Training had officially begun. However, technicalities aside, I was faced with a glaring problem: I was missing the one thing a Jedi truly needs.
It was a void that could not be ignored.
"I've done a cursory scan of this world," Anakin remarked with infuriating nonchalance. "It seems Kyber crystals are in short supply here. In fact, there aren't any at all."
"...Which means," I stammered, "I can't build a lightsaber?"
"That's the long and short of it."
I was speechless. His casual tone left me reeling.
The Kyber crystal. Without it, I was incomplete. For a Jedi, the crystal is more than a component; it is the heart of their symbol, the core of the weapon to which they entrust their life. It is the conduit that allows a lightsaber to resonate with the Force, focusing raw energy into a stabilized blade. No crystal, no saber.
...But then again, perhaps I should have expected this. Even in the vastness of the Galactic Republic, Kyber was a rarity. To expect it to be naturally occurring on the planet of my rebirth was a statistical impossibility—an astronomical stroke of luck I simply didn't have.
"If there are no Kyber crystals, I'll just have to settle," I muttered. "I'll forgo the color and use an Adegan crystal instead..."
"And do you have the equipment to synthesized an Adegan crystal just lying around?" Anakin countered.
"..."
He had me there. My shoulders slumped in defeat. Even if I had the facilities, synthesizing a crystal required grueling patience and time—at least six months of uninterrupted, meditative work. For a child still in his toddler years, that was a burden far too heavy to bear.
Furthermore, Adegan crystals were temperamental; they had a natural tendency to produce a red blade. While color doesn't dictate a saber's lethality, I couldn't shake the visceral feeling that a red blade belonged to the Sith. If I had any choice at all, I didn't want to touch one. A Jedi belonged behind a blade of blue or green.
"Now, don't look so miserable," Anakin said, his voice softening. "There is plenty you can do without a saber. For the time being, a wooden sword will suffice."
"I suppose..."
"Besides..." Anakin looked away from my dejected form, his gaze drifting upward toward the heavens.
I didn't have the heart to follow his gaze at first, until he spoke again.
"As for the crystals... one just happened to fall into our lap."
"What?!"
I snapped my head up. Anakin was still staring at the sky. Following his lead, I looked up—and my breath hitched.
"...A meteor?"
A brilliant, burning streak tore through the sky, trailing a catastrophic tail of light and a roar that shook the very air. It was a spear of fire aimed directly at the earth.
"Something like that," Anakin said.
"Anakin? It... it looks like it's heading right for us..."
"I should hope so. I'm the one who pulled it here, after all."
"...Huh?"
What did he just say? He pulled a meteor? From the depths of space? Down to this exact, pinpoint location?
How? I knew the answer was "the Force," but this defied all reason. This was a scale of power that bordered on the divine.
"If there aren't any crystals on the planet," Anakin said as if explaining something to a child, "you simply find where they are and bring them here."
"It's not supposed to be that easy!" I shouted.