NOVEL FROG Once and Future Queen
As the ship descended to the landing pad in front of me, I couldn't help but smirk at how I had ended up standing here on a pad waiting for the arrival of Padmé and her father.
"Calm yourself, Padawan," Fay said from my left, having either seen my smirk or sensed my feelings about meeting such a pivotal figure from the prequel movies. That she would grow into a woman I found attractive had nothing to do with the butterflies I felt. "We were fortunate that the girl's father worked for the Refugee Relief Movement. However, while the Force has acted in granting us this meeting, our priority is to help the RRM in locating a planet for the Shadda-Bi-Borans before their sun goes supernova."
"Yes, Master," I replied. Since the meeting, a few weeks ago I had taken to referring to both Fay and Dooku by their titles constantly. They had both earned my trust by talking with me – along with Master Sifo-Dyas – about what the Force was telling them about me. I suspected that most Jedi did not do so with their Padawans; but then again, I wasn't your typical Padawan.
The intervening weeks had been spent on Coruscant, mainly in the Jedi Temple itself.
I had finished my assignment/punishment of teaching the Initiates and had spent that time training with Master Dooku and others to prove my competence with Shii-Cho and Soresu – with simple quests similar to my duel with Dooku that proved that I was competent with Makashi – and continued to teach the duelling form to those around my age who wished to learn the basics of the form.
Once I proved my ability with both forms, I was able to convince Dooku to teach me the very basics of Shien, Djem-So and Niman. Though I had only gotten Ataru past Novice 10, which seemed to be the point from where I was able to learn a lightsaber form – or combat style – by myself.
A few Padawans had also joined the classes, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bultar Swan. The former had been sent by Qui-Gon to prove a point; while Ataru was useful in many situations, it had several weaknesses that could be exploited by a skilled duellist. Though I only learned that after I defeated Obi-Wan in a training duel – thus completing a quest similar to Serra's in doing so – and realised that I should create duelling quests for as many Jedi as possible, resulting in the new quest, Training Superiority.
That quest granted me 250/750/1500 XP for defeating Padawans, Knights and Masters in practice/training duels. While that didn't seem like much, the description made it clear that it was only for training duels and that offensive Force powers were not to be used. The sheer number of Jedi I could challenge was numbered in the thousands, though I had limited myself to a handful of Padawans only so far, mainly the ex-members of Dragon Clan plus a few more.
I had considered generating a quest for duels allowing Force powers, but a quick discussion with Dooku resulted in me discovering that I was not allowed to engage in such duels until I turned fourteen. Officially it was to avoid a young Padawan hurting a fellow Jedi unintentionally, but Dooku seemed to hint it had more to do with the established hierarchy of the temple than health concerns. Privately, I had a feeling that this could be roughly translated to "The Council doesn't want initiates with stronger Force connections to stand out too much until it can be explained away by the teachings of their master, which would allow the Council and the Order at large to take at least some of the credit for their skill."
Bultar came to the classes, and after getting her to stop saying thank you, had quickly adapted the basics of the form into her own seemingly unique style of using martial arts and I had gained a new skill; Martial Art: Teräs Käsi. It had been strange at first that I could learn a hand-to-hand skill when I already had a skill covering that, but reading the description for Teräs Käsi informed me that as my general hand-to-hand skill was of a high enough level, I could learn sub-skills of special unarmed combat styles.
Since Teräs Käsi was designed originally to counter Force users, I felt that it was something that would come in handy in the future and made me curious about what other specific combat styles I could learn that wouldn't just be wrapped up in the general skill for hand-to-hand like the unarmed combat form taught by the Jedi.
Both Competent Tongue quests had been completed, though without any bonuses as I had decided to save up my Skill Points for quests that I was in danger of failing instead of going for the bonuses.
Currently, I felt that applied to You Can't Hurt Me as I only knew four of the six damage resistances, having discovered the ones for thermal and sonic-based damage by sticking my hand in a fire and having a datapad alarm go off as loud as possible while next to my ear. That, along with Just Don't Get Caught were quests that I regretted taking. The penalties for failure far outstripped the rewards, and I saw that I hadn't considered the penalties sufficiently before taking those quests; nor had I explored the interface properly for training quests like Generational Swordsman.
I was about a dozen levels from completing that quest and I only had about a month to go so it should be reachable without spending any Skill Points, provided I committed most nights to training that Form.
Things like discovering damage resistances by intentionally hurting myself – and training Force Lightning on myself both using Force Heal – had me seriously questioning if I was developing sadomasochistic tendencies. I wasn't getting anything sexually out of it, thank the Force I hadn't hit puberty, but I was gaining something from hurting myself, even if it was only because of my unique powers.
As the whine of the engines became louder, I pulled myself out of my thoughts and back to the present to watch as the ship came closer and manoeuvred to touch down on the landing pad. I could see the same flowing style that the Naboo ships had displayed in the prequel movies, though it was a model I did not recognize nor was it the distinctive chrome colour that Padmé would use later on as Queen and Senator.
I watched as the ramp came down and a small group came out. Using Observe, I was able to determine which was Padmé's father – spotting a seven-year-old girl in the group was easy – and that all the group were keen to meet the Jedi.
"Master Fay, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person," said Padmé's father, Ruwee Naberrie, with a small bow. The bow was matched by the three other adults with him, though Padmé didn't; her eyes widening as she spotted Fay.
