Star Wars: A New Era.Part 1: Memory Games

Chapter 5: The Path of a Padawan

Ben was running. He navigated a huge maze only to come to an exit with a locked door. Someone was chasing him and would catch up to him if the door did not open. Just as their shadow covered Ben, it was over.

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Ben woke up sweating and panting. It was early morning and only half of one of the suns of Tatooine was giving light to their side of the planet. He had no clue what the dream was, but he knew it wasn't a memory. He got out of his bed and left his room. As he began to wander around, he remembered that they had made it to the temple the day before and he was able to sleep in his room at the temple. He went to the kitchen to find something to eat. He found some bantha jerky and poured a glass of blue milk. The jerky was very tart but it was the only thing he could find.

When he finished the jerky and the milk, he was cleaning the cup he had used when a really young boy walked in. He was around the age of seven and he could only be a youngling. Frightened by the sight of Ben, he hid behind the archway that was the door. Ben knew he was there for the same reason as himself. He grabbed a few pieces of jerky and walked to the archway. He knelt down to the frightened boy who was about to peek around the corner again when Ben got in front of him.

"It'll be our little secret." Ben whispered to the boy as he gave him the jerky. When the boy looked at Ben's face, Ben winked and the boy took the jerky eagerly.

It was clear that he was like Ben when he was a youngling like the boy. No friends and no one to count on. Ben used this chance to let the boy know that he could count on him whenever he was around. After several minutes of talking he told Ben that his name was Jamison Gusta, and Ben told him his name.

The two talked in that hallway, just outside the kitchen for what seemed like several minutes, but was several hours. Jamison and his group of younglings were doing research on lightsaber combat and the day off from training to complete their homework projects. Ben also didn't have anything else to do since Dan had organized a meeting with the council and would come and get him when it was time. For what, Ben had no clue, but all he felt like doing was being Jamison's friend.

As Ben's mind began to wander into the pit of what Dan might be talking to the council about, Jamison grabbed his attention with a simple question. "What form do you study?"

"Soresu." Ben answered immediately not really knowing that he said it.

"That's the form I have to learn about." Jamison said. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets because he was so excited.

"Come on, I'll show you how it works." Ben said. He couldn't refuse the boy. Jamison had such a huge grin on his face that if he said anything remotely close to a "no," Ben could only assume that the eagerness to learn would have gone as quickly as it had come.

The two of them walked to a training area and Ben showed Jamison all the different stances used for Form III. After several minutes of using the training saber for demonstration. Jamison had perfectly drawn each stance Ben had shown him. He even drew the picture with Ben holding the blade. The details were perfect. It was almost like looking into a mirror.

"Is that really what my hair looks like?" Ben asked, looking at how long his hair looked in the picture.

"More or less." Jamison replied. With that Dan left the temple and found Ben talking to Jamison in one of the training areas. He walked up to them almost looking worried that his student had run off on some crazy adventure that would have been dangerous alone.

"There you are!" Dan said relieved to find his padawan. "It's time. Follow me."

Jamison and Ben said their goodbyes and Ben was taken to the council chamber. The room was very old and was definitely a part of the original design of the temple. It had many rooms that branched off of it that were closed with newer doors. He could only assume that artifacts of the Jedi were kept there for safe keeping. The eldest of all the council members, who was Itharian with light brown leathery skin, started talking first.