Groomed for Greatness

[Samka Derith]

[SIZE=11pt]four years ago[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Skye[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=11pt]Academy for Ren Younglings[/SIZE]​

​

[SIZE=11pt]Faya Ren was alone, awaiting the company of one of the budding Acolytes on Skye, Samka Derith. The young girl had been displaying unusual behaviour, something highlighted by an instructor during her last duel. Word spread quickly around the Ren on Skye, each of the children and adolescents here were under keen observation. All of them well known even if the initiates would think them strangers. Faya wanted to meet this girl in person and see if she was suitable to put future plans in motion.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]On her part, Samka had no idea why she was summoned. The girl was afraid and doing her best not to shake as she approached the garden where their meeting was to take place. The Masters of Ren were chilling figures with whom she had little experience with. She’d seen a few around, they would mostly observe acolytes of interest and speak to the instructors but little else. Their presence alone was enough to bring a sense of awe and fear to Sam.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]With a deep, calming breath, she walked outside, following a dark aura which was clear even to one in the early stages of training such as herself. The gardens may have been beautiful to some. The greens of small trees and neatly trimmed grass complemented an explosion of colour from many other exotic plants Sam could not name. Blues, purples, reds, yellows and so on and each with a unique scent. It was a barrage on the senses and yet Samka was too distracted to notice for her attention was focused solely on the figure at the end. It was a woman who looked to be somewhere within her 70s glad in refined black robes with grey hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head. Yet most strikingly was the bizarre leather mask completely obscuring the upper half of her face and finishing above her forehead in the shape of a crown.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Without a word, Samka was beckoned closer with a single outstretched finger. She briefly wondered how the woman could see her with her eyes covered but of course, there was the Force. She’d not been training long, only being taught about the Force’s power once she found herself with the Order of Ren just a few months ago, so the capabilities of the Force still seemed so foreign to her. Could one truly see without eyes?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Child,” she spoke for the first time, her voice soft yet coarse, and her head cocked in curiosity as Samka approached.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Swallowing her fear, the young girl offered a deep curtsey. “Yes, Master…?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“You need not treat me with such reverence, sweet girl. I am Faya Ren and I am here to observe your progress as your ally.” Fayu reached down and ran her long spidery fingers through Sam’s thick brown hair. The way it was done was perhaps meant as a loving caress but instead it made the young teen feel vulnerable and oddly cold.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Nonetheless she nodded and stood up straight to look at Faya’s face. Only now did she notice how tall the Ren was, towering over the girl of just thirteen years and adding a further level of intimidation.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“How are you finding things, dear?” The half masked Ren asked.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Sam paused, unsure of her answer. “It’s… strange. Things are different to what I’m used to. I understand more about myself than I ever did before but… I miss some things about home, when can I go back?” It was more accurate to say she missed one thing about home but Samka didn’t want to reveal too much yet. Nor did she wish to disclose just how scary everyone was to her, including the master she was speaking to. It was odd, everyone here seemed darker than the people she’d met in the galaxy outside and yet they were more respectful to Sam than almost anyone had been before. Did she truly belong with the Ren like they insisted?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“You may go back when you are ready,” came the enigmatic reply.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I… see,” there was no hiding the disappointment in her voice. This place, the Knights of Ren, the First Order, they meant little to her. Somewhere she’d fell into in a way she didn’t understand. One day she just… woke up here and the training began. Apparently it was what her parents wanted but she’d not heard from them since arriving here.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“You fought a duel yesterday, did you not Samka?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I… did.” Her eyes refusing to look at the woman’s face. Duelling was a regular occurrence now and something she’d excelled in. Most of the others her age had no experience but Sam had been trained as a skilled fencer. This was not how she ever imagined using her talent but it had been handy and had deeply pleased the teachers here who promised to make her into a fine wielder of ‘Makashi’. However yesterday’s fight had ended badly. She got the upper hand on one of the older boys and slashed him across the face, far rougher than intended. Even with training lightsabers, the wound was grievous and may cost the boy his nose and an eye.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Was this why she was here? The Order of Ren may have spoken of inflicting harsh punishment but only on their enemies. They were a brotherhood of sorts. Boosting each other’s strengths and countering their weaknesses. She may have crippled one of their number permanently was this a punishment?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She wanted to run, to be far from here and yet her legs did not move. Her entire body was frozen in fear.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“And when you struck your opponent, how did you feel?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Sam’s stomach. “Bad,” she said as though it could make up for what she did. A long pause followed as though the masked woman was watching without eyes, prompting the young teen to continue. “I-I don’t want to hurt anyone. Not anyone who isn’t a threat.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Are you sure? I sense great conflict in you.” Faya’s query whispered more in Sam’s mind than her ears. It was true. Back home, she’d been pushed around too much by people she soon discovered were weaker than her. People who didn’t have the gifts she had, the abilities she now knew were the Force. So she started to stand up for herself and somewhere along the way, she acquired a taste for it. The transgressions needed to incur the child’s wrath grew lesser and lesser and the punishments harsher and harsher and it tore her apart emotionally. Sam had racked her brain to track down the origin of her bizarre combination of guilt and satisfaction at her actions.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]But before she could dwell on it, the masked Ren pushed on. “You don’t want to hurt anyone? Why is that, Samka?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Because…” she struggled to make sense of the argument. It just felt wrong. It was a bad thing to do. “I can… imagine how much it hurts?” She offered her answer after a couple more moments of hesitation. “When they don’t deserve it, it’s not fair.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Faya Ren nodded slowly and Sam could almost see the ghost of a smile around her tight lips. “Empathy. What you’re showing is empathy. Good. It is a rare gift for those who walk on the Dark Side to posses. It can be damaging and may tempt you to the Light but we shall train you on how to control it soon enough.” Samka gave a hurried nod, unsure of what exactly this meant.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“You have natural empathy,” she continued, “Your ability to feel what others can will only get stronger as your connection to the Force grows. I also sense resentment, a lingering desire to prove yourself above others and to control them.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I wouldn’t-” Sam started to interject but was interrupted.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Perhaps not fully developed yet but you will do. You will do.” The Ren stated as though it was a fact as clear as the colour of the sky so Sam couldn’t summon the will for an argument.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“So much promise,”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] the Ren muttered apparently more for herself than for Sam. “Have you ever found yourself wishing for someone to win and it happens? Something completely against the odds?”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Sam paused for a moment and cast her mind back. She’d been surrounded by strange events she was only now starting to make sense of with the Force but there was one event that came to mind...[/SIZE]