"Likewise, Ruwee. May I introduce my Padawan, Cameron Shan." Fay replied, indicating me with an open palm. "It was him you have to thank for bringing the crisis with the Shadda-Bi-Borans to my attention."
"Then you have my thanks young one. Help from the Jedi will increase our chances of locating a suitable planet to evacuate the Shadda-Bi-Borans to."
I smiled and gave him a nod, though mentally I wondered why Fay had said that. She was the one who had discovered that Ruwee worked from the RRM, and then when he had been assigned to coordinate the resettlement of the Shadda-Bi-Borans. Giving me the credit for something that I hadn't done was strange unless she meant me mentioning Padmé's name to her, Dooku, and Sifo-Dyas as what brought the RRM to her attention.
Alternatively, she could be saying that to improve my standing with Padmé and her father. Wondering, I cast Observe on the girl.
Padmé Naberrie
Race: Human
Level: 9
Health: 100%
Age: 7
Force Potential: Low
Threat Potential: Very Low
Emotional State: Excited/Overwhelmed
Padmé is excited to be on Coruscant and maybe have the chance to see the Jedi Temple, however, she misses the natural beauty of Naboo.
Her opinion of you has improved after Master Fay's words, though she is curious as to why you were interested in the RRM.
She is fascinated by Master Fay.
…
I felt my brow crease at seeing her information. Padmé was the first child that I had met who was more than a level above their age. A few Padawans, like Serra and Bultar, were a level above their age, but most were the same level as their age.
Observe had helped me determine that Padawans seemed to be between levels 11 to 22 and Knights from levels 20 up to 30. I had only used the power on a few Jedi Masters, as they seemed able to detect the scan; perhaps that was due to my Force Empathy only being in the Professional range currently, though that was just a working theory. Those few Jedi Masters that I had risked using Observe on while being able to hide in some way, had all been above level 28.
"Are you an angel?" I heard Padmé ask Fay, explaining the last line of the description Observe had given about her.
I buried the laugh I felt coming with a sneeze, drawing the attention of everyone. "Sorry."
"To answer your question, young one; no, I am not an angel. My mother was a Sephi. Therefore, I have more pointed ears than most and appear younger than expected for a Jedi Master."
"Still, you are beautiful enough to be angelic, Master," I tack on with what I hope is an innocent smile.
"Ignore my Padawan. He sometimes acts far more mature than one would expect from a child," I can't resist the prompt and stick out my tongue, making Padmé giggle and Fay sigh in an overly-dramatic way. "Only to other times enjoy his youth."
"I am sorry about Padmé, Master Fay," Ruwee is quick to say as I see that the two other men with him are staring at Fay: one almost leering at her. "She is naturally curious about everything and likes to ask questions."
"There is nothing to forgive. Cameron is much the same."
I gave Padmé a smile when she turned to me, though she said nothing.
"I have arranged accommodation near the Temple for you, your daughter, and staff," Fay continued as she turned and began to walk away from the starship to a pair of nearby ComfortRide Passenger airspeeders – thank you Eidetic Memory – that had carried us to the landing pad from the Temple. "I have also used the data you sent to scour the Jedi and Senate archives for planets that are potential locations to relocate the Shadda-Bi-Borans to as well as added details of a few planets I have visited that are not listed in either archive."
I couldn't see Ruwee's face as he turned, but the hopefulness in his voice was clear to hear. "That is wonderful to hear. I confess that the list we had was not the most encouraging. How soon can we examine the list?"
I ignored the conversation between the two and turned to Padmé. "Shall we?" I asked while extending my arm for her.
Her cheeks reddened a touched before she nodded and placed her hand on my forearm.
We walked quietly behind the adults and sat down at the rear of the taxi.
"What do you think of Coruscant?" I asked to make conversation as we began to move.
"It's beautiful! I never thought I'd get a chance to see the capital world or the Senate Building!" The voice was higher pitched than I remembered, and there was a roundness to the jawline, but it was still a younger version of Padmé from the movies. I briefly wondered exactly how TPTB had found me a universe where everyone truly did look like the actors who had portrayed them back home, or whether they had created the universe from my mind and memories. I stopped that avenue of thought quickly as the resultant quantum theory possibilities started to give me a headache.
"It is beautiful on the surface but when you look inside and underneath, the cracks will appear," I countered. "I was just as amazed when I arrived here, but a few trips to the lower levels dispelled that amazement. There, people live in squalor and poverty, and crime is rampant."
Those trips had happened over the last few weeks with Dooku. He was keen for me to see the fact that so much suffering and chaos occurred on a world that was viewed as a beacon of hope to many. That the Senate – and by extension, the Jedi – did nothing to try to fix the problems so long as they were swept under the rug.
I had asked if the trips had anything to do with tracking leads related to my mission, but he informed me that they didn't. It seemed several members of the High Council were actively against me participating in the follow-up investigations and raids after my heavy-handed approach to dealing with kidnappers and rapists.
"But don't the Senate and Jedi do something to stop that?"
I shook my head. "No. According to my Jedi Master, the Senate is filled with enough self-interested people that nothing gets done and the Jedi are tied to the Senate."
"Cameron," Fay began, her tone firmer than usual to make clear that I should listen to what she said very carefully, "I think talk of the likely failings of the Senate should not be discussed by children. Perhaps Miss Naberrie would like to hear the story of how you came to be a Jedi; one who is both ten and over three-thousand cycles old."
