Ask Jedha The Master of the Crystal Cat

[Quin Leonkri]

“Master?” Upon hearing the sound of the Jedi knight’s voice, Quin looked up. He could see someone standing close to the edge, and he knew that it was her.

“I’m fine, Master! I’m not hurt or anything. Just… trying to find my crystal down here,” he said, scratching the back of his neck as he looked around. “Assuming it’s even in here,” he muttered, before brightening up again. Hey, at least you found something.

“Thanks for coming though, Master! I knew you’d find me,” he responded cheerily as he returned to looking for his crystal. Then, as the sound of his voice faded away, he heard the noise. A faint hum, as Master Pelt had been describing earlier. It wasn’t coming from the walls, but from… the roof. Quin looked up again, and right underneath where Master Pelt was standing was a crystal on the tip of a hanging stone stalactite that seemed to be glowing brighter than the rest. The only problem would be getting it down. But he could use the Force for that, he realized.

Concentrating on the crystal, he pictured himself plucking it off the stone with the Force. Sure enough, it floated towards him and landed in his palm. When it came into contact with him, he knew instantly that it was his. He didn’t know how, but he just felt it.

His excitement was short-lived however. Almost right after the crystal touched his palm, the roof that held up the part where Master Pelt was standing began to break apart.

“Master! Watch out!” Quin managed to shout before the ceiling began to cave in. He dove towards a corner, crystal clutched tightly in his hand, his heart racing in his chest. Master Pelt, please, please be okay.

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

"Master! Watch out!"

Chedra looked down as Quin shouted at her. She felt the ground quaking beneath her, and pieces of the rock were sliding away. The section she was standing on split into two halves, and her half lurched forward, tossing her over the edge and into the darkness below. She gripped the rock beneath her as best she could, using the Force to help slow its approach. The rock was still going to crash, regardless - but maybe she could buffer the impact.

Rock and Jedi both crashed on the bottom level as expected, but instead of being crushed beneath it, Chedra rolled not so gracefully away from the debris. She spun over knees and elbows before settling on the ground in a plume of dust.

Pulling her Jedi robes aside and standing to inspect the damage, she found a long gash running down her forearm, blood already beginning to ooze from the wound. Before focusing on it, though, she looked up to make sure that Quin was safe.

He was holding a crystal in his hand.

"Are you alright, Padawan?" she asked.

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin shielded his face from the rubble as the ceiling collapsed, holding his breath so that he didn’t breathe in any of the dust. All he could think about was Master Pelt and how he’d gotten her into this mess. Once the rocks had stopped falling, he opened his eyes and spotted the Jedi knight on the ground close by. He immediately ran over, getting to his knees beside her. Somehow, the first thing that came out of her mouth was a question about if he was okay.

“I’m alright, Master,” he said as reassuringly as he could. “What about you? Are you hurt?” He looked down at her, his eyes widening when he saw the wound on her forearm. “Oh no. Master Pelt, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have been more careful— I found my crystal, but when I tried to get it, the entire roof collapsed. It was right where you were standing too, and it-” He stopped himself from saying more, realizing that it wasn’t helping the situation at all.

“Okay. I, uh, need something to clean that cut with, right?” he muttered, trying to recall his very short medical training lesson back on Yavin. The instructor had said something about bandaging a wound first if it was bleeding, but he couldn’t remember if that was right. There was a Force-heal ability that he’d heard about, could he do that instead? Quin stared down at the Jedi’s arm, trying to calm the panic in his mind so that he could figure out what he was going to do. But then he realized that asking for some advice might be the best idea. He couldn’t do it all himself— he’d seen that back in the village with the nexu.

“Master? What can I do to stop the bleeding?” he asked, trying to keep his voice and his mind as calm as he could.

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra waved away his questions with a half-smile. "I'm fine, Padawan," she said, clasping the cut with her other hand. 'You don't know this about me, but luckily I was a nurse before I became a Jedi."

