Honestly, the circumstances I found myself in were even a bit exhausting. I had to first fly to Rishi, where I caused a rout of the local gang. And then return to Coruscant. Where, after returning what the Order sought, I was to head for Alderaan and begin the investigation there. And although Alderaan fit into my plan, as I intended to study many things there. And then I intended to study military sciences, most likely at the Carida Academy, as one of the most elite. Or at the Corulag or Anaxian one. They taught the same specialties, more or less. Why did I need this? In the Order, younglings were taught military tactics, both in space and on planets, poorly.
I remember this from my classes when I was a youngling. Diplomacy, negotiations, history, both of the Republic and the Order, survival theory in any terrain, studying various survival tools - please. In any volume. But everything related to military tactics and strategy, both in space battles and ground battles - forget it. I suspect that this is where the "successes" of some Jedi during the Clone Wars lie. There were excellent Generals among the Jedi, but most, according to popular opinion, preferred to run ahead of the clones with their lightsabers, impressing them with their abilities. But should a General, in modern warfare, do such a thing?
I don't deny that sometimes the General's own entry into battle will give strength to the troops. It shows that he is not just good at hiding behind the soldiers. But sometimes a General should sit in the rear and study the operational situation. It is very difficult to command globally on the battlefield. But when you sit somewhere in a bunker and directly observe the battle, see which units, ships are going where, and receive intelligence about enemy formations, you can lead troops more effectively. Accordingly, you can become not just a great saber-wielder, but also an excellent General. Or Admiral... That's what I'm striving for. Not only the Clone Wars, this galaxy will face great upheavals in the near future.
And if all I can do is fence well and use the Force, then I'm worthless. If diplomacy, the basics of state administration - it's my oversight, although I later found an excuse why I didn't focus on these subjects. I said that during my Padawan years, the ability to work with lightsabers and the Force might be more useful to me. But military tactics and strategy are the domain of professionals. And to become such a professional, it is not enough to simply study the military successes of the Order in any Sith, and not only their wars. Professionals teach in military academies, which, although they surrendered after the Ruusan Reformation. After all, with the death of Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness, we have no more threats, right? And as I noted, for six hundred years, perhaps eight hundred, it was like that. But in reality, such carelessness is a bomb planted under the system. And it, at some point, was bound to detonate and turn the galaxy upside down. It's no longer a question of the intervention of the Sith Order, which adopted Bane's Doctrine of the Rule of Two... No. The Republic, sooner or later, would have faced a similar upheaval. And again, long before the Vong and other post-Endor crises. Many things in the galaxy began to rot. No one can curb the Megacorporations, which can even equip entire sectors. Pirates, who have also managed to find the right intelligent beings in the Senate, are raging in the Outer Rim.
And I'm not saying that democracy in general and the Republic in particular are incapable of correcting the situation. Monarchical states do not have a monopoly on "imposing peace and order." The point is that even in democracies, you can correctly build a hierarchy, checks and balances, so that everything is peaceful and quiet. After all, empires can have the same problems that are attributed to the Republic. Or are empires so perfect that they don't fall apart? Again, everything rots sooner or later... At such moments, I often wonder - is it worth doing anything at all? After all, even if I succeed, even if I build something - someday what I have built will also fall... And at the same time, I don't want to stop. Or maybe I can't anymore. It doesn't matter what it leads to... I will do it.
The ball of Coruscant appeared before the ship. Now I'll have to take control.
"VV, tell the dispatcher our identification code, let them give us privileged access," I told the droid out of habit. A few seconds later, I received a vector for entering the atmosphere. The Temple was also informed of my arrival, and Master Jonnal was already standing at my assigned landing spot in the hangar. I arrived on the planet at sunset. And I felt the desire to sleep a little. But I felt that I wouldn't be sleeping for a long time.
The Master greeted me right at the ramp.
"Knight Light," the man nodded at me.
"Master Jonnal," I said, descending the ramp and stepping onto the floor. The technicians froze in anticipation. After all, we had to wait for the Master and the Knight to move away from the ship before starting maintenance. The man waved his hand, and I followed him towards the hangar exit, bypassing the fighters and other Jedi ships. The technicians rushed to my vessel, starting its maintenance.