"Really? Wow! How is that possible?" Padmé blurted out excitedly, her earlier sadness about the apparent failings of Coruscant lost.
I glared at Fay, though it had no effect as she gave me one of those 'I know best' smiles and then sighed.
"Well, if you must know I was born on Talravin approximately three thousand, nine hundred years ago," I began, figuring telling this story would be a good way to kill the time until we reached the hotel where the Naberrie's would be staying.
After all, how long could it take to determine what planet would be the best for the Shadda-Bi-Borans to be evacuated to?"
… …
… …
As I stood on the crest of a small hill, enjoying the break in the almost daily rain showers of the planet, I considered the last three months.
It turned out that finding a suitable planet – or range of planets – didn't take that long, only a week or so of assessing the archives used by both the Jedi and the Senate.
What did, however, was arranging the ships, talking with the planetary leaders, arranging collection locations and times and dealing with a population of just over two billion.
Thankfully, the story of what was happening had reached the media, and after two weeks of nightly programs on the Shadda-Bi-Borans, several million credits had been donated to the Refugee Relief Fund to help with the renting of ships and purchasing of supplies to help them settle.
I had also suggested the construction of radiation emitters to help them if the stars were unable to produce all the necessary radiation. This improved the odds of more of the Shadda-Bi-Borans surviving, which increased the chances of the species persisting and increased the potential rewards for the new quest Hope of the Borans.
For that quest, I would gain 1XP for every 50,000 Shadda-Bi-Borans that survived for at least six years on their new home as well as a very small reputation boost with the RRM and anyone attached to the relocation effort as well. While that was a low amount of XP, the interface explained that even if I was an important cog, I was but one cog in the machine that would potentially help save the species. Still, to put it simply, the more that survived, the more XP I got.
Which, admittedly, was a sad way to look at the possible extinction of a species, but it was how the interface interpreted things.
And I realised that helping to save a species was a great reputation boost, with both the species themselves and the larger galaxy. Or so I hoped. I would see in six years from when we finished the relocation. So far, around sixty per cent of the population had been moved in three months; over one-point-two billion sentients relocated was a truly impressive display of what happened when enough people in the Republic put effort into the same thing.
I had also been learning the local language, Shaddaboranese. I'd completed one quest to get the language to Adept:1, and now had a follow-on to get the language to Professional:1 before the end of the resettlement.
Thanks to my undercover mission – and how close to a disaster it had been for Bultar and the others – I had been able to convince Dooku that learning non-lightsaber combat skills was useful. Thus, while we were on the planet, I’d been given an hour each day to train those skills without much, if any supervision. While I suspected Dooku thought that meant I would just concentrate on learning to use things like vibroblades, I had been using the hour for a different purpose.
I now had quests to Melee Weapons [Thrown], Ranged Weapons [1-handed], Range Weapons [2-handed] and Marksmanship to the next tier by the end of the evacuation. Since every shot/throw seemed to earn me some XP – provided I hit the target – they were remarkably easy quests to complete. However, to gain any XP in Marksmanship, I had to make sure to throw at/shoot a target at a greater distance than I'd have found on a standard throwing/shooting range in my old life.
"Cameron!" I turned at the excited shout and saw Padmé running towards me; a datapad waving around in her hand. "Cameron!"
"What's up?" I asked as the young girl skidded to a halt, splashing the bottom of my robes with mud. I hid my annoyance at getting them dirty – again – on this planet that reminded me of Britain with the almost daily rain, as she poked the datapad rapidly.
She was why I was on this planet, though having a quest linked to getting her to like me, or better, was a nice gift from the interface/TPTB. I was planning to do that anyway, but whatever generated quests without my thinking had created The Once and Future Queen to cover my time here with Padmé.
"This! This is brilliant! You really wrote it?" She asked as she thrust the pad into my chest.
I calmly took it and saw that she had been reading 'The Fellowship of the Ring', which I had given to her and others to read.
"Yes. Why?" I replied. Ok, technically I had just stolen it, but how was anyone in this universe ever going to prove that?
"It's brilliant!" She replied, repeating herself. "You should publish it."
I couldn't help but smile at seeing her dance from foot to foot in excitement. "How? And what would I do with the money from selling it?" I asked, playing on my status as a Jedi. Honestly, I could publish it, but I doubted the money earned from that would amount to much. Plus, it was far easier to acquire funds from other sources; like the slavers who had tried to kidnap a group of locals a few weeks earlier.
They had ended up dead or imprisoned and I was a few thousand credits better off, as well as earning some XP and now having a few grenades stored in my inventory along with restraining cuffs and a good many spare power packs for blasters.
"But people need to read this!" Padmé protested and I rubbed my chin as I considered an idea.
"Perhaps I could talk to my masters and have the proceeds donated to the Shadda-Bi-Borans?" I suggested. That way I could test the waters for how well such stories could do, generate a market for the two sequels and generate more goodwill – read reputation – with Padmé and others.
"Really?" Before I knew it Padmé had leapt and wrapped herself around me in a tight hug.
I chuckled at her antics even as I struggled to shrug. "Why not? I have little need for the credits," not entirely true, "and it would be for a good cause." Two actually, but she didn't need to know that.
