The Dragon and the Force

by FenrisianBrony


The Apprentice Tournament

Spike grunted as he brought his Lightsaber arcing down towards the practice droid, clashing with its outstretched weapon and forcing it downwards, driving it to its knees. Not giving it a moments respite, Spike grabbed hold of the second handle of his Lightsaber, using both arms to bring the weapon around again, cutting the droids head off in a single stroke.

Panting heavily, Spike looked around the practice room, the floor littered with the remains of the five droids he had been practicing against. Glancing up, he saw the others watching him from a balcony. Nodding to them, Spike deactivated his weapon, before walking out of the room and ascending the stairs to greet them.

It had been almost a week and a half since the members of Nexu clan had completed their Lightsabers and officially been granted the rank of Padawan, but the new rank had not meant that they had any respite from training. Every waking moment was now dedicated to honing their skills for what lay ahead, whether that be in the ways of the force or duelling. In two days, every youngling that had passed to the rank of Padawan would be arriving at the temple, leaving any support roles that they may have had around the galaxy, all coming for one thing in particular. The Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament.

Every new Padawan dreamed of this day, most thinking of little else from the time they built their Sabres. Spike and the other members of Nexu clan had been no different, and had been training non-stop. This tournament would decide their role in the Jedi for the rest of their lives, and everyone wanted to make a good impression. Any Jedi could come and watch the tournament, but the ones without their own Padawan learners were the important ones. If they could catch their eye, those the Padawan would find themselves under a new teacher, travelling the galaxy beside their new master.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Spike pushed the door open and stood next to the others, who were already watching the next round of training.

"Anyone interesting?" Spike asked, looking down at the combatant. From here, Spike could tell that they were a male humanoid, but nothing more.

"Some member of Aclay clan." Tarhal replied, looking over at another balcony around the room.

Spike followed the Wookies gaze and looked at the rest of the clan. There were twelve of them in total, ranging from the tall Muun to the diminutive human. Once again, it struck Spike at how young they all were, each one only having been taken at the proper age. He had to remind himself that they were all abnormal in their age, not the other way around.

"So how did I do?" Spike asked, turning back to his clan mates.

"Good." Asho said, grabbing a datapad. "Your use of the force was strong as always, but you faltered when you used your Lightsaber. Only for a second mind you, but it is a weakness that could be exploited."

"Your weapon is unexpected though." Zule continued. "That should. Give you an advantage if you can't win using the force."

"Alright." Spike smiled, nodding slightly. "When is the next member of Nexu allowed to train?"

"Six more Padawans from other clans have scheduled rounds before Tarhal is registered to go in." Corinna said, glancing at the balconies datapad, before turning to the Wookie. "Looks like one heavy droid."

"Damn." Tarhal growled. "I need practice against groups, not single opponents."

"Don't worry about it." Spike said, lightly punching the Wookies arm. "As long as you can get through this and find yourself a master, then it doesn't matter. You can get group training with them. Right now you need to beat single opponents."

"I guess you're right." Tarhal conceded.

"When am I not?" Spike laughed.

"Let’s see." Asho said, placing a finger to her mouth in mock thought. "There was that time you thought that the Jedi were superheroes, the time you forgot that you could breathe fire, and of course, the time you almost shot yourself out into space in an escape pod on the way to the temple because, and I quote, 'you thought it was a bathroom.'"

"Twice." Zule said with a slight smirk.

"Hey, in my defence I'd never been on a ship before, let alone a space ship, and I was upset at being lost in a faraway galaxy." Spike said in indignation, but couldn't hide the smile at the memories.

"Sure." Asho smiled. "But other than those, you're never wrong."

"Alright fine." Spike chuckled. "I make mistakes, same as everypo...everybody else."

"Still speaking like at home eh?" Zule asked.

"You try breaking a habit of a lifetime. Let’s see how you do. Personally I think I've done pretty well at it." Spike said, glancing down as the Padawan finally managed to finish off the first droid and moved onto the final opponent.

"Good point." Zule nodded. "I'll just but out."

"Thank you." Spike nodded, before studying the Padawan below more closely.

He wanted to know how each one of them fought, what their weaknesses and strengths were, and how he could beat them. His eyes darted around as the Padawans switched over, taking in each swing of their own Lightsabers, any variation in their weapons, and any other details he could use. Spike watched in silence, committing each note to memory. When the time came to face them, he would be ready.

