Anakin Skywalker is quite the problem child, no matter who you ask. She doesn't obey, lashing out at the slavers instead of being properly cowed. She steals. She tells the truth incessantly, wickedly. She takes the lessons of violence the slavers teach and turns them back on her owners with an unholy glee.

A normal slave would've been killed by now, the damage she causes outweighing the profits her brilliant mind could bring in.

But Anakin -

She claims she has a friend who whispers to her when she closes her eyes. She says this friend is everywhere, wrapping around her, watching, nudging.

It's a bizarre claim, almost as bizarre as her mother's insistence that Anakin lacks a father entirely.

But the slaves are a superstitious folk, and Anakin goes beyond lucky.

Angry overseers walk right past her, bellowing out her name as she holds back giggles, face turning red because her invisible friend told her this would only work if she's quiet. And then they start forgetting what they're doing when they go looking - she pushes things over in their sight and they blame the wind - she finds one beating her mother and she says You don't want to do that and the overseer stops, wanders off, confused -

The slaves don't seem impacted by the little demon's curses. (That's what they decide she is, a malevolent spirit of a child killed by the slavers, returned to wreak havoc. They're not sure they'll survive the demon themselves, but their few elders meet one by one, in secret, and then spread the word that the demon should be allowed to do her work. Better, they say, not to interfere.)

(Her mother continues insisting she's a gift. Doesn't mean she's not a demon gift, Shmi's friend says. Shmi laughs.)

Anakin's head starts going floaty, when she's listening the closest to her friend. She does things she shouldn't know how to do. Her friend guides her, there for her always -

When she's twelve years old, she convinces one of the slavers to kill the others - the one with the most hatred in their heart, ripe for a little demon to poke at - and then steals a ship, the biggest and nicest she can find. None of the slaves have ever piloted anything before.

Anakin floats in her head, listening to her friend, and starts turning things on.

The elder slaves organize everyone, saying, This is a choice, every individual one of us must make it - (Anakin won't let them force a single person onto the ship).

Every single slave chooses to flee. A few freemen from the village choose to come, mostly ones just barely above the slaves, who've benefited from the little demon's antics. They take food and medicine and everything of value, and they board the ship where their demon's been working.

Anakin guides the ship away from the planet, everything the dead slavers' allies could use to track it disabled, grinning.

She stops hiding, for the first time in her memory.

Her friend guides her to a planet where slavery is illegal, where her mother and her people can get their tracking implants removed and get a new start in a little quiet valley with the money from the goods they brought...

Everyone can see Anakin, now. She almost draws the eye, even.

The arrival of a shipful of refugees at the tail end of Elesse's time on Transan does not go unnoticed. The governing council asks her to look into it, find out where they come from and what they want. She agrees. She has... a feeling, about it.

She takes a speeder to the landing site, out in the deep country, away from the cities.

There's a large ship, its design the sort of tacky expensive you sometimes find in more backwater areas.

There's a girl sitting on the top, and some weary, bedraggled people unloading, children mostly helping but a few discovering they can run free, here.

The refugees look up, tense and wary, when she arrives. A few children scatter, hiding reflexively.

The girl jumps smoothly off the ship, falling in beside an elderly man coming out to meet her.

Elesse swings smoothly off the speeder and stands to greet the reception committee. Her robe parts briefly and the quick-eyed will note the flash of a lightsaber hilt at her hip.

"Hello," she calls.

"Hello," they say together - the man slowly, guarded, the girl chirping and grinning.

"What brings you here?" the man asks.

"My name is Elesse Vendar. I am a Jedi Knight, here on behalf of the Galactic Republic and the people of Transan."

The girl tilts her head, slowly mouthing the words 'Jedi Knight', while the man blinks.

"And what have we done to merit such august attention?" he says, remembering vaguely that the Jedi are - some sort of official. Said to be capable of influencing spirits, or spirits themselves. (His gaze flicks briefly to the girl.)

"Why, landed here. Transan wishes to inquire what sort of people their new neighbors are, and whether they need any assistance."

"We escaped from slavery," the girl says, while the man's still considering Elesse's words. "It was exciting. But people need the stuff the slavers could identify them with removed, and maybe some stuff to help us get set up farming. And some people have medical stuff."