She jumped backwards. "I'll go and talk with my father now! He's with Master Dooku in the command centre."
She took off at a sprint and I couldn't help but chuckle at seeing how excited she was about this.
"Be careful around that one, or Serra might get angry."
"Darihd! When did you get here?" I asked as I turned to the voice as he approached, a smirk resting comfortably on his face.
"This morning. My master wanted to speak with Master Dooku about something, though I am unsure about what exactly." His smile slipped and he shook his head. "Something has changed since you left Cam. Master Sifo-Dyas seems… withdrawn. I know I've only been his Padawan for a year, but I can see enough that I know something has changed."
"Perhaps he is growing bored with being stuck in the Temple?" I suggested. I knew why Sifo-Dyas was behaving differently, but if he wasn't ready to tell his Padawan, I wasn't going to. Even if I wanted to. Darihd was dependable and, I felt, trustworthy.
Hopefully, Sifo-Dyas would decide to bring Darihd in on our plans or ask me to do so before they left the planet. Having someone my age involved would be a boon.
"Perhaps." He shook his head and glanced down the path Padmé had gone. "What was all that about?"
"Nothing important. Just a story I wrote while on a mission," I replied honestly. "Padmé liked it and wants me to publish it, so I suggested talking to her father about arranging for that to happen and for the proceeds to be donated to the resettlement effort."
"Ah." was his only reply, but the twitch of his lip let me know he had other thoughts on what had just happened.
"Since you're here, how about a friendly spar?" I asked, which made him groan.
"Come on! I only just got away from Serra and Aayla in coming here and now you want to duel as well!" He threw up his hands in annoyance.
"They're still that bad?" I inquired with a grin.
"Worse. Ever since you defeated Serra, she's been pushing herself every day to get better. The teasing from Sia-Lan and the others isn't helping. Neither was you beating Kenobi or the other Padawans." He paused and looked out over the rain-soaked countryside. "How did you get so good?"
"Master Dooku is a… demanding, instructor," I replied honestly while ignoring that my skill growth was far above normal due to my special gifts and that I could practice throughout the night if I was alone.
He snorted. "That's being nice. Truthfully, since he left, the training sessions have been less painful for the rest of us."
"You're welcome."
My commlink beeped and I pulled it from my belt.
"Yes?"
"Cameron, young Padme has been informing me and her father, rather excitedly I might add, about a novel you have written and your plans surrounding it," Dooku stated, a chuckle coming from the background as he mentioned Padmé's excitement. "Perhaps you could come here to discuss these plans?"
"Yes Master, I will be there shortly." Dooku closed the link without any form of goodbye – as I expected – and I turned back to Darihd. "Looks like you're safe from a beating for now."
He chuckled and fell into step beside me. "Come on. I'm curious to see how the girl explains what happened before I arrived."
We walked down the path to the command centre, even as it began to rain once more.
… …
… …
"Anyway, I'm really enjoying the training, even if it's hard," Padmé said via the hologram on the table in front of me. "And the others are jealous that I know the writer of The Fellowship of the Ring." She added with a smirk, holding up a paper copy of the novel.
The cover had pictures of most of the Fellowship, though my eyes were drawn to two in particular. Gandalf and Aragorn. Gandalf, in a lovely twist, looked like Dooku while Aragorn had green eyes like mine. Somehow, I suspected this was Padmé's work as she had been more involved in getting the book published than I was.
"I still can't believe it was so successful," I muttered ruefully. Seriously, who would have suspected that, even with it being pushed as a way for anyone to support the Shadda-Bi-Borans, it would be downloaded over fifteen million times across the Core Worlds in a few months, or that a further half a million hard copies were sold.
I didn't know the exact figures, but it had generated a couple of million credits at least for the resettlement effort. Being a writer paid extremely well when the potential readership numbered in the hundreds of trillions, provided your story was good or was pushed by the right people.
I was a little concerned that the Nazgul could be a source of inspiration for the Sith, but Fay and Dooku had reassured me that such sorcery had been lost for millennia; if it had ever been truly possible, to begin with. Still, I had asked them to ask someone in the Temple achieves to send us – read me – anything they had on similar Sith practices just in case. Several of their abilities bore striking similarities to what I'd read or remembered about the secret techniques involving Sith Alchemy, which was a disturbing, yet intriguing correlation.
"It's brilliant and it's for a good cause," Padmé grinned. "When will you write the next part?"
I shrugged even as I smiled at her. "I don't know, but I'll make sure you get the first copy when I do." Even if it only sold half as well, that would be a million or so credits for me; no way was letting the whole trilogy go for free, nor the prequel. Eidetic Memory for the win.
Her smile was threatening to split her face in half. "Wow! Thanks!"
"No problem. Now, I think you should get going. You've got new friends to meet." I said, trying to bring an end to the communication as I spotted Dooku walk into the room. A month ago, she had left to begin training with the Legislative Youth Program on Naboo, though she had called me twice since she had left to catch up. I had no idea if this was because she was excited about the book, or because she just wanted to spend time with me. I suspected it was both.
"Right. Bye, and thanks again." She said before the hologram blinked off.
"I see young Miss Naberrie is still enamoured with you," he commented as reached me.
"The Force guided me to her, so why shouldn't I try to make her like me?" I replied. Quest or not, though it was a nice bonus as I was certain I had completed The Once and Future Queen, having a way in when canon started was useful.