She focused on the cut on her forearm, closing her eyes and slipping into that special place alongside the bright fires of the Force. She zeroed in on the split skin, imagining an invisible tendril snaking out to stroke and soothe the abrasion. Within a moment, the pain had stopped, at least temporarily. She seemed to leave her body for a second- the experience of Force healing was always disconcerting, no matter how many times she performed it.

Chedra imagined the split in her skin, imagined the thousands of cells working in this moment to clot the wound and begin the process of closing the skin. She was there, alongside those tiny cells, aiding them, directing them. Well, not directing them - they didn't need anyone to tell them what to do. Reinforcing them.

She opened her eyes to stare at the arm. The edges of the cut drew together, so minutely that the Padawan watching might think he was imagining it. The thought gave her an amused smile. The bleeding had been disrupted, and the wound would be fine until she could get some glue stitching back at the medical tent in the village. She pulled down the sleeve of her robe, a little more roughly than she had intended.

Chedra turned to look at Quin. She removed the small bag of lightsaber parts from her belt. "You have your crystal now, Padawan. Time for you to start work on getting your weapon constructed - before another disaster befalls us."

She rolled her eyes slightly, though an air of bemused resignation had crept into her voice.

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin watched in fascination as Master Pelt healed her own wound using nothing but the Force. He’d heard plenty about it, but he’d never actually seen it in action before. It worked a lot faster than he expected too.

“Whoa,” he said, his eyes wide. “I want to learn to do that someday.”

When the knight pulled out the bag of parts and rolled her eyes when she commented about yet another disaster happening, Quin grinned sheepishly as he took the bag from her.

“Yeah,” he murmured as he opened the bag and gently laid all the parts on the ground. Digging around the bag a bit more, he looked over at Master Pelt in worry when there was one item in particular that he couldn’t find.

“Master? I think you forgot to bring the guide book.” There was one… right? “How to Build Your Lightsaber 101” or something?

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra smirked as she sat up a bit straighter and surveyed the mess of lightsaber parts that Quin had in front of him. "I'm afraid there is no guide book, Padawan," she said. "Not for this."

She could feel his uncertainty in the Force. She cleared her throat. "Just relax. You've already built your lightsaber in your mind, you just don't know it yet. The Force has guided you this far. It will not abandon you now."

She paused, digging deep for some words of wisdom. What could she say? "The crystal has already chosen the Jedi - you hold it in your hand. Think of your future within the Order. Think of what adventures await you and your blade. Go at it with your best intentions. As a matter of fact, go at everything with your best intentions...and the rest will work itself out. You are young now, but you will learn to trust your instincts along the way."

This Master-apprentice thing is harder than it looks, she thought, stifling a laugh. Nevertheless, she was still drawing an immense sense of satisfaction serving as something of a mother figure for this young human. She didn't regard it as pride or as forbidden...it was something that felt good, and it helped the next generation along, something Uor always talked about.

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“I’ve already built it in my mind?” Quin stared down at the parts, trying to figure out exactly what Master Pelt meant by that. If there was one thing he’d found out since he’d gotten to Yavin, it was that for some reason, the Jedi always spoke in riddles. He also learned that they also weren’t really riddles, and that they only sounded like riddles because he didn’t understand them. This was yet another one of those moments where he knew that the Jedi knight was being as straightforward as she could, but he had no clue what she was talking about.

Think of the future. Trust your instincts. Quin repeated Master Pelt’s advice in his head. Well, he pictured himself holding up his lightsaber on Yavin. What did it feel like in his hand? Metal, duh. Quin shoved that away. A ringed sleeve, smooth where his hand would go. Windows near the emitter. A silver button. A green blade, pointing up at the sky. Green, not blue as he’d wanted, he noted with interest. That didn’t matter, though. He let go of the crystal in his palm, letting it rise with the Force.

He opened his eyes again, and there it was. The parts were floating in the air in front of him, perfectly in line with each other. His crystal glowed at the center of the structure. Quin then tightened the pieces together, and once it was complete he let the saber drop into his lap. He grinned at Master Pelt, holding up his creation for her to see.

“I did it!” he exclaimed happily. He got up and walked a few feet away, making sure that it was pointed away from him and Master Pelt. When he pressed the button, a brilliant green blade lit up the cavern.