The man sighs. "She's quite correct. We're hoping to simply be quiet subjects of Transan. Farmers. But we have very few people trained in medicine, and this place is a rather different climate than where we came from."

"And we landed here 'cause my friend thought it's a good place," the girl continues, cheerfully ignoring the man's briefly tight expression.

"I will have medical assistance sent, and will ensure you receive the support you need to begin your lives here."

"What made your friend think that, young one?"

"Thanks," the girl says, which the man echoes, sounding more relieved. Alone, the girl continues with: "And it didn't tell me why. I just knew I was supposed to fly here."

"Could I meet your friend?"

"I think you might already have. Most people just don't listen, though."

"Your friend isn't a person?"

"It talks to me, kinda, and seems pretty person-y. But it's not in one place."

"Ah."

"I must return to the Transan to inform them of your needs. I wonder if you would care to accompany me?"

She hesitates.

She's the only one who knows how to pilot the ship if something goes wrong. She's the best at going unseen. She knows before bad things happen -

And she feels sure things will be okay if she leaves.

"Alright," she says, slowly. "Seeing the city'd be neat."

It'd be different, too. (Sometimes Anakin feels all wrapped up in being her people's demon - it's important and people like her for doing it but all the other kids know what she is, and that makes not being a demon all the time hard.)

She smiles. "Good."

To the older man, "I will send help back, and begin the process of expediting your citizenship."

He nods, thanking her again, then glances at the girl.

"I'll be fine," she says. "And so will people here. Let people know I've ducked out, okay?" 'People' mostly meaning her mom.

"Alright," he says, ruffling her hair. She bats at him, laughing, then heads over to stand nearer Elesse.

"Into the speeder, then. It's not a short trip back."

"Alright." She climbs aboard.

Elesse gets into the driver's seat, and they set off.

"So. I sense there are a few details you left out about your journey here."

She hums. "Like where?"

"The part where you said it was 'exciting', how about."

"None of us got hurt. But one of the slavers decided he really didn't like his buddies. They fought. They're all dead, now."

"Did your friend help him decide that?"

"I don't think I'd say that. Isn't really anyone's fault but his if he got mad when his stuff would go missing or break or he'd lose a whole bunch of bets..."

"I suppose anger would be a natural reaction. But to such extremes..."

"He really didn't like the others, and thought they were messing with him, and he'd always been kinda unstable. I don't make people do stuff, though, unless they're being really bad."

"I do not seek to criticize, merely to understand. You were in a difficult situation. That you brought others as well as yourself out of it speaks well."

"...I was pushing him to make him mad. I didn't think he'd kill everyone himself, thought he'd just get into fights and mess up their ability to work together, but I was planning to get a lot of the important slavers dead anyways. Just would've been hard. Instead I only had to tell everyone when they needed to run and hide that morning."

"And I wouldn't have left people where they didn't wanna be."

"Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not exactly the ones we expect."

"I guess so..."

"Living in the moment in fine as far as it goes, but I usually find it best to keep half an eye on the future."

"How do you do that?"

"How much do you know about Jedi?"

"Nothing, really."

"The galaxy knows us as diplomats, philosophers, and warriors. But the true source of a Jedi's power is her connection to the Force, an energy field that connects all life."

"That sounds kinda like my friend. The Force."

"Yes, I suspect so."

"People say I'm a demon. A vengeful spirit. 'Cause I can do weird things, and I didn't have a father. Are all Jedi like me?"

"...No. Not exactly. But it is not often a Jedi knows her family. And some of the things we do others could consider... weird."

"I know my mom, though I'm not around her much."

"A Jedi is usually taken for training at a very young age."

"What's training like?"

"Difficult. But rewarding. Academic studies, history, science, politics. Physical discipline, lightsaber training. Studies in the mysteries of the Force."

"Those sound fun. What's a lightsaber?"

"The weapon of a Jedi." She twitches her robe aside to reveal the sliver cylinder at her side.

"Cool. I think I wanna do fighting and the Force and history the most just for cool stuff..." She makes a thoughtful face. "But keeping an eye on the future... If I'm gonna be doing stuff with it... What's helpful for stopping slavery?"