"True, however, be mindful of how her feelings about you change as you both age," he countered before glancing behind me. "Hmm, ten mistakes. Acceptable for today."
I turned and sighed at the apparatus behind me. It was almost identical to those puzzles in museums where you had to guide a ring along a metal path without touching the path itself.
Dooku, upon learning I had lifted the Stones of Muntuur from Fay, who had been told by Yaddle just before we left the Temple for Shadda-Bi-Boran, had begun to design training exercises – read tests – to improve my fine control of Telekinesis. This one involved me moving the ring along the course and back again, without looking, for two hours nonstop. That time was well within my limits, but it was boring, and when Padmé had called, I'd happily answered; though that was where eight of my ten mistakes had come from.
While the tasks were boring, I couldn't deny their effectiveness as I could now use TK to dis- and reassemble speeder engines without having to touch any part of the engine. I could see some real usages for having that kind of control, whether it be in combat when using subterfuge or in other situations.
"Come, the last few transports are arriving, and this building is due to be deconstructed later today by the workers. Master Sifo-Dyas wishes to speak with you before we leave."
"Yes, Master."
We walked out of the room, and the building, to find Fay standing with Sifo-Dyas and Darihd as two large transport ships touched down a few hundred meters away.
The calendar had just turned, and it was a few weeks before my birthday, but finally, the resettlement of the locals was almost complete.
"Ah, Cameron good," Sifo-Dyas began as we approached. "I was just talking with Mater Fay about your plans. Darihd and I will be escorting the last group of locals to their new home in the Moddell Sector before returning to the Temple. I understand you will continue to travel with Master Fay for the time being?"
"Yes, Master. Though I am unsure if Master Dooku will be joining us." I replied, glancing up at the Makashi master.
"Time away from the Temple, and other components on Coruscant, has been an unexpected relief. I will continue to travel with you and Master Fay, Padawan." I smiled at him. "Though that means your training load will increase." And my smile fell into a good-natured grimace, though I wasn't all that put out by it in truth.
"Yes, Master."
"I wish for Cameron to visit an old friend of mine in the Kiffu Sector," Fay explained to Dooku. "She is someone I believe would be receptive to what we have discussed."
One of Dooku's eyebrows rose. "Hmm, if you are speaking of whom I suspect, she would be a powerful ally to have."
"I will search the Temple for others once I return," Sifo-Dyas added, earning a nod from Dooku and a smile from Fay.
"Perhaps Masters Yaddle and Giiett would be a good place to start," I offered as I noted the confused expression that was growing on Darihd's face. "And maybe the members of Dragon Clan, current and former."
"Yes," Sifo-Dyas stated as he looked at his Padawan. "Darihd would be a good place to start with the younger generations, but I leave that to you. May we speak in private?" He asked Dooku and Fay.
The three Jedi Masters drifted away as Darihd watched them with a frown.
"What the kriff was that about?" he asked once the adults were out of earshot. "And why did you suggest two members of the High Council? Does this have to do with my Master being different this last year?"
I sighed. It had been three months since he and Sifo-Dyas had arrived on planet, and I had avoided directly discussing anything about what the future held. I had inquired about his plans, and what he'd do if tensions in the Outer Rim continued to boil over, and even suggested how I saw things going. But, under orders from Dooku and Fay, I hadn't brought him in on things. Now that Sifo-Dyas had decided to trust him, I would.
"It's about the future. Not just ours, but the Order's, the Republic's, and the galaxy's," I began slowly. "I… I can see glimpses of what might be, and I shared some of this with our Masters. They agree with me and want to try to… limit the damage that these glimpses show. I... I don't think anyone can stop what is coming, but we need to find ways to mitigate things."
I stopped there, giving him time to process.
"This has to do with what you said about the Order, the Code when you first arrived, doesn't it?"
I nodded. "Yes, though much of that was personally based on what my grandfather told me of the Jedi in my time. The glimpses… they started just before the trials, but I only told Master Fay once we were away from the Temple and I felt I could trust her enough to hint at what I saw."
"You don't trust me?"
"I do," I replied quickly before sighing once again. "It's just, we were Initiates. We had no power in the Order, no respect from the Council or experience with how to handle such things. But your Master is willing to trust you with this, otherwise, he wouldn't have discussed it in front of you just now. And I do trust you as well."
"And what do these glimpses show?"
"War. Horrific, galaxy-wide, war on a scale never before seen in history. And the resultant destruction of the Jedi and the Republic." I answered honestly, making him gasp and take a step back. "Sadly, there are people higher in the Order who will not listen to the words of a child, so we are having to work in secret, for now. To prepare."
Darihd nodded slowly. "That explains a great many things. About Master Sifo-Dyas and you," He paused and glanced over at the three Jedi Masters. "This… it's a lot to take in."
"I know. But I want you with me. With us," I added as I placed a hand on his shoulder. "You and the others in Dragon Clan made me welcome in the Temple, at a time when I'd lost everyone and thing that mattered to me. For that, I will always do what I can to help and protect all of you." While I hoped they would form the basis of my group, I was being truthful. Dragon Clan contained my only real friends my own - physical - age, until Padmé, and I wanted them to have the best chance to survive the war, and the rise of the Empire if I failed to help stop Palpatine.