"Honestly," the man told me when we entered the corridor. "I couldn't imagine that you would also stumble upon 'that Gifted one.' I mean the one I told you about on the holocom after the destruction of Lothar's gang."
"Is he so dangerous that you're afraid to send me on such a mission, namely, to search for him?" I asked the Master with surprise.
"How can I put it. Three Masters, about seven Knights, and eight Padawans. All died in the Outer Rim. The essence is one - they found artifacts of the Sith, or another Order of the Gifted, encountered pirates, defeated some of the pirates, and reported that someone hired them. When the Council ordered the Shadows to deal with it - the Shadows found nothing, except that those who defeated the pirates were later killed. Bounty hunters, or... were struck down by a lightsaber. That's why this case is dangerous. I personally tried to track this Hutt scum, but I couldn't. And since you're involved, you'll have to play the role of bait," we entered a spacious office on the first level of the Temple. It was furnished very ascetically. Is this the office of the Master, the head of the Shadows? I glanced around the room. Plain walls, small windows through which light barely penetrated. To the right of the entrance was another door, clearly leading to a living area. Everything here was clean for work. In the middle stood an ordinary table. The Master placed his palm on its surface.
"Security disabled," a male, robotic voice said. Biometric protection on the computer?
"Sit down," Jonnal pulled a chair to the table with telekinesis.
I sat down and looked at the Master with curiosity.
"So, what did you bring?" he asked me.
I took the Matukai scrolls from my inner pockets. Their creator was a truly interesting personality. She noticed that in the body of a Gifted, there are several points where the Force accumulates. And she proposed a set of movements, which later evolved into martial arts, for the development of these points. There were five of them in total... The upper one was located at the base of the neck. The right upper one corresponded to the right hand, the left upper one - to the left. And accordingly, there were points on both legs. The next level was not just the use of martial arts, but "strengthening the body." The points evenly distributed the Force throughout the body, granting incredible physical strength to the trainee, as well as incredible skills in resisting physical impacts on the body. A true Matukai Master could endure pain, illness, even radiation! Such was the incredible nature of their art. And I was fully aware that such a treasure could not be missed.
So I quickly began to weave Matukai elements into my training. Of course, Theodore might not have fully translated all the information. Or deceived me in some other way... So all these trainings are playing with fire. But I am confident that my knowledge of the Force, as well as the structure of my body, will be enough to understand whether I am making a mistake or not.
The man opened the scrolls with interest.
"As always, it's completely incomprehensible," Jonnal Ezar grumbled.
Well, I would say that the Matukai language for encryption is very similar to Chinese hieroglyphic writing. And although I didn't know Chinese at all, I heard Theodore muttering during the translation. And in my past life, I heard Chinese. Because who was I? A geek. And what do geeks do? They watch anime, among other things. And watching without dubbing was my habit.
"Damn Matukai," Jonnal Ezar continued. Maybe I shouldn't have cut them to make them kinder? Kuro and Theodore himself explained to me that Jonnal is a fanatic who cuts down anyone who disagrees with him. He even tried to push through a decision through the Council to cut down everyone who wanted to leave the Jedi Order. Yes, leaving can be relatively painless, you don't even necessarily have Shadows sent after you. Jonnal is one of those who believes that only "mass executions will save the Motherland." And... in principle, yes, the situation is now such that to save the Order and the Republic, radical actions must be taken. "Hmm," he snorted. "All right," he rolled up the scrolls and clasped his hands in front of him. "Since I've dragged you into this, you'll continue. I heard you wanted to travel the Outer Rim. But you'll have to wait with that, Light."
"You don't want me to die..."
"I don't want any Jedi to die. And that carrion is already driving me crazy," the Master replied grimly. "He escapes, or destroys squads of Liquidators. He cuts down Masters and Knights, with Padawans left and right! And he's gotten away with it for twenty years! Now do you understand the scale of the problem? You had the misfortune to get involved in this problem, although I confess, I didn't even know he was involved here too. But no matter how involved he is, we need to find him. Find him and punish him. And you will be one of those who will help me with this. Do you remember what I told you a couple of days ago?"