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra watched him construct the lightsaber from her place on the floor of the cavern. As he assembled it, she nodded, more to herself than to to him. He was moving with more confidence, letting the Force direct his actions.

When the green blade cut through the cave air, she smiled. Interesting color. She had been expecting blue like her own, but sometimes these things were unexpected. She watched his face as he ignited it for the first time. She lived to see these moments of self discovery.

"Nicely done, Padawan," she said, nodding approvingly. "How does it feel?"

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“It feels… great!” Quin said with a grin as he turned to Master Pelt. “Like I was meant to have it.” He looked at his blade fondly again before pressing the button to switch it off. Hissing noise finished, he glanced up at the tunnel above the crystal cave.

“Now we just have to get back up somehow,” he said, scratching his head. He clipped his saber to his belt and looked around, trying to find some kind of structure that they could climb to get up. Nothing. There was only sand and a couple of fallen rocks. Wait a minute. Fallen rocks. Some of the pieces were still large and relatively flat and smooth, and though some of them were cracked, they were still strong enough to stand on. Even the smaller pieces could be of some use, Quin realized with a grin.

“Master, I have an idea,” he said. “What if we build a mini staircase with these so that we can get to a point high enough for us to jump up? We could use the smaller slabs to hold up the bigger ones.” He gestured at the stone, then went over to the Jedi knight and offered her a hand to help her get up.

“We can build it together, if you think it’ll work.”

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra surveyed the edge of the cliff above them. In truth, she had been so focused on everything else - the disaster on Mon Cala, her injury, Quin's success with the lightsaber - she hadn't even considered how they were getting out of this cave.

She stood, brushing the dust from her palms. "Okay, then, Padawan. Sounds like a fair enough plan to me. Genius is in ingenuity, as they say."

She grinned over at Quin before bending slightly and focusing on two of the larger stones. She managed to make them line up side by side. The slabs were floating in the air. Her hands were outstretched.

"If you get the smaller stones, I'll take the larger ones." Inwardly, she smiled. They suddenly had a brilliant opportunity to work together as a unit, something that would come in handy later on down the road.

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Seeing Master Pelt smile made Quin grin in return. He was grateful that she wasn’t angry about him getting them into this predicament in the first place, and was instead focusing on getting out. If she’d been either of his parents he never would have heard the end of it.

When the Jedi knight lifted some of the larger stone slabs up, Quin moved some of the smaller, sturdier-looking ones underneath them, sometimes using the Force, sometimes heading over and putting them in place with his own hands. Soon enough, the pair had created a small spire/staircase that went up a couple feet with a platform at the top, which was more than Quin had been expecting. It was still a long stretch to the top of the cavern, but it was much better than what they had before, and at least they had something higher to jump off of. All in all, if they had been able to jump on the spamel, Quin assumed that they would be able to make this jump too. The only thing he would have to do was test it to see if it was stable enough.

The padawan made his way up the staircase, relieved to see that the stones had held up and the thing wasn’t collapsing when he reached the top. He looked back down at Master Pelt.

“I’m going to give this a try,” he said, taking a single step back before launching himself into the air with the Force. He grabbed onto the very edge of the solid ground at the top, and heaved himself up. He had never been so glad to be in an empty stone tunnel.

Looking down into the cave where the crystals shone like stars for Master Pelt, Quin stayed close to the edge. “You coming, Master?”

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra watched him deftly climb the makeshift rock staircase. She was slightly apprehensive until he made the jump and pushed himself up. She smiled when he stood and looked back.

"I'm coming," she called up to him. Stepping forward, she carefully climbed the rocks, feeling a few of them shift underneath her. The stairwell had certainly not been constructed to last. She came to the end and crouched slightly, preparing to propel herself from one end to the other with some assistance from the Force.

She jumped and came down again, her lekku trailing behind her as she fell. Her fingers hooked expertly on the edge of the rock, preventing her from tumbling down into the darkness again. She grunted slightly as she heaved herself up and took her place next to Quin. Adjusting her robes again, she smiled.