He placed his hand on my shoulder, linking us. "As I would you." He smiled and gave me a nod. "OK, I'm in, but I reserve the right to question you about these glimpses at a later time."
I laughed once. "Alright." As we lowered our arms, I felt happy that I'd gained my first… follower? helper? among the younger Jedi.
"And I want to be there when you tell the others.” He commented.
My smile fell and I rubbed the back of my neck. "Ah, right. That is going to be so much fun," I drawled, making him laugh as the three Jedi Masters came back.
"Is everything well?" Sifo-Dyas asked his Padawan.
"Yes, Master. And I understand, I think, why you have seemed different this last year. And I want to help."
"I understand Master."
Sifo-Dyas smiled at his Padawan before turning to the rest of us. "When will you make contact?"
"Perhaps a month or two from now," Dooku answered as Fay nodded in agreement. "It will depend on what the Force wishes us to see."
"Yes, yes," He glanced at me and smiled. "Remember to mention anything your visions show to your masters, Cameron. And may the Force be with you."
"And you as well, Master," I replied with a smile. Now we were five.
"Come Cameron. I have arranged transport to take us to Eriadu. From there, we should be easy to arrange passage to our destination."
I smiled at Darihd, and he nodded back, before walking away with the two masters.
The mission to Shadda-Bi-Boran was over.
...
...
I waved away the standard message about getting a full night's sleep and tapped my new notices.
Quest Completed
Legendary Duellist [User Defined]
Objectives:
Get Makashi to Prodigy 1 by your 11th birthday [Yes]
? Get it to Prodigy 25 [Yes]
? Get it to Prodigy 50 [Yes]
? Get it to Prodigy 75 [Yes]
? Maxed out the skill [No]
Rewards:
3000XP (+300XP)
1400XP (+140XP)
2000XP (+200XP)
2500XP (+250XP)
…
It's Your Birthday!
To help with your growth, each birthday you gain 1/3 of your current level's needed XP.
(+10% of 1/3 due to Boosted Growth)
This will last until you reach 11 cycles, and the system will upgrade.
Knowledge Skills suffer 10*strata levels of degradation.
NOTE:
Degradation removed due to Perk: Eidetic Memory
…
Level up!
17 - 18
FP: +500
PP: +2
STAM: +25
SP: +5
SKP: +32
…
I waved that information as well as my eyes focused on a flashing purple box in the notification log and I tapped it.
Interface Update Ready!
Do you wish to proceed with the update?
Yes/No
…
WARNING!
The update will take 24 hours to apply.
During this time, you will be unable to access your stats, skill/perk/power screens and lists, the general interface or anything in your inventory.
Nor will you be able to increase the level or strata of any skill or power.
You will still be able to use all your skills, powers and perk, however.
…
I frowned at the fact I'd be cut off from the interface for a day, as I'd grown used to having it available, but I felt I had no choice but to accept.
However, before I did that, I raised all my stats except Luck – which was at 0 [+10] – to 19; or at least I tried to.
When I tried to add a point to Agility to raise it, I received a notice warning that I had reached the physical stat limit of 55.
I growled at that information but calmed when I realised there was nothing that I could do about it. Hopefully, the update or future perks would allow me to raise it beyond that limit. Otherwise, I would have to devote almost all my training to raising Enhance Stat to the point I could run it without it stopping my base FP regeneration, which now stood at 90 per minute.
After pushing the stats that I could up to 19, I closed my status window, reopened the update notice and clicked 'Yes'.
A deep buzzing sound echoed around my head as I grabbed it and scrunched my eyes closed tightly, though the sound lasted for only a few seconds before ending.
As I opened my eyes, I blinked and stared around the room a few times. Not having a mini-map or notification log was both strange, having gotten used to it over the last few years, and familiar given that it wasn't normal to have these powers of mine.
I closed my eyes, reached out and felt the Force around me centred on three beings: Fay, Dooku and T'ra Saa. It was comforting to sense them, even if I didn't have the interface active.
Saa was the friend that Fay had mentioned on Shadd-Bi-Boran, though I discovered later that she was also Fay's last Padawan before me, which had been around three hundred years ago!
Saa was a Neti; essentially a living plant, yet for some reason, still had breasts. Whether that was due to a choice on her part or biological, I didn't know, nor was I complaining.
She was… interesting. As skilled as Dooku with the blade – not a surprise with three centuries to train – and as comfortable as Fay at using Force-based attacks in combat.
We had sparred every day since I had arrived on Kiffu with Fay and Dooku last week, and while I had been easily trounced by her, seeing how she blended Force attacks into her combat style gave me some ideas about how to do the same. And had me mentally thanking Dooku for the TK fine control training.
I left my room and walked to the central commune area of the small building the locals had provided to Saa while she served as the Jedi Watchman of their sector. While the idea was sound, I wondered how much good a single Jedi could do in an area covering anything from a hundred to a few thousand inhabited planets; especially when some of those worlds had populations in the millions or billions.
Fay had spent hours each day talking with Saa privately about the future and had informed Dooku and me, that while she did agree that things were becoming darker in the galaxy, she was not prepared to abandon her post to join us.
Fay and Dooku accepted this, indeed Fay explained that she had not expected her former Padawan to join us, more than she simply wished to gauge her opinions to see where she would stand when the war finally came.
I guess living for centuries gave you more patience than most beings, though since I knew I had about a decade and a half to prepare, I wasn't looking to hurry things along too much.