***

Spike stood uneasily in the Nexu clan bed chamber, staring out of the high window across the planet wide city that made up the capital world of the Republic. It still baffled him that an entire world could be nothing more than a single city, even stretching down further into the planets crust that had been excavated. If memory served him correctly, there were currently just over a thousand levels on the planet, with new ones being closer to production every day. Spike knew that they planet would only stop growing once they had reached the outer core itself, and they could literally not dig any deeper.

The sun had not yet risen over the planet, and Spike had been as surprised as anyone would have been that he was up so early, the dragon usually sleeping until one of the others woke him up. Not today however. Something had kept him awake last night, twisting his stomach into knots and making sleep next to impossible. After lying in bed for hours, and only managing to snatch a brief few minutes of sleep, he had decided to leave the room, not wanting to risk waking the others with his fidgeting.

Even in the dead of night, the temple was still bustling with activity, either from Jedi whose jobs within the order necessitated that they be awake now, such as the temple guardians, or from species that simply preferred the night and the dark to the day time.

In the time before the Gathering, Spike and the others had been placed under a curfew at night, instructed to stay in their rooms until Norik came back to them for their training again. Now however, they were 'allowed' out of their rooms. Whether they were supposed to was another matter, but considering the fact that they had never been told that they needed to go back to their rooms, Spike and the others treated it like a grey zone.

Eventually though, after swinging by the medical ward to get something to help with the pains, Spike had returned to the dorm and walked over to the window where he now stood. Turning away from the window, Spike slid down the wall and sighed. Glancing around, Spike looked at the others, silently, except for Tarhal of course, sleeping. Casting his mind around for something to think about, Spikes thoughts finally rested upon Norik.

Since they had come back from Illum, he had not seen any sign of the aged, mechanically enhanced Jedi, and had initially wondered where he had gone. He had even shared his thoughts with some of the other Jedi around the temple in an attempt to find him, but had quickly learnt that the Jedi had been sent off on a mission of high importance. Nobody knew what it was, but it was rumoured that it had something to do with the Empress Teta system. He had been assured that he would be back today however, and would be present during the tournament, and would possibly choose a Padawan if any impressed him enough.

Spike was unsure whether any of them would, and silently hoped that he didn't get picked by Norik if the Jedi did decide to take on an apprentice, not that he didn't like Norik, but it would be nice to get a master who he didn't already know. At the very least they would be easier to impress.

The minutes ticked by, but eventually the others woke up, stretching and sitting up in their beds. Spike kept quiet as they slowly woke themselves up properly, before watching as Tarhal leaned down towards his bed.

Knowing what was coming next, Spike sneaked up behind the Wookie, gesturing for the others to be quiet as they sought to stifle their own giggles, knowing what Spike was going to do.

As he always did when it was his turn to wake Spike up, Tarhal took a deep breath, before letting out an almighty roar that echoed around the room. When he had finished, Spike took in his own deep breath, just loud enough for Tarhal to hear and turn around, before Spike let out his own roar, surprising Tarhal and causing him to jump back in surprise and fright.

Recovering quickly, the Wookie jumped forward again, determined to save face. With a grin, he roared again, and so began the Wookie tradition of posturing.

Since he and Tarhal had become friends, they had swapped much about their cultures, Tarhal revealing more due to the simple fact that he knew more about Wookie culture than Spike did about draconian culture. Even when he was in Equestria, Spike had loved to learn about different cultures, no matter how much he had tried to portray a stark indifference to any sort of education, and had even gone it alone while trying to learn about dragons, so naturally, Spike had jumped on the opportunity to learn about Wookies.

Instantly knowing what Tarhal was doing, Spike roared back, standing up to his full height and making himself as tall as possible, stretching above Tarhal by almost half a head. While the others may have not noticed the subtle change in Tarhal, Spike picked on it, and bore down on the Wookie, forcing his advantage further, until the Wookie finally stopped roaring and bent down, conceding defeat to the dragon.

"Alright Spike, you win." He growled.

"You know it." Spike smiled back, extending a hand as was the tradition.

"I tell you," Tarhal said, grasping Spikes outstretched hand and hauling against it, "if you had been born a Wookie, you would have made village chieftain almost as soon as you passed maturity."

"Maybe, maybe not." Spike smiled. "Guess we'll never know."

"If you two are quite finished being typical men," Corinna said scathingly, "we should make our way to breakfast. Big day ahead of us."

"You know something." Zule said thoughtfully as the five of the, walked towards the door.

"I know lots of things." Corinna laughed. "What exactly where you implying little brother?"

"If everything goes according to plan, we'll each get masters before the day is out." He pointed out.