"Yes," I nodded. "I will have to fly to Alderaan and investigate the possible connection of House Antilles with our enemy. From the data you sent me - the pilot caught by our Knights served House Antilles and was carrying out its order for delivery."
"Correct," the Master of the Order confirmed. "Your target is him," a holophoto of a young man appeared before me. "His name is Bail Antilles," a chestnut-haired young man with an arrogant look in his blue eyes. "In the Antilles family, there is something like a test of maturity. The father gives the heir control over some part of his business and observes his success. In this case, Bail received a share in the transport company of House Antilles. And it was its ship that was noticed in smuggling."
"If Bail Antilles is indeed involved in this, then, due to his position, he may well know the true identity of our enemy," I made a guess.
"Correct," Master Jonnal confirmed. "That's why I'm sending you to Alderaan. This is a rather obvious thread that could lead to him."
"But what if the heir of House Antilles is not involved?" I reasonably asked the head of the Shadows. "If the smuggling was the pilot's personal initiative. Was he even interrogated?"
"Well, how can I put it, no," the Master shook his head. "When that pilot was caught, too much noise was raised in the Core Worlds, saying that the Jedi had gone completely crazy," he placed his hand on the table with feeling. "We couldn't conduct a proper interrogation."
"Hmm, I understand everything. Bail Antilles," I read his dossier. "Seventeen years old. Currently the nominal head of the Transport Company of House Antilles. And also... A student at Alderaan University?" I caught on the dossier. "What if I try to get acquainted with him casually? It doesn't take great intelligence to show up at an aristocrat's palace and interrogate him. But again, what is the value of information obtained this way? And using some of our methods is basically forbidden, isn't it?"
"You're thinking of enrolling at Alderaan University? How old are you?" the Master asked. "They accept students from eighteen. Or those who turn eighteen this year, like our respected Bail."
"I'm sixteen," I said. "Too young? Well, maybe I should create a persona? Or just pass the exam using the Order's connections. Jedi are highly respected on Alderaan, I'm sure they will meet us halfway, especially if we don't mention my true mission. A Jedi decided to study at their University. A good precedent."
"Yeah, indeed," Jonnal chuckled. "A Jedi enrolls in the University. However, there have been such precedents among us. But better, let's create a persona for you. For me, it's a couple of seconds. So... Name, surname? Race is already preset."
"And won't my face appear in the database?" I asked the Master.
"We'll hide it," he simply replied. "A couple of seconds, and the Jedi named 'Light Flaingstar' won't have a photo even in the Jedi databases. Plus, I'll lean on some of my contacts and it will be cleaned up in data centers across the galaxy. If you don't start flaunting your Giftedness yourself, there will be no problems. So... What's your name?" Jonnal asked me.
"Well, I am Sephi. So I need to come up with a suitable name. And a different surname."
"So... We'll create certificates for you across the galaxy, especially on Tustra. Born," he tapped the computer keys. "Eighteen years ago. Uh-huh..."
"Write the name - Taivi Lanian," I asked.
"That'll do," Jonnal agreed. "And now... Where do you want to apply? Bail applied for 'Public Administration.' One of the most prestigious faculties. In addition, you can indicate an additional specialization, for which there will be additional classes."
"Will I be registered there for several years?" I asked in surprise.
"It all depends on how long you interact with Bail and how much time you need to find out all the background. But the training should ideally last five years. Of course, the sooner you uncover everything, the sooner you'll leave. Or finish your studies," the man shrugged. "I'm creating a profile of parents."
"Yes, it certainly won't hurt to gain knowledge in public administration, politics, and economics."
"A pleasant bonus to training in the Order," the Master of the Council chuckled. "Although I heard that you slept through all of this."
"Because I spent almost all my time focused on lightsaber training and using the Force. I had no strength left to study theory."
"You're such an idiot," Jonnal summarized. "With your talent, you've become a one-sided warrior. You could have been a great all-rounder. Now you'll have to catch up. The best education isn't even Coruscant University. It's Jedi training." He scoffed, as if Jedi balanced budgets and ran the Republic. "All our involvement in politics is diplomacy. That's what you really need to learn from the Jedi. Though not all of them." "Alright, what are your parents' names?"