"Cameron, is something the matter?" Fay asked as she looked up from the table where she was sharing with Saa.
"No, Master. I was just thinking about a dream."
Saa shared a smile with Fay before she commented. "If the meaning was important, it will come to you. Now come, join us."
I nodded and sat with them as Dooku entered.
While I might not gain any experience today, I wasn't planning on slacking off. It wasn't who I was and if I did relax too much, I would have to deflect extra questions from the three Jedi Masters.
… …
… …
Update Complete!
Do you wish to view the update information?
Yes/No
…
I rolled my eyes at the blinking notice that greeted my sight when I awoke the next day.
Welcome to Player Interface 2.0
Well done on reaching your 11th birthday and applying the Interface update.
While most of the general functions of the Interface remain the same
Several have changed.
Please select an area to discover what changes have taken place.
1: Stats: Primary and Derived
2: Levelling Up
3: Skills
4: Force Powers
5: Perks and Player Powers
6: Interface Controls
7: Future Knowledge
8: Reputation
9: Force Bonds
10: Help Menu
…
I was glad that the interface had seemingly not changed massively and clicked through each area in turn.
Stats: Primary and Derived
None of your primary stats have changed, however, how they increase has.
Previously, when you levelled up you gained 4+INT/15 Stat Points to spend how you wished, now, that is lowered to 2+INT/20.
However, you can level up stats via training.
Most activities that you do, such as reading a book or running, will grant a certain number of minutes to stat counters,
these counters, once full, will increase that stat by 1.
Most activities grant minutes to multiple stat counters.
In addition, your physical stat limit has been raised to 65.
…
From your derived stats, only Stamina has changed.
The new calculation is:
Current Level*(Strength+Vitality+Agility)/1.5
...
Levelling Up
Your rewards for levelling up have changed.
Previously, with each new level, you gained:
4+INT/15 Stat Points [SP]
INT*2 Skill Points [SKP]
1 Perk Point [PP] every 4 levels
1 Player Power Point [PPP] every 5 levels
1/3 of current level XP
Now you gain:
2+INT/20 SP
INT*1 SKP
1 PP every 4 levels.
1 PPP every 5 levels.
1/6 of current level XP
...
Skills
The way you improve skills has not changed.
Nor has the bonus of 1 SP for every 2000 total skill levels.
However, skills are now grouped into categories.
Such as:
Lightsaber Forms
Weapon Skills
Languages
Technical Skills
Biological Skills
These categories will tell you the total number of skills within their lists, the average level of those skills, and the highest individual skill in their list.
This is designed to make searching through your skills easier to manage.
Additionally, the following skills have been unlocked:
Kissing Adept:12
Massage Novice:45
Seduction/Flirting Novice:75
…
Additionally, the skill bonuses related to stats have changed.
Before, you received a 5% bonus to a skill XP for each point of the main stat that governed it.
That has now changed to 5% per point over your age, up to 50%.
To help with this, your age will now be displayed on your stat page.
...
Force Powers
Much like Skills, the way you improve Force Powers has not changed.
However, a few Powers are now more intuitive, such as Precognition and Comprehend Language.
These powers, while still displaying information in the interface, if you so desire, can also be set to relay the information directly to your mind.
Be assured though, that such access will not be used to alter your makeup.
Force Powers have been sorted into categories.
These are the three standard groupings used and accepted by most all Force-wielding communities:
Control
Sense
Alter
Additionally, there is an option to have them also listed as to whether the power is seen as 'Light' or 'Dark' by the current Jedi High Council and Sith Lords.
Currently, this option is turned off.
...
Perks and Player Powers
There is no change to how often you gain PP or PPP
However, with Interface 2.0, new Perks and Player Powers are available.
Provided your level and stats are sufficient, you may view these new choices when you next gain a PP or PPP.
...
Interface Options
New options of what and how to receive notices have been added to the options menu.
...
Future Knowledge
You may now reveal detailed knowledge of the future to those around you under certain specific conditions.
What those conditions are, will be revealed once you meet them.
Currently, you meet the conditions to reveal your knowledge to 0 people.
If you have not already discovered, you can hint at what is to come by pretending to have visions sent to you by the Force.
...
Reputation
With Interface 2.0, Reputation menus have been unlocked.
For ease of use, reputations are initially listed in various categories, such as
Members of the Jedi Order
Politicians
Business individuals
Civilians
Reputation lists can also be sorted by the planet or sector where someone was last seen or by Reputation levels.
...
Force Bonds
Having upgraded to Interface 2.0, you now can access your Force Bonds.
These are the bonds that form between sentients with sensitivity to the Force.
Possible bonds are:
Weak
Low
Solid
High
Strong
Extreme
Total
Please examine the interface section on Force Bonds for information.
...
Help Menu
All changes to the Interface have resulted in a corresponding change to the help menu.
If you are curious about these changes, or the upgrade in general, examine the Help Menu.
...
That was… a lot to take in.
I got fewer stat points and skill points each level-up, along with a smaller boost XP boost, but I could level up the stats via training. I'd have to see how that worked by reading the help menu later to see how exactly that worked, but being able to control how I developed based on what I learned felt more organic than just adding points to stats with each level-up. The increase in Stamina was nice, though not a huge thing as Restore Stamina could restore almost half my total in a single go, and that would increase as the power grew stronger.