"Yeah, so?" Asho asked.

"We won't see each other again, will we?" Spike asked, picking up on what Zule was driving at.

"I don't think so." Zule said wistfully. "We may still see each other in passing, but not to this extent."

"We all knew this day would have to come eventually." Asho sighed. "We can't hold back anyway. If we don't get picked by a Jedi to become their apprentice, then we may end up joining different parts of the Jedi anyway. Better to do our best and get the best surely?"

"That's a good point." Tarhal agreed. "If we must be split, then we will show them what Nexu can do."

"Here here." Zule said with a grin. "Now come on, let’s go get some breakfast."

***

The room was filled with the various unaffiliated Padawans from the past galactic standard year, each hoping to catch the eyes of various individuals in the course of the tournament. Around the main floor was a large amount of tiered seating, within which the Jedi Knights and Masters would be sitting and watching the show, deciding which Padawan, if any, would be suitable for them. Spike quickly caught sight of a few that he knew, and smiled as he saw both Master Marcus and Master Norik, currently deep in conversation.

High above the assemble Padawans, on a small balcony on the far side of the room, Grand Master Garton Brine stood up, and instantly, the room went silent as everyone present focused on the Jedi, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Gathered Jedi. Friends, Padawans, Masters and Knights." He boomed, his voice echoing out across the room. "Today marks the beginning of another Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament. Gathered before you are all those who have been deemed worthy of competing today and have completed their trials on Illum. Without further ado, it is my great honour to introduce the clans that will be competing today. Aclay clan!"

As he said this, the other lights in the room dimmed, leaving the members of Aclay clan as the lightest part in the room.

"Rancor clan!"

Another one of the clans was thrust into the spotlight.

"Arcadian clan! Sarlacc clan!"

Brine continued to rattle off the names of the various clans competing, naming four more of them, before finally reaching the final clan.

"And finally, Nexu clan!"

As the light switched to shine on them, Tarhal let out a loud roar, raising his hands into the air and cheering as if he was a gladiator on stage.

"Every name you will need to know is on the datapads you were provided with upon entering." Brine said, addressing the Masters and Knights. "As for you Padawans, this will be your final step on the road to apprenticeship. To win, all you must do is land three hits upon your opponents that could be translated into a killing blow. The arena is surrounded by an energy suppression field, which will reduce the power of your Lightsabers to non-lethal levels. Anything goes within this hall, there is only one rule, the fight continues until one members has one, or every presiding Master or Knight has decreed that the fight is over."

Brine gestured for a few of the overseeing Jedi to move onto the main floor, directing the members of the clans to different parts of the stands, where they were seated to await their turn.

"Each of you will have a minimum of two fights," the Grand Master continued, "after that, your ranking and point ratios will determine where you stand for the final rounds. Now, the first pair. From clan Sarlacc, I give you Padawan Freyt!"

As he said this, a nervous human female arose from her clan’s part of the stands, and made her way down to the centre of the hall, before turning to face Grand Master Brine.

"And her opponent," Brine said, glancing down at his data slate, "Padawan Yoriyl of Aclay clan!"

As the Muun that Spike had seen earlier walked down onto the hall floor, Spike let out a sigh of relief. After watching both of the combatants, Spike was glad he didn't have to face them. At a push he reckoned he could come out as the victor, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it without points being allocated against him. Better to get the 'weaker' opponents and get a better place in the finals.

"Begin!" Garton Brine shouted, before sitting down to watch the bout.

***

Time seemed to stretch on for hours as the other Padawans duelled against each other. Both Asho and Zule had been victorious in their rounds, if only just in the formers case, but neither Corinna, Tarhal or Spike had been given the chance to show themselves off.

"An excellent showing." Brine said, standing up and clapping as the recently finished pair bowed and made their way off the arena floor. "Next up, Padawan Quinlay of Arcadia clan."

As he said this, a large Zabraak stood up and quickly made his way down the stairs to the centre of the hall.

"Arcadia!" He bellowed, looking around and raising his lightsabers hilt above his head.

"And his opponent. Padawan Spike of Nexu clan!"

Nodding, Spike stood up and made his way down the steps, standing next to Quinlay and turning to face Master Brine. Recollecting everything that he knew about the Padawan, Spike began to draw up his own plan.

From what he had seen, the Zabrak was strong in comparison to most of the other Padawans, as well as being skilled at fighting numerous opponents at once. Where he faltered however was chaining both his Lightsaber attacks and his force attacks together, meaning he would probably be relying totally on one, rather than a mixture of both. That was where Spike could take the advantage.

