Robbery – The Outer Jedi
And now, also on iCast.
Guarding the entrance to the temple is one of the assignments they give Padwans at the Academy. He was old enough to know that the tiny statue on the pedestal behind him, probably sculpted out of pure boredom a millennia ago, was not even valuable enough to justify sending someone in every few hours to check it was still there, let alone leave a guard overnight. But like any assignment in the academy, “Guard the Statue” was not as simple as that. The walls of the entrance hall were lined with ancient conundrums. From the obvious trick question of “What will you be willing to bet in a game where anything and everything can be lost or gained, including your life?” to the very real life and death situation of two warring tribes who’s conflict is so ancient not even their elders remember what it is about and what can be done to resolve the issue? The pedestal guard was expected to watch the statue, practice his skills, ponder some of those questions and offer some insight or improvement in the morning. Not much was expected of Younglings, the statue still being in one piece the gist of it, but of him… Well, he expected a test. So it wasn’t much of a surprise when one finally came.
Before the academy entrance lay a wide rock garden so he scooped up some of the gravel from the grounds and scattered the tiny stones in a half circle in front of him. As he pondered what would he do should he be chased by some menacing predatory wild animal with the only escape route leading to a populated village, he levitated the stones so they would form a barrier from wall to wall. Thus, if anyone attempted to take the statue, he would know it, feel it, since the feat required to keep track of all the stones lest they fall astray.
Only a few hours into the new day, he heard something unusual. A scuffling, shuffling noise of someone trying to sneak in, examining his protective shield for points of entry. Still, he kept his eyes closed. If they were just looking, he wouldn’t bother them. But after a long moment he could feel the intruder forcing his way through the barrier.
All the stones fell loudly to the floor and cluttered on the stone tiles as he jumped to his feet, his sabre in hand. The intruder shuffled back when pounded with a rain of gravel and now the padwan stood between him and the pedestal, a humming blade held in a neutral forward position.
He could see the intruder wore a faded dark form-fitting armor suit whose texture and coloring indicated a cortosis weave. Nice touch, he thought, light sabres would be near useless against it. Still, it was worth making sure. While the intruder was still counting his options, the padwan stabbed forward as far as he could reach. A sword deflected his blow, skewing the thrust sideways and shorting out the sabre. He could also see the sword’s blur as it sawed the air several times a second. Their teachers have really outdone themselves. This interloper truly seemed like someone intent on wreaking havoc in a Jedi academy.
The padwan stowed away his torch and circled the intruder. There was only one way to deal with it now. He pushed. But the intruder had jumped away, closer to the pedestal, and now reaching for it. The padwan pulled his legs from under him and tossed him to the entrance as he aerialed forward, putting himself again between the intruder and the figurine. He picked up all the stones from the floor and hurled them at the darkened figure in a barrage of projectiles.
“Not so easy to get past me. Maybe the faculty should have sent someone more advanced. I like the suit though.”
The intruder dug himself out of the rubble, sword still in hand, and contemplated his next move. The Padwan flexed his knuckles, pondering how much punishment he is allowed to inflict. That was the point when another Padwan, dressed in tight dark robes, field work attire, appeared in the doorway to the right. They both looked at him.
“Emril, thank you for moving my plan to the second stage.”
“What second stage?” Emril blurted, panicked, “What is happening here?”
“This ‘Intruder’ was trying to steal our statue,” The Padwan said, pointing to the armored figure at the far end. The one that was looking more frantic by the moment. Assured he could take on a Jedi, he wasn’t quite positive he could handle two.
From the other doorway burst a mob of veteran and elder Jedi, looking like they have only just been awakened and dressed in a hurry. As the Padwans present both turned to them, the intruder used the commotion to escape. The Padwan tried to go after him but was stopped by a single booming voice that demanded an explanation. He tried to protest but the faculty member who addressed him refused to hear anything but a good reason for the noise that possibly woke those lying in the crypts.
So the Padwan explained. The stones were meant as a barrier, a detector and an alarm and as soon as the intruder appeared, he used them to call for help. Then he delayed the thief until Emril came to render assistance. But now the intruder ran away and the Padwan was eager to know if he passed the test.
“That wasn’t a test. I was your test,” Said Emril. “I was suppose to steal the figurine from you.”
Posted in From the Writing Desk by Eran with 3 comments.
יש המשך?
זאת בדיוק השאלה, מה לעשות עם הדמות הזאת? יש לי כבר רעיון פחות או יותר מבוסס על מאיפה היא מגיעה, מה תחום הזמן שלה בעולם ומה מייחד אותה משאר הג’דיי אבל אין לי מושג מה לשים נגדה, מה תהיה הבעיה שהיא צריכה לפתור.
בזה, אני לא חושב שמישהו יכול לעזור לך, אתי רק מקווה שתמצא מה לכתוב, כי אני ממש סקרן.
ואהבתי מאוד את אזעקת האבנים