Private Path of the Jedi

[Marck Vallen]

"PATH OF THE JEDI"
"CAILEN'S FIRST STEPS AS A JEDI PADAWAN"

LOCATION: Hyperspace Route Between Coruscant and Tython​

War was coming to Tython, it was inevitable, any day now that the attack would come. The Brotherhood of the Maw had been making obvious moves in preparation for the attack, making smaller raids on neighboring systems and strongholds, disrupting supply lines, and moving assets into position for the attack. From their actions, it would appear they saw victory as inevitable, but the Jedi were far from as defenseless as the Sith among the Brotherhood would have the galaxy believe. Even though the Jedi were not militaristic in nature, they were more than capable of waging war when necessary, and the call for the Jedi to join together on Tython to prepare had been made. Part of that meant not only Jedi themselves joining together on Tython, but much-needed supplies would be required as well. The Council had asked that Marck's ship, the Guardian, be loaded with supplies and he and his Padawan Cailen, travel to Tython as soon as possible.

Cailen had just returned to Coruscant after completing the test of The Gathering, having found his Kyber Crystal, and officially becoming Marck's apprentice with the full rank of Padawan. Cailen had been furiously working on building his Lightsaber ever since. While Marck had offered some parts, as well as advice, as was proper he had left his student alone to follow the guidance of the Force in how the saber should be constructed. While all sabers followed similar construction guidelines, each was unique to the owner, just as each crystal was unique to the Jedi. Marck's own twin blades now reflected his personality and the evolution of his understanding of the Force, and he couldn't wait to see how Cailen's would turn out. That and given their destination, he would, unfortunately, need the weapon.

While Marck would rather not have their first official mission together by entering battle with the Brotherhood of the Maw, the Jedi Master had limited options. The Alliance and the Jedi Order were under siege, and as a Padawan, Cailen would need to learn how to fight servants of the Darkside by fighting in this war. Still, Marck wasn't about to let his Padawan go into battle without having him prepared. It was important that Cailen learn how to use his new saber properly. While they had gone over the forms of lightsaber combat with training sabers and vibroblades, these weapons were not a true Jedi Lightsaber, they lacked the connection to the owner that Cailen's own lightsaber would have with him. He needed to form a strong connection with the crystal at the heart of the blade, learn the feel of the saber in his hand as it became a part of him, and most importantly learn how to allow the Force to flow through the weapon. Most new students to lightsaber combat attempted to treat the lightsaber as a simple weapon and attempted to wield it, fighting the flow of the weapon, rather than allowing the Force to flow through them into the blade making them act as one. If Cailen was to survive the coming confrontation Marck would have to quickly help him past this stage of his development.

"Cailen," Marck called out into the halls of the ship, knowing the boy could hear him, as he moved into the center of his training room aboard the Guardian. When he had first discovered the vessel, this had been a conference room designed for meetings of the crew, with a holo-communications terminal, table, and chairs taking up the majority of the space. Marck had quickly redesigned the room, having the holo-terminal moved to the bridge, and the table and chairs emptied out into other spaces. Soft surfaces had been added to the floor and walls, decorated in the same soft blues and purple colors that were prominent throughout the rest of the ship, but muted with soft greys, wood accents, and exposed bulkheads. One wall was home to shelves lined with blunted vibroblades and training sabers that he and Cailen had used in the past year together, as well as a large cabinet that was home to several training drones and a large sparing droid. The walls were also lined with an energy shield that activated when the users of the room were practicing with real lightsabers rather than the harmless practice sabers. In the past when teaching new students the room had taken some damage, to prevent this the energy shields were installed to protect the walls, allowing the blade to bounce off the shield when struck, rather than cut through the bulkhead. He had a feeling he was going to need the shields today.

"Can you join me please?" Marck called out again as he waited for the boy to join him. As he felt him approaching the training room, Marck began to project calming and focusing energy out into the Force, filling the room. It would help them both to relax in an unfamiliar situation and give Cailen a better chance of understanding what Marck was about to teach him. Even though they had spent the year and some not only getting to know each other, as well as Marck acting as an instructor, this was going to be their first official training session as Padawan and Master, and before they reached Tython, Marck intended to have Cailen ready for the challenge ahead.

"Hello my Padawan," Marck said as a way of greeting when Cailen joined him, his smile wide and filled with pride at getting to use the boy's official rank. "Have you finished building your lightsaber?" Marck asked eager to see what Cailen had come up with for his lightsaber. "It's time for you to try it out and get ready for our mission on Tython."

Cailen Corso