"Begin!" Brine shouted, before sitting down to watch the unfolding duel.

Quickly, Spike ignited his Lightsaber, holding it like a normal blade, and watching as Quinlay followed suit, showing off a bright blue blade. Standing back, Spike waited for Quinlay to make the first move. He didn't have to wait long, as Quinlay sprung forward, the smaller Padawan bringing his Lightsaber around in a blow aimed at his lower stomach.

Quickly, Spike moved his own Lightsaber to intercept the blow, before physically pushing Quinlay, using his own momentum to send him stumbling behind Spike. Following up, Spike shoved the faltering Padawan with the force, sending him sprawling on the floor, before jumping after him, and bringing his Lightsaber down on his back.

"Point, Spike. Reset and begin." Brine said for what felt like the millionth time.

Nodding, Spike let Quinlay up, who nodded at Spike slowly, before charging again, this time making sure to go slightly slower. Brining his Lightsaber up, Spike intercepted a downward strike, pushing back and bringing his knee up.

Grunting, Quinlay lost focus as Spike winded him, even with the dragon pulling his blow at the last second. Once again however, Spike managed to take the advantage, and quickly worked his way inside his opponents guard, bringing his Lightsaber across the Jedi's neck.

"Point, Spike. Reset and begin."

Moving backwards, Spike watched as Quinlay slowly began to circle the dragon, and followed suit, watching his opponent. Deciding to take the initiative, Spike transferred his grip to the second handle of his Lightsaber, holding it so the blade jutted out in front of his hand. Darting forward, Spike stabbed at Quinlay's chest, who only just managed to avoid the blow, before changing his grip again, swinging the Lightsaber around so the blade was pointing backwards along his forearm.

As expected, Quinlay had tried to follow up with a slash of his own, but Spike caught the blade on his own, angling his arm so that it was deflected away from him, before thrusting his other hand forward, sending the unfortunate Padawan flying backwards, impacting with the low wall that surrounded the arena. Just as Spike was about to leap forward to deliver the blow with his Lightsaber, he heard Brine stand up, and looked over towards the Jedi.

"Point and round, Spike."

Nodding, Spike bowed deeply to the assembled Jedi, before hurrying over to Quinlay and helping the slightly dazed Zabraak to his feet.

"No hard feelings?" Spike asked anxiously.

For a moment, Quinlay did nothing but silently study Spike.

"No." He said tersely, before turning on his heels and stalking away, returning to his clan, who were all glaring at Spike.

Shaking his head, Spike quickly returned to where Nexu clan were seated and flopped down into the spare seat.

"Nice." Zule said with a smile.

"Yep." Spike nodded, before leaning forward to watch the next round.

***

The day progressed slowly once more, as Spike watched the fights with a critical eye. He wanted to know who could be one of the ones to get into the final contest. They had started on the second round, so those who had already fought were going again, and he had already seen Quinlay fight his second round, managing to scrape a win. Still, Spike was anxious to get out there again. Zule, Corinna and Tarhal had already had their second fight, seeing victory in one capacity or another, but both Asho and Spike had still got theirs to go. As the number of potential opponents fell, Spike was getting more and more concerned about who he would fighting.

"Another excellent showing." Garton said, looking down at his roster once more. "Next up, two members of Nexu clan, Padawans Asho and Spike."

Groaning, Spike looked over at the Twilek as she quickly made her way down to the centre of the room and ignited her own Lightsaber, holding it in a high guard position. Quickly following her lead, Spike ignited his own blade, and at a command from Garton lunged forward, his blade pointing straight at Asho.

Parrying Spikes thrust, Asho spun on her heel, attempting to bring her blade down on Spikes back. Barely managing to avoid it, Spike spun his Lightsaber around to reverse where the blade was pointing and caught her slash, easily holding up her blade. Again and again the Twilek bore down on Spike, using her speed to keep the dragon on the defensive, not allowing him any chance to bring his strength to bear.

Growling, Spike dropped his stance, sliding backwards slightly and overbalancing Asho just a fraction. Quickly, he spun round, bringing his tail whipping towards her legs, and snatching them out from beneath her. Following up, Spike brought his Lightsaber down towards her.

"Point, both. Reset and Begin." Garton said simply, and Spike looked down to see Asho's own blade against his chest.

"Dirty trick." She smiled, getting up and gripping her Lightsaber in both hands.

