Private The First Disastrous Day

[Gillan Eru]

Coruscant: Jedi Temple Arrivals
Theme

"Alright kid, this is it." The Selkath's chair swivelled to take one final look at the young passenger. The hood of his earth-toned cloak largely obscured his face, but the Selkath could tell that the boy was smiling. "Thank you for everything Sunma." He reached for his bag as he rose from the passenger's seat. It wasn't large per se, but it was still heavy. Jedi weren't supposed to have a lot of belongings, but nobody could be perfect. He needed his starmaps, datafiles, astrogator, and so on. "Gonna miss ya too kid. Stay safe. The large Selkath raised his hand in a final goodbye-gesture as the boarding ramp extended. "May the Force be with you Sunma. Goodbye." The last word he muttered wasn't necessarily directed at the Selkath. No, it was a goodbye to the Concord as a whole. To his friends, teachers, and his past. And hello Coruscant. He thought as he descended from the ramp.

It was overwhelming at first. The loud noise of skylanes, polluted air, and skyscrapers stabbing at the sky. Even the least-occupied walkways he saw were busier than any he had ever seen at Silver Rest. Gillan swallowed. He wasn't going to get lost on his first day. Not that easily. He swung his bag over his shoulder and strode forward. The landing pads were still far away from the actual temple, but it was hard to miss, even from this distance. He had read a lot about the building. It was larger than Silver Rest, with so much more to offer. Which wasn't strange, considering the temple had been a Jedi stronghold for over six millennia. It was perhaps the one thing he was excited about, exploring the Temple and its archives.

That was, if his new Master would allow it. Like always, the Order had given him preciously little information. He was just supposed to show up and hope that everything would be in order. He hadn't even received a name. As a result, he had been speculating these last two months. Maybe it would be the legendary Ryv, the Sword of the Jedi. Or the Warden of Peace, Aaran Tafo. But in truth, he silently hoped that he would be assigned to Auteme, the Shield of the Jedi. She was somewhat of a legend herself, and he was a loyal fan of her holoseries. The prospect of meeting all of them was scary, but naturally also quite exciting.

Perhaps that was why disappointment washed over him when he found no one waiting at the Temple Entrance. The Jedi who walked past him didn't show the slightest bit of interest, all of them occupied with their own tasks. But what was possibly the most striking about them, was that the majority wore flightsuits, combat suits or regular clothing. He almost stood out in his traditional Jedi attire.

Gillan raised an hand to one of the passer-by's "Uhm, excuse me." The Jedi he presumed was a Knight stopped and gave him a questioning look. Gillan quickly continued. "I'm looking for a uhm... a front desk or something." The first day is always the most disastrous. He reminded himself. "Straight ahead, it's on your right eventually. Hard to miss." A sense of relief washed over him. "Thanks! I'll be on my way then." He gave the Knight a thankful nod before he confidently strode in. On the lookout for anyone who seemed in search of well, him.

Lyra Ozu​

 

[Lyra Ozu]

"I didn't think it was like you to take on a Padawan." The Jedi sitting at the foot of the bed commented.

"Someone's got to teach those Silvers some fashion sense."

"Like you wouldn't go out in bath robes if you could."

"Would've saved some time today." Lyra replied, peering out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out the corner of her mouth as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. "Speaking of which, what time is it?"

"Half-past."

"Seriously?" The Jedi froze like a deer caught in headlights, her relatively carefree demeanour replaced by a sudden panic. "Throw me that jacket." She used the toothbrush to point at a jacket hung over a chair before ditching it in the bathroom behind her to catch the jacket that was soon launched in her direction.

"You're not late already, are you?"

A nervous chuckle escaped the lips of the Mirialan as she frantically searched for her other shoe under random items strewn across the room. "No, no. Not me." Upon finding the shoe, she put it on and made a half-attempt at tying the lace. "Lock the door when you leave." She instructed her friend before rushing out the door in a whirlwind.

The Jedi walked quickly to the temple entrance, hoping the new Padawan she was supposed to take under her wing hadn't already gotten lost due to her negligence.

The prospect of taking on a Padawan from the Silver Jedi Order had intrigued her. It was only the beginning of such a system and her partnership with Gillan was one of the first few so no doubt there would be eyes on them to prove or disprove the efficacy of the inter-order pairing.

She felt the Silver Jedi were lacking a sort of nuance present in the New Jedi Order, though it was no doubt the feeling was mutual, so she hoped to provide a different insight for a Padawan who may have known nothing but the order they grew up in and likewise, they would return the favour.

Ultimately, if all was successful, both would come to realise that they were both Jedi at their core and any differences were merely superficial.

The Mirialan's gaze shifted quickly throughout the Jedi figures who were frequenting the temple, quickly discounting anyone who was dressed in normal clothes. Before long, she spotted a teenage boy marked by the iconic sense of Jedi fashion and jogged over to him.

"Gillan?" She asked before offering a handshake and a warm smile. "My name's Lyra. I'm the Knight you've been assigned to." She introduced herself. "Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time." She explained, as evident by her rather haphazardly put together outfit.