"That depends on what scale you want to attack the problem, and how much visible progress you're willing to accept over your lifetime."

"I dunno."

"Slavery is a systemic issue, and the galaxy does not turn on one person's wish."

"I think since I got the people I liked out I'm okay freeing other slaves more slowly, but I dunno I'll be good at doing something that takes a lot of effort for a long time that isn't - right there?"

"You may find that changes as you get older."

She pauses. "...Maybe."

She shifts a bit, almost fidgeting. "Is there a planet the Jedi live on? What's it like?"

"Jedi live on Coruscant, the capital of the Republic, in the Jedi Temple. The surface of Coruscant is entirely covered by city, hundreds of levels deep. The Temple is almost the size of a small town in the midst of this, self-sufficient, in the world but not of it."

"Woah. I've never been to a city. Especially not a planet sized one!" She bounces. "Are there lots of people?"

"There are around ten thousand Jedi in the temple, with as many support staff. The population of Coruscant at large is more than six hundred billion."

"Wow. What are they like?"

"Which they?"

"The people! All of them, I guess."

"You can find just about anything you can imagine in a population of that size. Mostly, my impression of them is of how noisy they are. It seems like the only quiet place on Coruscant is the meditation gardens in the Temple."

"You don't like people that much?"

"In small doses, or with a certain amount of pre-screening."

"I like people. They don't talk to me much though 'cause I'm a demon, and they're scared of me."

"I don't think you're a demon. Though I didn't get your name."

"I'm Anakin Skywalker. Would you be scared of me if I was a demon?"

"It's nice to meet you, Anakin. Fear is not generally a productive emotion."

"Nice to meet you too! And I guess not to the person feeling it."

"Causing fear in others can be a dangerous path to tread. Fear can make someone unpredictable, and it is hard to change their impression of you from that starting point if you wished to switch tactics later. I prefer to begin with awed respect, and go from there."

She hums, thoughtful. "Yeah. I have a lotta trouble getting stuff 'cause of people being scared of me, sometimes. Usually just steal food and all. And most of them only got on the ship 'cause of the elders getting on and 'cause they were more scared of the slavers' friends coming by and finding them near the dead. ...Though it's funny when my enemies are scared."

"Keeping your enemies scared and your friends happy can be a delicate line to walk."

"...Yeah. I don't think I'm good at that. And I don't like it when people stop wanting to be around me."

"I will be leaving this planet soon and returning to the Jedi Temple. If you like, I could take you with me. You could have a fresh start, a chance to try again."

"I wanna go. I wanna see everything."

"And I think my people'd be glad about that. They don't need a demon anymore."

"It may be that you don't need a demon anymore, either."

She giggles. "What does that mean?"

"When you were a demon before, you had power over your situation you weren't allowed to have as a person. Going forward, you'll have freedom as yourself."

"Will the Force stop talking to me if I stop being a demon, though?"

"Will you die if you stop being a demon?"

"Probably not."

"Then the Force will keep talking to you."

"Then maybe I'll try being something other than a demon. Freedom as myself sounds really nice."

Elesse smiles. "Excellent."

Heeeee.

"Would you teach me if you took me with you?"

"I would certainly like to. The High Council has the final say in assigning Padawans to masters, but we'll be talking to them anyway. You're rather older than typical to be joining the Order."

She makes a face. "I don't like the word 'master.'"

"It's an archaism that dates back the founding of the Jedi. 'Teacher' would be the more modern word for it, but we tend to be traditional."

"Teacher's okay. I guess traditions are fine if they're just what's worked in the past, but it seems silly to use an old word just 'cause of tradition."

"Think of all the paperwork that would need to be changed."

She giggles. "I've never done paperwork before."

"You're lucky. It's very tedious."

"Do Jedi have a lot of paperwork?"

"It depends on what you do. Everyone has to file a report after a mission. If you're on a Council or are involved in managing some aspect of the Temple, you have to deal with whatever's generated by those duties as well."

"Don't think I wanna do those."

"Then you can probably get away with minimal paperwork."

"That's good."

"What do you do?"

"I'm in what we call active service. Whenever there's trouble or someone requests the presence of a Jedi, I go out and handle things."