Not replying, Spike held his own weapon aloft, his entire stance being low to the ground and his left hand steadying him as he prepared for an assault. Asho dived towards the dragon, but this time, Spike was ready, and rolled aside, before focusing on her and shoving her away. Quickly, Spike lunged after her and slashed at her back.

"Point, Spike. Reset and begin."

Shaking her head, Asho got up, before jumping over Spikes head and bearing down in his back. Awkwardly twisting out of the way, Spike deflected another blow from Asho, before reaching up and grabbing her wrist with his free hand.

A look of shock flashed over Asho's face, before Spike twisted it slightly, not enough to do any permanent damage, but enough to make her drop her weapon.

As it clattered to the ground, the blade deactivating as it went, Spike prepared to finish off his now weaponless opponent. Asho had other ideas however, and lashed out, catching Spike in between his legs, before leaping backwards.

Spike grunted in pain as he staggered backwards, before getting up and looking at Asho. The Twilek was standing in a fighting stance, prepared for Spike to come at her, despite having no weapon of her own.

Grinning, Spike lunged forward, swinging his Lightsaber at her neck. Ducking low, Asho avoided the blow, bringing her palm forward into the Dragons stomach. Grunting slightly, Spike attacked again, each time missing his faster opponent by inches.

Growling, Spike lunged forward, feinting to the right, and drawing the next move out of his opponent. Grinning as she did as expected, Spike revealed his own plan, and stuck out his hand, drawing Asho's dropped weapon to him, and slicing upwards, catching the Twilek completely unaware. With nowhere to dodge to, both weapons collided with her, knocking her to the floor.

"Point and round, Spike." Garton said, clapping slowly, before standing up and addressing the Jedi. "My friends, all that remains now is the final. The rankings will be announced in five minutes."

Nodding, Spike deactivated his weapon, along with Asho's, before handing the hilt back to her.

"Now who's using dirty tricks?" She laughed, taking the weapon and reattaching it to her belt.

"Well it was either that or fight with my fists." Spike reasoned.

"Well I'm glad you didn't." Asho smiled, before walking back towards the Nexu clan seating area.

***

"Padawans, Knights, Masters." Garton said, addressing the crowd. "The time has come to watch the final round. After this, you will be allowed to select your Padawan, if any have caught your eye. But until then, allow me to announce the final round. From clan Nexu, Tarhal, the Wookie!"

Whooping with joy, the Wookie quickly made his way down to the arena.

"And his opponent, also from clan Nexu, Spike, the dragon!"

For a moment, Spike froze, unsure of what he had just heard. When he had been watching the other Padawans train, he had made notes on how he could overcome their various strengths by playing against their weaknesses, but Tarhal had been different. He hadn't really looked at Tarhal in any serious way, but he knew that out of everyone taking part in the tournament, Tarhal was the only one who could match him in strength, and was strong enough with his mental barriers to stand up to all but the most powerful of Spikes force attacks. Coupled with the fact that he didn't want to risk using his flames meant that this contest would simply come down to a Lightsaber duel.

Making his way down towards the arena for the third and final time, Spike took up his position and looked towards Garton for instructions. He did not have to wait long.

"The final contest shall be different from all others. There shall be no draws, and shall only end when one of the pair falls. Only one kill point is needed to secure victory. Now, begin!"

Growling, Spike ignited his Lightsaber, holding it in a normal grip for now, while Tarhal ignited his own, holding the haft in both hands. As the pair began to circle each other, Spike began to form a rough plan in his mind.

He knew that Tarhal couldn't stab with his weapon, which was certainly a weakness, but he also knew that he would be able to deliver brutal swipes, as well as having the strength to defend against Spikes attacks. Also...

Spike never got any further with his planning, as Tarhal lunged forward, slashing towards Spike and attempting to bisect him. Jumping backwards, Spike avoided the worst of the blow, while blocking with his Lightsaber to protect himself from anything else.

As the two blades clashed, tremors travelled up Spikes arm, threatening to shake his weapon from his claw. Diving backwards, Spike rolled across the floor, getting back up and rising to his feet quickly as Tarhal ran at him again.

Thrusting his claw forward, Spike shot a burst of telekinesis at the charging Wookie, forming a ball of air that impacted on his chest. Predictably, Tarhal was not stopped completely by this attack, but it did slow him down just enough for Spike to roll to the side and get back into a stable stance.

Bringing his weapon up, Spike switched his grip to the second handle, holding the blade along his arm and charging at Tarhal. The Wookie turned around just in time to raise his own weapon, before Spike was on him.