 

[Samka Derith]

[SIZE=11pt]7 years ago[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I thought you were supposed to be good at sports, Sam.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Sam blinked. “Why would you say that?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The Zeltron girl wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead on her sleeve. “I've seen those trophies in your room.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Sam smiled bashfully at the comment. “That’s… nice but it wasn’t for anything like that.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Sport’s a sport, Samy,” came the reply from her friend, Madlin Ordun. Madlin was a Zeltron girl a few years her senior who’s pink skin and purple hair stuck out among the primarily human population of Cloud City. The two girls were chatting during the break of a Grav-ball match. The elder of the two girls was part of the school team and Sam had attended to support her friend.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I don’t do these ball sports though, they can get awfully violent,” Sam explained. “I mean, you almost got flattened out there! I was so worried!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I’m fine,” Madlin flashed a cheeky smile at Samka. “And you play with swords as a sport. You can’t call me the violent one.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Sam pouted in response, “Fencing is not violent. Everyone is quite safe!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“And so am I! Now sit!” Madlin pulled her younger friend onto the bench and opened a rehydration packet.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“It does look rather rough out there,” Samka continued, casting a nervous glance back at the field. “And what was that argument about?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Eh,” The Zeltron girl shrugged and took a big swig of her drink. “Thought I broke the rules, I didn’t but honest mistake.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]At this Sam frowned. She knew her friend better than that and she knew when Madlin was avoiding eye contact. “Don’t lie, Madlin.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“What?” Madlin turned with a confused expression on her face to find Sam’s disbelieving frown. It never took much for the Zeltron to crumble. “Alright,” she relented, “Alright, stop your cute pouting act.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“So?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“So, um, it was nothing really. The girl on the other team was just mad I scored and said some things. Nothing to worry to worry your pretty little head about, Samy,” she said ruffling the younger one’s hair.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Several footsteps approached from behind and both girls turned their heads to see who it was. It was a group of four girls laughing loudly between themselves. One of them Sam recognised as the player Madlin had clashed with in the game. She cast her eyes back over to her friend, realising Madlin had gone stony faced. She had a sinking feeling in her gut which only intensified as the girl in the opposing team uniform dashed over still giggling.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Frizzy haired and slightly bucktoothed, the girl looked about Madlin’s age so a couple of years older and had an air of conniving nastiness.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Hi again,” she said in a faux overly-friendly manner. “Not popular enough to sit with the rest of your team?” The other girls with her had caught up and began giggling some more at the comment.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“You hear something?” Madlin asked Sam and casually took another sip of her drink.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]On her part, anxiety flooded through Samka’s system. Her heart began pounding faster and there was a lurching feeling in her belly. She didn’t cope well in situations like this, so she kept her head down and voice silent.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Doesn’t surprise me they don’t want you with them. Look at you,” the girl distastefully looked Madlin up and down. “They always told me Lady Ilka’s School only took the best but I can guess how you got in. Or how your Mum earned the money anyway.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The meaning of the remarks went over Sam’s head but there was something insulting about them, she understood that much.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I’m here because I earned it, you obviously couldn’t get in,” Madlin turned and snapped. “I’ve scored twice, you’ve scored nothing!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I-it’s a team effort!” The girl snarled back, “my team’s winning so I’m winning!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Maybe they’d be winning by more if you weren’t holding them back,” Madlin replied.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The other girls had gathered around their leader defensively. “You red-skinned weirdo! You can’t talk to me like that, it’s not allowed!