"Now that you have your lightsaber, Padawan, I think it's time to get off this planet," she said.

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin felt a shred of fear when he saw Master Pelt jump up and grab onto the edge of the rock. Would she fall? He held his breath for a moment, and was relieved to see her pull herself up beside him.

“I think you’re right,” he agreed as he got to his feet and put a hand around his lightsaber hilt at the mention of it. Quin pulled it off his belt, holding it in his hand. It was his creation, and he knew that it would be a part of him as long as he lived. “As much fun as I’ve had here, I think it’s time to go back to Yavin. I can’t wait to meet my new master.” He grinned at the thought as he began to head in the direction of the cave entrance with the Jedi knight.

Officially starting his Jedi training was the moment he’d been looking forward to for weeks, something he’d thought was unattainable for years until he decided to take things into his own hands. As for his would-be teacher, he was curious, though still a little apprehensive. “I wonder who it’ll be. I hope it’s someone nice like you, Master Pelt.”

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra walked along beside him, smiling down at the ground as they exited the cave. She consulted with her inner gut for a moment before speaking.

"Well, Padawan...I appreciate your enthusiasm. We will be heading back to Yavin, certainly," she said, nodding. "As far as your training...I will need to speak to someone on the Council first, but I would like to become your mentor. I feel the Force draws us to people, draws us to places, for reasons we can't explain. It works in strange ways, always remember that. And what happened today was no accident. We worked together well as a team, and I feel you show great promise in the Force."

She paused, stopping next to her spamel and giving Quin a wry grin. "Certainly, rough around the edges, as all teenagers are...but great in potential."

Her brow hardened, as her thoughts turned inward. "I do have to tell you...I had a premonition, of sorts. There's been a terrorist attack on the planet Mon Cala, in the Outer Rim. The Order believes it came from the Five Syndicates, by a man named Gareth Gin. I'll speak to the Council about heading there next to help with the relief effort. What do you think of joining me there?"

@Quin Leonkri

 

[Quin Leonkri]

“You’re going to be my master? And you think I have potential?” Quin beamed at the thought. Even though the Jedi knight had only said she wanted him and that it wasn’t finalized yet, he was elated that she even felt that way. He couldn’t have hoped for anyone better, and just the thought of getting to learn from Master Pelt herself was enough to make his week.

“The Council better say yes. I’ll… find a way around it if they don’t!” A bluff, but not entirely. Master Pelt was right— they did make a good team. And he was beyond honored that she seemed to take a liking to him. He’d certainly grown fond of her. She was, after all, the one who’d helped him build his lightsaber, and saved him from the nexu! He did owe her.

Then she asked if he wanted to accompany her to Mon Cala to provide aid for the people. "I will, Master, if you'll have me. If there's anyone that needs my help, I'll be there." He didn't know the scale of the attack or why it had taken place, but he would try his best to do what he could. No one deserved to suffer.

As he made his way over to the spamel and jumped on, this time without a problem, he looked over at Master Pelt and grinned. “If I do become your Padawan… I promise you that I’ll do my best, and that you won’t regret it.” He meant it. He was as determined to make the Jedi knight proud, as determined as he was to become a Jedi. Sure, he knew that he still had a lot to learn, but with Master Pelt guiding him he was certain that he would be able to overcome anything.

As he turned his spamel back towards the village, he thought about what the future would hold. Despite the circumstances, for the first time, it looked truly bright.

//Exit character//

@cpoindexter

 

[Chedra Pelt]

Chedra watched him guide his spamel forward, and followed along behind him. The nexu was gone. It had disappeared over the barren wasteland of Jedha's landscape. Perhaps it would forge a new life for itself out here.

Her time here on Jedha was done. Now she had a new mission - to help guide this young human in his journey with the Jedi. She knew that sometimes, to forget the old, one had to try something new. Serving as a mentor for Quin would be a fine use of her time, and perhaps it would distract her from her grief.

Her thoughts turned to the recent events on Mon Cala. The Jedi would always be needed where tragedy and true evil struck - and she would give the best of herself to help others. Such was the way of the Jedi.


/End Thread