"Titosi Lanian and Jayni Lanian," I blurted out. "Let it be."
"Fine. Let's say Titosi is a modest owner of a modest shop. The Order will help with this cover, and Jayni is his wife. Though I doubt they'll dig that deep."
"Just write that they died, and their son decided to become someone more, so he enrolled in the University for Public Administration."
"Done," the man nodded. "Now, unless you start swinging lightsabers yourself, no one will guess you're a Jedi. I admit, the idea of such a cover is interesting and will definitely work. Though it doesn't exempt you from formalities. I can't just push you into the University. You'll have to pass the exams, which are still ongoing... You'll head to Alderaan tomorrow."
"Wait, how did Bail get in?"
"He's a Prince by birth. He doesn't need exams to get into Alderaan University, but who are you? Taivi Lanian from Tustra? The son of a deceased entrepreneur? The exams are still ongoing. I've added you to the list of candidates. I think you'll get there in five days. And remember the main mission. And also, that you must act delicately."
Alderaan. A beautiful planet located in the Core Worlds. A planet that contained both the beauty of nature, which the local inhabitants had not particularly disfigured, and the gloss of luxury and wealth. Cities here were built by ecologists, in the truest sense of the word. Because the foundation here is care for nature. No one wanted the unique nature of this planet to be destroyed. And this time, I had to settle here... Most likely for a long time. After all, to get close to Bail Antilles, it would take more than a day. And I had to work with him carefully. Whether he works for the Sith or not, it doesn't matter. He is the heir to a Noble House in the Core Worlds. One of the possible rulers of an entire planet, a rich planet. And to just barge in blindly would be the height of foolishness. Therefore, everything must look perfect, and I must be careful myself. To get to Alderaan, I didn't take my ship, leaving it in the Temple Hangars. I only took VV and my lightsabers, which I hid this time in a bronzium statue. The statue depicted Larika, the father of the current King, Alaric. He became famous for restoring Tustra after the last war with Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness. Back then, the entire Republic was recovering heavily. Under him, many factories were opened, the economy was restored, and so on. I think I'll put it in my room. Why not? It's authentic, like a Sephi – I won't look strange if I honor a sentient being of my race. Especially since Larik is truly highly respected by our people. The transport ship arrived on Alderaan at noon. Later, my ship would also be transported to this planet separately, to avoid questions. Passing customs was quite simple. The statue wasn't thoroughly inspected, and I was ready to use a Force Suggestion on the customs officer. But it wasn't necessary... I just had to play the part of an impressed fool, who spent five minutes telling the border guard about His Majesty Larik's great achievements.
Aldera. It's a beautiful city located on an island in Lake Aldera. Ordinary mortals swim there on a special boat. Which is what happened to me at that moment. The ship landed at the spaceport, where I had to go to the terminal for the "ferry." And even then, I had to separately specify why I was going to Aldera. Although there were many young people around me who, like me, wanted to enroll in the University, there were strict "uncles and aunts" who really studied each person individually and only then let them on board. As a result, boarding took four hours. And the majestic city, which I could only observe from afar, I finally saw up close. The buildings were white, sparkling in the rays of the star setting behind the mountains. There were almost no speeders in the city. But there were interesting "horizontal escalators" that helped tired people move through the streets.
But what was more striking were the green zones, the forest parks, which bordered entire districts. And also the prices... I was given a lot of money, thanks to Jonnal. The Order possessed a truly bottomless treasury. But as soon as I entered the hotel to spend the night, I felt the tips of my black hair start to turn gray. Although students also live in dormitories. But for some, a look at the city's prices gives a clear hint that this is not the place for you, even if you get in. And the scholarship, according to the Master, is needed to "break even." In fact, with such prices, it's given only to fully cover services, food, and so on... Indeed. It's an expensive pleasure to get an education at one of the most prestigious universities in the galaxy. But it's worth it... With a heavy heart, I booked a room for a week, even though it was worth it.
From my room window, I had a view of one of the capital's park zones. A beautiful view... But that's not the main thing.
"VV, help me," I took off my shoes and sat on the bed. "I need to prepare, the exam is tomorrow... Ah, back to square one, first grade. But... I wanted this myself, didn't I? Combining business with pleasure."