"That's cool. Was there trouble here?"

"A dispute with the Trade Federation about tariffs. The Trade Federation is the organization responsible for most of the shipping to and from this planet, and they wanted to charge the government more money for their services, over and above whatever profit they already make on the individual shipments themselves."

"That sounds... Petty? I guess lots of people just want as much money as they can get, though."

"It has to do with a larger economic and policy realignment happening all across the Republic right now. Solving the problem in the general case is proving intractable, so I and more Jedi in other places are solving specific instances."

"Huh... Like, if you can't get the boss to stop doing something, going to all his people and bribing them?"

"Like that but legal, shall we say. Because these are local settlements, the agreement doesn't need to consider every possible permutation of variables, only the actual relevant facts of the situation at hand."

"Yeah. And I guess if you want stuff all predictable it's better to start with a small group. Big groups destabilize easier."

"Yes. It worked quite well in this case, and I hope to hear the others were similarly successful on our return."

She nods. "Do you have any friends in the Jedi?"

"A few. Training partners, old crechemates, some people I've gotten to know over missions."

"What are they like?"

Elesse can tell some mildly amusing stories for the rest of the trip back to the city.

She seems more interested in getting to know the type of person Elesse usually likes, but she can be sidetracked pretty easily by stories of assorted shenanigans.

Most of her friends are either generally nerdish, or extremely good at a specific thing.

The city, when they get there, is decently large by Outer Rim standards. The center has buildings consistently ten to fifteen stories tall, with the height dropping off towards the outskirts. The streets have more mechanized transport than animals, and are fairly crowded. Elesse takes them to the city hall, which has a fluted glass front and little durasteel curlicues.

"Do you want to come in with me?"

She's fascinated, watching the people raptly.

"Yeah!"

"Okay. We're going to see the planetary governor and tell him about your people and what they need. He'll probably ask about getting Republic assistance with that and I'll tell him I'll look into it. He'll thank me for my time and I'll thank him for his cooperation and then we can be on our way. It'll all be a little more flowery than that, but that's the gist of it."

"Okay. Should I tell him about my people, or you?"

"He'll probably be most comfortable if I do the talking."

"Alright. I'll hang back."

Elesse nods, and in they go. The governor meets them inside, wearing a brocaded robe and a hat that resembles a flower in bloom. He takes them up to his office, paneled in dark wood with a full-length window on one side and offers tea, which Elesse accepts. There's a five-minute preparation ritual, after which the meeting unfolds largely as predicted.

Weird mixture of interesting - new people and new cultures - and boring - she's not getting to talk. Still, she stays quiet, watching Elesse carefully, trying to pick up on what she's doing to get her desired outcome.

Most of the hard work of establishing trust has already been done. She presents what she wants, and then he agrees, after clarification. In the rare instance where he doesn't immediately agree, she circles around and talks back through the issue until he winds up saying the same thing that she did of his own accord. With a few brief pleasantries at the end, they can be on their way again.

"You're good at talking to people."

"By dint of long practice."

"I think talking to people's something I'm gonna like - I like talking to you."

"Thank you. But you shouldn't be too quick to generalize from a sample size of one."

"So I'll just have to talk to lots of people then."

"Sounds right."

She nods, bouncing a bit. "Are we gonna leave soon, then?"

"Unless you want to go back and say goodbye to anyone."

"I'd pretty much just tell my mom where I'm going, and - she'll be told where I went? But I guess she'd find it reassuring if I said I was with you, instead of just vanishing."

"It's up to you. I will note that I am unsure when you will next have an opportunity to speak with her."

"I guess I'll wanna at least make sure she gets the message, and telling her myself's a quick way of doing that..."

"Then we'll go back."

"Thanks. Sorry it's out of the way."

"It is no trouble. Come." Back into the speeder.

"Alright."

She asks a lot more in depth questions about Jedi training on the way back.

Elesse has answers. The academic curriculum is standardized, with options for both group learning and individual guided studies. Mystical and martial arts are taught in group sessions until apprenticeship, at which point the student's teacher customizes their instruction to fit their individual needs.

"I guess I'll have a lot of catching up to do..."

"An eminently closeable distance, especially for a smart girl like yourself. Small children learn this material, after all."