He wasn't the only one in need of teaching. While she had passed all the necessary trials to become a Jedi Knight, her independence had allowed her to exhibit irresponsible behaviour which had placed her into the pool of prospective candidates in the hope that taking on the responsibility of a Padawan would help to straighten her out. After all, the exchange was supposed to be mutually beneficial.

"You're looking mighty fancy." She noted his rather formal appearance by New Jedi standards. "You don't have to wear that here if you don't want to. I mean you can if you do but... each to their own." She told him, giving a first insight into her sometimes overly talkative nature.






Gillan Eru

 

[Gillan Eru]

Depending on what you were doing, twenty-five minutes could be an incredibly long or short time. In this case, it was definitely a long time. Granted, he had been a bit early. Just a bit. He had already gone through a healthy dose of nauseating stress, the fear that the New Jedi Order didn't know he was coming at all, and finally a sense of abandonment. A lot of emotions and fear for a supposed Jedi in twenty-five minutes.

He was already considering turning around and catching a flight to Kashyyyk, when a Mirialan woman caught his attention. Was she heading his way? He glanced over his shoulder, making sure that there wasn't someone else standing behind him - that misunderstanding had happened way too many times already. But there was no one behind him. And she was indeed heading straight for him.

"Gillan?"

"Yeah?" She offered him a handshake, which he reluctantly accepted. A part of him still expected Auteme, Ryv or Aaran to jump from behind some pillar. This was definitely not what he expected. "You... lost track of time? He shook his head. This wasn't a good time to ask questions. Master Sinvala would skin him alive if she had caught him asking rude questions. Some Jedi considered Master Vanagor scary. Well, they probably hadn't met Master Sinvala yet. Luckily for him, Lyra moved on fast. "What do you mean? Is it not customary to wear Jedi robes in the temple?" He looked down at his own robe, glancing to Lyra's immediately after. And as he looked her up and down, he couldn't help but wonder about her age. Was she in her early-twenties? Mid-twenties? Did he even dare ask?

Change of subject. That often worked best. "So uhhhh, do you have separate quarters for Padawans where I could bring my belongings?" He had no idea what the New Jedi Order expected of him. Or what Lyra expected of him, for that matter. But he really wanted to unpack his bags, and take a moment to rest after the long journey to Coruscant.

Lyra Ozu​

 

[Lyra Ozu]

There would be a lot of differences to learn for the both of them and after mere moments of meeting both would receive their first. Lyra wasn't sure how valued punctuality was in the Silver Jedi Order but she knew it was certainly rude to be late. She had just never had a reason to be on time until now. No one to wait for her until she had the responsibility of a Padawan to take under her wing.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm not usually this late. I mean... sometimes but not always. Not anymore anyway." She sighed and chuckled, realising she was digging herself into a hole though she wasn't taking it too seriously. Her intentions hadn't been to be rude. She could just be absent-minded at times as he would soon learn. "I'll buy a watch." She concluded, letting the matter settle.

"Not at all. You can wear what you want. Well, within reason." She told him before quickly adding. "But robes are fine too." She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. "Do they give you any other clothes over there? I mean... Do you want some other clothes? I can get you some, if you like. Or not. It doesn't matter either way. Whatever works best for you."

You're trying too hard.

"Yeah, of course. Follow me." She told him before leading the way to the wing where the Padawans were housed. It provided an opportunity for a brief window of conversation. "So, where do you come from Gillan? What's your story?" She asked, rather cheerily. While her own appearance suggested that of a Mirialan native, her accent suggested otherwise.


Gillan Eru

 

[Gillan Eru]

Gillan shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I prefer my robes." He didn't exactly feel comfortable in flight suits and tight leather pants. Let alone a jacket, like the one Lyra was wearing. No, he much preferred his monastic and arguably more comfortable tunic. For a minute he paused to think. "Wait, what do you mean within reason? Have there been Jedi who wore something inappropriate in the Temple?" His mind instantly wandered to some of the more obscure holos of Twi'leks that his friends had once showed him. "Did you know any of them?" He kept his voice low on purpose, not wanting to offend any of the other nearby Jedi who could possibly fall in that category.

"Well," He began as he followed behind Lyra. "I'm from the Mid-Rim. But I've been with the Silver Jedi for as long as I remember." It was the standard story. Found young, and raised at the Temple. "I visited the libraries of Ossus and the Temple ruins of Voss before, but other than that..." He scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "I don't really have much to tell you, to be honest." What else could he say? He was at the top of his class in archaic languages and cultures, decent at lightsaber combat, and advanced in the use of Force techniques. But would that even be intrigue her? She didn't seem like the time who enjoyed spending time in the archives as he did.

"What about you? Are you from Mirial?"

Lyra Ozu
​

 

[Lyra Ozu]

"Ok. Suit yourself." She replied with a shrug. He claimed not to want more clothes now but it wouldn't be long before they had matching biker jackets and pyjamas if she had anything to say about it. Taking on an apprentice was like having a built-in younger sibling and she had never had one of those before so she would overcompensate by all means available.

