The Master and the Apprentice (Ratama's Training)

[D.C.]

The speeders outdoors could be heard quietly but clearly seen through the thick glass window, which provided a great view on the cityscape of Coruscant. Beyond this window and the thick walls, was a room. It was a training room and in the center of this room sat a tall Kiffar male. He had long black dreadlocks and his eyes were gold-brown, but he had his eyes shut at the moment. He wore a lightbrown tunic, typical for a Jedi, but he did not wear his dark brown robe over it. He had put the robe on a chair in the corner of the room.

This man was Jedi Knight Koran Mak, who had joined the Order twenty years ago. For all this time he had not trained any padawans, because he did not feel like teaching. Now, finally, the Force had guided him to become a teacher and it was then when he picked the young Jawa man named Ratama as his Padawan Learner.

In a silent meditation, he awaited his new padawan's arrival. He was a little bit nervous, and thus he meditated to calm himself.

 

[Jackal]

Ratama eased his excitement as he walked down the corridors of the Coruscant Jedi Temple. He had developed a wonderful control over his emotions, but was still working on controlling it. At 24 years old, the Jawa was an adult, but felt as if he was still a child. His entire life had been stopped at the age of nine and he was hoping that through this training he would earn a rite of passage and become a true man. Or at the very least, a Jedi Knight of the honorable Jedi Order. That was something the Jawa had been dreaming about for the last few weeks of his stay on Coruscant.

Arriving mysteriously at the temple one night, Ratama had explained himself before the Jedi Council and been accepted into their order. The last few weeks he had been living in the temple while adjusting to the new world around him. Many late nights had been spent in the archives, catching up on all that he had missed in the galaxy. Including the war between the Republic and the villainous Hutt Empire. The Jawa hadn't even received his lightsaber yet. Besides the one that he poorly practiced with.

He approached the door to the training room where he would meet his new master, Jedi Knight Koran Mak. Opening the door, he walked in and glanced around to take it all in. At the center of the room, the Jedi Knight was mediating. "Greetings, master," the Jawa spoke before bowing, hoping he didn't disturb the mediating Knight.

 

[D.C.]

Slowly Koran opened his eyes and looked up at the door. Finally his student had arrived. Koran knew it would be a young Jawa male, but he had expected him to be different. He thought this one would wear Jedi Robes, but he did not. He wore the typical Jawa robes. It did not matter to Koran, though, as Koran wore casual civilian clothing while away from the Order most of the time.

He got to his feet and smiled as he walked over to his new student. He was much taller than the Jawa and he had to look down to see him.

"Welcome." He said warmly and he reached out his hand. "You must have come a long way to get here." Koran said. "I am Koran Mak, a Jedi Knight and your new master. Come in."

After they shook hands he turned around and walked back into the room. He gestured over to the seats in the corner, not the one on which his robe lay, but seats in a different corner, and said: "Have a seat. Let's begin with getting to know each other a bit, shall we? Would you like something to drink?" He smiled.

 

[Jackal]

The Jawa shook hands with Koran, before following him into a distant corner in the room. He briefly attempted to communicate personal information with the man with odor, but remembered that he wasn't a Jawa. A silly mistake to be made, but Ratama often attempted to try and gain information from others odors by instinct. Many were simply too clean, unlike the Jawa who carried an almost unbearable stench. "No thank you, Master," he answered.

 

[D.C.]

"No problem." Koran answered friendly. "Then I won't have a drink either." He smiled and took a seat. "Well then, let's go to know each other. Your name is Ratama and you are from Tatooine. It's not common among Jawas to be sensitive to the Force, is it? Why don't you tell me a bit about your past. What it was like on Tatooine and such."

 

[Jackal]

Ratama briefly looked at the Knight as he asked about the Jawa's past, a touchy subject. He adjusted his view onto the wall before him and began to speak. "I grew up an outcast in my clan, because my sense of morals. I had an older brother, Okokeeza, who I believe was also sensitive to the Force," pausing, Ratama struggled with his memory of what happened next. "Oko decided to gather up some friends and steal a Hutt ship. I suggested otherwise. All of those young Jawas died, except Oko. Who murdered the Hutt guards in revenge."

A wave of sorrow and anger overcame the Jawa, who closed his eyes and took control over his emotions, before continuing his story. "When he returned, he forced me to promise not to tell on him. Our sandcrawler returned to our clan's fortress to tell them of the news only to find it destroyed. The Hutts ambushed us before killing the rest of my clan. Only me and Oko managed to survive by hiding. I stayed with my brother for sometime until he grew to hate and blame me, falling victim to the dark side."

Ratama turned to look at Koran. "I abandoned my brother one night and made my way to Mos Eisley. Only to be enslaved by a Hutt several months later. I believe it was the Force punishing me for leaving my brother when I could have saved him and redeemed him. I escaped my enslavement several years later and went in search of Okokeeza. I never found him. In hope of finding the Republic, I set off into the galaxy until I found my way here. That is my only history."

 

[D.C.]

"I did not know, Ratama..." Koran said. "...I am sorry for asking. However, your past is important for me to know. It explains why you are the way you are, and how you have become it."

Remaining silent, the Jedi Knight thought about his apprentice and something else. Ratama mentioned that his brother had fallen to the Dark Side of the Force, and only the mentioning of the Dark Side frightened Koran little bit. Ratama did not know, yet, that Koran had been having problems with the Dark Side himself and that he had a meeting with Grandmaster Lorian a few days ago regarding this problem. Koran would tell his student, but not yet. He did not want the student to already lose faith in Koran before they had even started.

"I have heard that you have spent a lot of time in the archives. When I sometimes paid a visit to the archives myself, I saw you studying there, every time I came there. I suppose you have great knowledge about the history of our Order and other things. Such as, our code. Can you please recite The Jedi Code to me and tell me what it means?"