force?” Twilight frowned. “I mean, I could maybe see that. The last line reveals the meaning of the others, is that it? The Force is peace, knowledge, serenity, harmony… and itself? That still doesn’t seem terribly logical.” “The Jedi Order has always been most concerned with the spirits of its members, with their inner peace. It is from this inner peace that we channel the will of the Force, and it is through the will of the Force that we gain our power. It can be a difficult lesson to master. Even the high and revered among us have stumbled here, believing that we best hear the will of the Force through shutting ourselves away from others rather than connecting with the life from which it flows.” “I’m still not sure I get it.” “You will, in time, when you learn to tap into the Force more directly. I mean no offense to the traditions of your homeworld, but ritual and incantation and arcane traditions can sometimes put us at a distance from the simplicity of the light. It is for that reason the Jedi have never been magicians.” That rankled. “Magic doesn’t distance us from harmony, it’s an embodiment of it! One of the six elements.” “I would be fascinated to learn more about your world’s views,” said the holocron. “But was I not first called here to educate you?” “True,” Twilight nodded. “We can debate philosophical concepts another time, but for now, simply try to relax. Let go of thoughts, preconceptions, disagreements. Open yourself up to the fundamental harmony that underlies the universe.” Bastila said. “Remember, apprentice, peace-” “-is a lie,” boomed Darth Vader. “There is only passion,” echoed Luna. “Through passion I gain strength,” the cyborg clenched his fist. “Through strength I gain power,” the alicorn flared her wings. “Through power I gain victory.” “Through victory, my chains are broken.” “The Force shall free me,” Vader finished. The two stood amidst dozens of still-cooling corpses, remnants of the latest wave of jungle predators to through themselves at the Sith in a suicidal frenzy. Drawn near by the powers of the dark side and simultaneously driven mad by it, the beasts attacked with no regard for their own lives. And yet their lives, taken in anger, only served to fuel the hungering darkness all the more. “To truly break your chains, you must understand the meaning of these words,” Vader said, beginning to pace. “Simple to hear, powerful to grasp. And yet the Sith Code is no simpering, fey, otherworldly philosophy like that espoused by the weakling Jedi. It is direct, practical, and deadly as the dark side itself.” “Our passion fuels our power, and our power grants us freedom,” said Luna. “It does not seem terribly-” “Still your tongue before you insult my ears with ignorance,” Vader said, cutting off her air supply with a gesture. “You only grasp the surface of it. It is true that passion with throw off the chains you wear outside yourself, yet that is only a small part of the truth. To conquer the chains beyond oneself, one must first conquer the chains within. Do you understand, apprentice?” He released his fist, and the alicorn gasped frantically for air. “Doubt. Fear. Regret. Materialism. Compassion. Attachment. All of these things are but their own form of chain,” Vader lectured while Luna coughed. “And they will bind you to slavery and destroy you just as surely as any cruel master’s whip. You must destroy these things within yourself. The code tells you how. Through your passion, your hatred, your rage, and your craving you can destroy these things and set yourself free to the power of the dark side. With nothing to hold you back, there will be nothing that you cannot do. And then you will see the truth of it.” “The… truth?” “That nothing matters beyond the power of the Force. Planets, peoples, ideals, loves… all of these are meaningless and transitory. The Force alone is eternal, and through the dark side alone do you become its master. Once you have freed yourself of all sentiments and attachments, secret doubts or mewling remorse, you will feel the surety of power flowing into the void, and you will never need anything else. Power will be your perfection, your lover, your child, your friend, your joy, your craving, your sorrow, and your hatred. So it must be.” Vader folded his arms. “All the universe is but a means for you to gain, and to keep, the only thing that matters.” “Power,” whispered Luna. “Perfection is not gained through power,” Bastila said, “but power through perfection. I am aware that the need to meditate, to open oneself to the fullness of the Force, can at times seem tiring. Why, you might ask, is she not teaching me to throw waves of energy with my hands, to read the minds of the others, or to swing a lightsaber like the heroes of old? And in truth, I could teach you to do these things. And in time, I will. But first you must grasp this most important of lessons.” Twilight said nothing as she knelt there in meditation, eyes closed to the beautiful starlight overhead. “I know part of you must feel frustrated at how slow this must seem. Days and weeks pass by in a blur, yet all I ask you to do is meditate. Yet you must understand why. To be a Jedi is to seek perfection. The Force is perfection. The light is the Force. It surrounds us, binds us. We must learn to feel it, to become one with it in body and soul. From this union, from this perfection flows the whole of a Jedi’s power. Without this cornerstone nothing can be accomplished, and so there is nothing I can teach you.” There was a silence for a time. “Yes…” Bastila whispered. “Reach out with your feelings. Seek peace in that which surrounds us. Embrace the Force, and feel it embrace you as its child. Let it flow through your mind and your soul and your body. Allow it to-” The holocron fell silent as the alicorn’s body rose slowly, painfully, haltingly, yet inevitably all the same. Sprinkles of dirt and blades of grass, the product of hours of kneeling in the soil, fell away from Twilight’s clothing like a gentle rain. Gravity had lost its hold on the young one, replaced by something far more transcendent. Bastila smiled. “Very good.”