Taking your Padawan clothes shopping counted as fulfilling Knightly duties, right? In any case, she would let him settle in first before scaring him off with her overbearing friendliness - or at least she would attempt to.

"I just mean practical, som-" Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she smiled and shook her head. "Never you mind that."

* * *​

The Knight nodded along occasionally as he spoke to show she was listening. He had the standard Jedi story, not too dissimilar from her own. Studying with the Silver Jedi was certainly a fine experience but it was nothing compared to studying under the New Jedi Order, as he would soon learn. They may have both been raised by the Jedi since their childhoods but it would quickly become apparent just what differing effects the alternate orders had on them.

"Yeah, originally. Grew up on Coruscant though, under the Jedi here." She replied. It was the truth but the less savoury aspect of her past was not something to be talked about at a first meeting. "I've been pretty uneventful, myself."

With the formalities aside, they had reached the room that he would call home for a while. She pressed a keypad and the door slid open a moment later to reveal the bare room within, housing only the essentials which looked as though it would suit Gillan fine given his own notable lack of possessions.

"It was looking a little empty so I got you a house- uh room-warming gift." She pointed into the room which was still as empty but with a potted flower on the desk. "I was expecting a girl." She explained. "But there's no reason you can't enjoy the flower." The matching jackets weren't looking so bad now.

"Oh! I got-" She reached into her jacket, looking for something. "Uh, one moment..." She reached into the other side and produced a small leather-bound book which she offered to him with a smile. "I find writing in a journal helpful for reflection." Probably useful considering how disorganised she appeared to be.

Gillan Eru

 

[Gillan Eru]

Gillan listened with only half an ear. The Temple was just too distracting. Golden light filtered through the tall glass windows, marble pillars supported the ceiling in every hallway, and every room he managed to catch a glimpse of seemed more intricate that the last. "I guess we're not that different then." He joked, realising that she had as little exposure to the extreme of the galaxy as he did. Gillan didn't want to doubt the effectiveness, wisdom or experience of his new master. But he couldn't but wonder; was she ready for a Padawan?

He almost bumped into her when she stopped and opened a door to her right. The corridor seemed rather simplistic and uneventful. As did the empty room that was apparently his.

Still, a bare room was better than no room.

On Kashyyyk, the initiates and younger Padawans had shared dormitories. Gillan figured that, with the scarce amount of Jedi that were part of the New Jedi Order, there were many empty rooms to fills. That meant privileges and a bit more comfort. That, he liked about his new 'home'.

"Oh, uhh thanks." He turned to Lyra with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head. "Don't worry. I was expecting my master to be male" He couldn't tell if they were mismatched, or if their respective Orders wanted it to be this way. "But there's no reason we can't make this work, right?" He slid the bag off his shoulder, and placed it next to the door. His attention was drawn back to Lyra when she produced a notebook, for him. "Oh thanks!" He wasn't used to writing things down. He had a small recorder connected to his commlink, for whenever he needed to listen something back later. It made it far easier to extract information from holocrons too. But the downside of it was that he couldn't sketch or draw with it. Now, however, he could.

"Say, when do we have our first mission? Has the council approached you yet?" He asked as he accepted the notebook. It was a random question, but not entirely out of the blue. He was excited to finally be allowed to step into the field, even if it was outside of the Concord's worlds.

Lyra Ozu​

 

[Lyra Ozu]

They could certainly hope they weren't too different otherwise they would be embarking on a painful experience for the both of them. It was still early days so maybe they would find more in common in time but if their personalities clashed then they would soon run into trouble and knowing herself, she didn't believe that to be too unlikely for someone from the far more conventional Silver Jedi Order.

As the less oversubscribed of the two orders, the New Jedi had rooms upon rooms to spare. While they only housed the bare essentials, it was still a place you could call your own. Part of her thought it would be funny to drag Gillan out of bed for early morning training but something told her it was more likely to be the other way around.

It seemed both were placed in a situation different to the one they were expecting. Still, Lyra was optimistic enough to believe that good things could come from the unexpected and she was excited for the journey upon which they were about to embark. After all, they were not just changing their own lives but creating history for their respective Jedi Orders.

"Exactly." She agreed with a smile. "I think we'll do just fine." Even if they had their differences, they could make this work. She was sure of it. Though she wouldn't admit it, she could likely learn some punctuality and responsibility which she was currently lacking. While she had wanted a Padawan and chose to take one of her own free will, she was gently nudged towards the notion which led to her making the decision.

"In a couple of days. They've given you some time to settle in." As an afterthought, she added. "We have time to get in some training tomorrow, if you want? So I can know where you're at and you can see where I'm at... just to understand each other better really. Oh and I know this great place for lunch after." She told him as though she had already decided it was happening, treating him more like a friend or sibling rather than someone with supposed superiority since that wasn't her style.


Gillan Eru