Having my skills sorted would shorten the list and make things easier to track. And I knew that I was getting Kissing unlocked when I turned eleven – why it had to be locked in the first place was down to the interface – but discovering that Flirting and Massage were also skills that were now unlocked was unexpected, and a little strange as what kind of eleven-year-old actively flirt… Ah, right. I did, and regularly with Fay and a few others. Right.
Having Force Powers sorted into the three categories that the Jedi referred to them in would be useful, as would them being marked as ‘Dark Side’ if applicable.
New Perks/Player Powers would be interesting, but I'd have to wait until I was level 20 for both to see the changes, and a quick peruse of the interface options had me almost jumping for joy at being able to remove the 'You Have Slept for … Hours' notice that always appeared in the middle of my field of vision. That alone made not having access to the interface for a day worthwhile.
I assumed that being able to directly explain what I knew of the future was linked to either Reputations or Force Bonds; or possibly both.
As I opened my Reputation page, I noted the lists available, before opening the Jedi one.
I wasn't surprised to find that Fay and Dooku were in the Trusted range, though seeing Serra above them – and additionally listed as a Friend – was intriguing. The Miralukan Seer Nilas was also listed as Trusted, which was confusing. I'd had no interactions outside of meeting the Council of First Knowledge. However, she seemed able to see visions of my future, much like Sifo-Dyas, so perhaps those were what made her willing to trust me.
Darihd and Sifo-Dyas were the next highest, though only in the Liked range. Giiett, Yaddle and most of Dragon Clan were also high on that list and I suspected that the higher a name was on the list, the closer it was to moving to the next reputation level.
Finding that I was disliked by three members of the High Council – Windu, Piell and Tiin – explained a few things, and seeing that Belfarr actively hated me wasn't a huge surprise.
Serra and Darihd were the only two Jedi that were listed as Friends, which made sense since the former was the one that I had spent the most time with within the Temple while the latter was now a part of my group. (Cabal? I need to think of a name for our little gang.)
The Politicians list held far fewer names but seeing that Palpatine liked me was both worrying and expected.
Finding that Padmé was already listed as a friend was also expected, as I'd earned that bonus on her linked quest, The Once and Future Queen.
Force Bonds were… strange, scary and intriguing all at the same time.
Force Bonds
Force bonds can exist between any two sentients so long as at least one of them has at least average Force potential.
However, only those with Force training can actively sense and use these bonds beyond the lowest level.
NOTE:
All people with a greater than Weak Force Bond with the Player only cost 1/2 a slot/place for group/area effect Force powers.
NOTE:
Bonds can degrade over time. This happens when the sentients in the bond do not interact with each other for a significant amount of time.
This degradation will happen much faster when one sentient in the bond has a Force Sensitivity lower than Intermediate.
Levels of Force Bonds
Weak
Low
Solid
High
Strong
Extreme
Total
…
For information on a Force Bond level, select the relevant level.
…
I currently held Force Bonds with quite a few people, with almost all being inside the Jedi Order. The strongest bonds were to Fay, Dooku and Serra, with all being Low. That meant I could detect where they were on a continental scale and it explained why there were now two pulsing dots on my mini-map. It also gave me a hint of how they were feeling, though this was blockable if they were trained in controlling their emotions, or their Empathic Shield power was greater than my Empathy power.
This was the first time the interface had hinted that other people's abilities and powers were listed in the same way as mine, but it did make sense. How else was the Interface going to handle the fact everyone around me could learn the same skills and powers as I had? Though it had me wondering if there was a way for me to see their skill/power levels.
I also, rather unexpectedly, had a weak Force Bond with Padmé, meaning I'd had a greater effect on her than I'd realised, but that would probably degrade as I wasn't likely to be in contact with her regularly.
The higher-level Force Bonds fitted with what I knew/remembered about Master/Padawan bonds from my past life and lessons in the Temple, though none of that knowledge hinted at anything beyond a strong bond.
Extreme and Total bonds were permanent links between two minds in which both users would have to learn to shield their thoughts or risk neural feedback and allowed telepathic communication across whole sectors if both sentients had either natural telepathic abilities or a high enough training in the Force Power, Telepathy.
The only example I could think of that might fit either was the bond that formed between Bastila and Revan, but since that was never expanded on in the game, I couldn't be sure if it was such a bond.
Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about that for now, and possibly ever, and with a thought, I dismissed the floating text and stood to begin my day. Before that, however, I increased Vitality and Agility to 19, so that all stats were 19 and now granted a forty per cent boost to skill growth. I was so going to exploit that.
As I moved to wash, I considered what next to do with my plans.
According to Fay, we would be remaining with Tr'a Saa for at least the rest of the month before journeying away to wherever the Force wished us to go.
I wanted to publish the Two Towers soon as The Fellowship of the Ring was still fresh in most people's minds – I hoped – and that gave me a greater potential market, read profit, for the story. I was also considering publishing a few songs and seeing if they could be sold and what potential they had for profit.
A big issue with that was having to either ignore or change any song that referred to entirely Earth-centric themes or words. Also, I had to explain to Fay and Dooku why I wasn't donating the money from those books and songs to charities like the Shadda-Bi-Borans, though that should be possible since I knew both trusted me.
Perhaps we could purchase a ship to allow us freer movement around the galaxy?
… …
… …