Moving the handle in his hand, Spike sent the blade arcing around, almost catching Tarhal completely off guard. At the same time, Spike twisted his waist as well as flexing his wrist, sending the blade through the air faster than most people would be able to see.

It was only by blind luck that Tarhal caught the blade, but was still knocked back by the ferocity of the blow. Still reeling from the attack, Spike brought his Lightsaber around, spinning past Tarhal, and brining his weapon down again. The pair clashed once more, locking their blades together.

Both Padawans growled as they each tried to overpower each other. Spike pushed down harder, while Tarhal grunted with the strain of keeping the weapon up. Realising that if this kept up, he would be the one at the disadvantage, Spike decided to try something that would end the duel, one way or another. Whether that would be a victory for him or for Tarhal, Spike didn't know.

Releasing his grip on his Lightsaber, Spike allowed it to fall from his grasp, grabbing hold of the end of Tarhal’s weapon with his now free weapon hand, keeping it from completely decapitating him, but still scraping across his head, scoring a non-fatal wound. Even as he felt the blade slide off his face, Spike grabbed the free-falling weapon with his other hand, activating it again, and slicing it across the Wookie's stomach.

"The round is over." Garton said, standing up and clapping slowly. "Gathered Jedi, I give you the victor of this year’s Apprentice Tournament, Spike the dragon of clan Nexu!"

Panting hard, Spike looked up at the Grand Master, taking his eyes off Tarhal for a second. Suddenly, he found himself on the floor, as a balled fist impacted with his face.

"Sorry!" He shouted, bending down and looking at Spike. "I was moving before the round ended!"

"It’s fine." Spike groaned, trying to get to his hand and knees, but slipping as his head spun.

"Come on, I'll help you up." Tarhal growled, trying to portray sorrow, but finding it difficult due to the complexities of Shyriiwook.

Nodding in gratitude, Spike wrapped his arm around Tarhal's neck, as the pair made their way back towards the seats to await the announcements of who had been chosen as an Apprentice for a master or a Knight.

***

The minutes ticked by as every one of the Padawans waited with bated breath, eager to find out what their role in the Jedi would be from this day forward. Every one of them wanted to be taken as an Apprentice, they didn't even want to think about what happened if you weren't. Apparently the alternative was mind numbingly boring.

After what felt like forever, Garton stood back up, cutting through the din and causing a silence to fall over the room.
"Padawans! Today you have shown us who you truly are. We have compiled the final list of what your role within the order shall be after today. Now, please, make your way to the center of the hall."

Quickly, the Padawans moved back to the arena floor, jostling to get a better position. Moving to the side, Spike leaned against the wall, still trying to get the ringing out of his head.

"When I call your name and position, please make your way out of the hall. You will be met by the respective members of the order. You are to receive further instruction from them."

Reaching down, Garton grabbed a datapad, and began to read off it.

"Padawan Quinlay, Arcadia clan." He called, and the Zabraak from before walked forward. “Master Ionra has chosen you as his apprentice."

Nodding, Quinlay walked out of the room, as Garton began to speak again.

"Padawan Yoriyl, Aclay clan. You are to be a member of the Jedi auxiliary corps."

Spike could visually see the disappointment in the Jedi's eye as he made his way out of the hall.

"Padawan Freyt, Sarlacc clan. Jedi Knight Cornelius has asked for you."

***

The announcements dragged on, and Spike watched as first Zule was chosen by Master Marcus, then Corinna, and finally Asho, although she was chosen by a Knight. Soon, it was just Tarhal and Spike left on the arena floor once more.

"Padawan Tarhal, Nexu clan. Master Norik has decided to train you further as his apprentice."

The Wookie looked up at the bionically enhanced Jedi, before moving over to the door to meet his new Master.

"Finally, Padawan Spike, also of Nexu clan. Master Solaris has won the right to take you as her personal apprentice."

Nodding, Spike quickly hurried out of the room, eager, as well as slightly apprehensive, to meet his new master.

"Padawan." A voice called out, and Spike turned to see a tall female human walking towards him, her long flowing robes billowing out behind her as if they were caught in their own wind.

"Master." Spike said, bowing deeply.

"You know who I am then?" The woman asked.

"Master Solaris I presume." Spike replied.

"I am. And you are Padawan Spike, formerly of initiate clan Nexu. The pair of us will get to know each other very well."

As she said that, she stuck out her hand, and Spike grasped it, making sure not to cut her with his semi-sharp claws.

"I hope that you live up to the expectations that you set in the tournament." She said, shaking his hand.

"I will, Master." Spike nodded happily.