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Any undertones of just why this girl was picking a fight with her friend were undertones no longer. Samka could never understand just why some humans would pick on Madlin for her species. Madlin was great and it didn’t matter what planet she came from.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Leave her alone!” Sam spoke up for the first time. In retrospect, it was hardly the most witty thing she could have said but she was too cross to think of anything else, it was a quick burst of passion.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Now attention was put squarely on her for the first time. She could feel the heat of their gazes and her courage faltered. “Who’s this?” The bully asked, turning her attention between Sam and Madlin. “Couldn’t find a friend your own age and had to go into the younger classes?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“She’s a worth a million of the giggling drones you’ve got!” Madlin shot back. Even now in such a heated exchange, that comment made Sam feel good. Madlin really was the best friend she could ever hope for.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“What are you two, like, girlfriends or something?” Sam blinked at the girl’s comment, not quite understanding what that meant. “It’s all Zeltrons are popular for anyway,” the bully continued, “people only want them around because they’re good kissers and nothing else.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Another less happy emotion bubbled up within Sam. Her fist clenched and she began to tremble slightly in anger. How could someone be so mean?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Heh, what are you so afraid of?” The girl asked, misinterpreting Samka’s shaking. It was true she was fearful just a moment ago but something in her had snapped. She couldn’t speak but she glared daggers up at the older girl whose confidence began to drop. First her face fell from smug satisfaction to discomfort. Next she coughed, muttering something about her throat, then the coughing devolved into spluttering and wheezing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Sam.” Came a gentle voice to the side calling her name. It sounded far away but despite the softness in tone, it had the strength to reach her. There was a familiar hand on her shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze. Sam’s head turned to find Madlin’s reassuring smile. “It's okay.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]And it was. The bells rang signalling the end of the free break. Madlin had to return to the rest of the team while Sam made for the observer stands. They left the girls from the other school there without a word.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Sam had never been the competitive type, at least not when it came to competing schools. But now she felt as though they had to win. Her eyes trailed down as both teams filed out into the arena. First she sought out Madlin, easy to spot by being the only non-human playing. Next her attention flickered to the other team, finding that frizzy hair which marked the girl who confronted them earlier. This felt personal. They had to win. Madlin had to win.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Please…” Samka whispered under her breath. The match got underway and right away the opposing team got the ball and pressed their advantage. Five minutes later they scored again. It was looking like a repeat of the first half. Sam groaned. They could not loose. She saw the frizzy haired girl joining her team’s celebration. She could not win.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Then something changed. Something inexplicable. Sam found herself suddenly connected somehow not just to Madlin but to every girl on her team. It was faint but she felt like she knew them all intimately. She could feel their fears, their self doubts. So she pressed back not understanding how but just willing her team to do better. It didn't take long until results began to show. The team became faster and more coordinated. The tide began to turn in their favour. They scored. They scored again. Whenever the other team got a hold of the ball, their team mates were locked down and the ball carrier pinned.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The rest of the crowd around her was going wild in support but Sam sat there silently, just willing this to continue.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]The final bell rang and the results were called. They’d won by a hair. Sam broke the connection and looked down at Madlin. Her friend had a huge smile on her face and was hugging two of her team mates. Samka felt immensely satisfied at the sight but she was confused. Now that connection with the team was gone, she questioned if it ever existed. It was such a bizarre concept that she’d simply wished for them to win and they’d done so. Would anyone believe her? She was already doubting herself.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]It must have been a coincidence, Sam concluded in her head. A fantasy invented in the heat of an emotional moment. She was no one special. To claim otherwise would undermine the hard work put in by the team, the people actually playing. Not a nine year old girl in the stands wishing for things. So she put it into the back of her mind, never to think of again until her time with the Ren.[/SIZE]