"Yeah. Figure it won't take too long. And you're really good at explaining stuff."

"I try. Ah, we're approaching."

She nods, and when they arrive hops down to tell the elders that aid's coming.

Her mom approaches before Anakin can run off to find her. She's worn - not that old, objectively, but weathered, like she's been stretched thin for far too long. Her skin's pocked from some long ago disease, and her hair's brittle.

"Mom, this's the Jedi Knight. She's taking me to learn to be a Jedi," Anakin says, excitedly.

The woman smiles. "That's good. You'll be leaving, then?"

Anakin nods. "Yeah. She says I can stop being a demon, too. I wanna know how to do that."

A sadder look enters the woman's eyes. "You've always been my gift, darling." She touches Anakin's cheek, briefly, then turns to Elesse. "You'll look after her?"

"I will."

"Thank you," the woman says, solemnly. Then, to Anakin: "Darling... Just make sure you're happy, okay?"

Anakin nods, looking serious. "I will."

"And thank you for letting me know where you're going. That is - a gift, to a worried mother." The woman smiles again. "Good luck to you."

"Good luck, mom," Anakin returns.

When she's ready to go, Elesse will be waiting.

She's ready.

"Thanks for - reminding me to say goodbye."

They can be off.

"It is not good to allow the past to be an anchor."

She kicks her feet. "Yeah. Don't think it would've bothered me to just vanish, but it would've bothered her. And she has done a lot for me."

"Payment of a debt."

"Yeah. Kinda? And I don't want her unhappy."

"I see."

She nods, humming, and then yawns.

"Get some rest, if you like. I'll wake you when we reach the city."

"Alright. Thanks."

The trip back is quiet.

When they arrive, Elesse taps Anakin on the shoulder. "Time to move."

She wakes up a bit groggily.

"'Kay. What's your ship look like?"

She points. "It's the red one."

"Huh! It's cool. Looks - like a spaceship and not like a decoration, I guess?"

"The designers had a... unique aesthetic sense. But it performs well."

"The important thing!"

"Quite. Let's board."

The interior of the ship is not quite as... red as the exterior, thankfully. It's actually quite tastefully decorated and rather spacious.

Spacious is good! She doesn't really like being confined.

She wants to meet people! Or explore the ship. Or both!

Elesse tells the captain to set course for Coruscant. One of the techs can give Anakin the tour.

There's the engine room, crew quarters, maintenance room, mess, the bridge, and of course, the salon, currently in a recreation configuration with couches, screens, and tabletop hologame projectors.

She wants to test all the couches for comfortableness, and then poke all the screens and games. She's never really gotten to play games before. How do you play?

The controls are on the side panels, and Elesse can explain the rules.

Oooo. She wants to play some of the strategy and fighting ones.

They can go a few rounds, sure.

She's not very good, but she picks up on the basics of the rules and strategies quite quickly.

It's close enough that she has a chance to win, once she gets the rules.

She'll squeak out a win in the last round.

"That was fun!"

"It was. You've got some talent for this."

Heeeeeeee.

"I've got talents for lots of things."

"So I'm beginning to see. Unfortunately, I need to get started on my report to the Council."

"Okay. I'll watch stuff in here."

"Bother a crewmember if you need anything." She goes off to her little office space.

And she plays around with the screens until she discovers whatever entertainment program contains the highest quantities of explosions.

Then she gets bored after a while, turns it off, flops on the most comfortable couch, closes her eyes, and starts to drift mentally, listening to her friend - the Force, she guesses - and evening out her breathing.

She'll still be drifting like that by the time anyone comes looking for her.

Some hours later, Elesse does the mental equivalent of tapping her on the shoulder.

She stretches languidly and hums, drifting back out of the headspace she'd been floating in.

She glances around.

"There's food, if you're hungry."

"Ooo, yeah, food sounds good." She bounces up off the couch.

To the mess. Technician Ves has prepared a traditional Alderaanian stew. Vegetarian, filling, and slightly sweet.

It's nothing like what she's eaten before, even when she was stealing nicer food. It's really good, and she's really curious about what it's made from and what Alderaan's like and what people's stories are.

Technician Ves is happy to expound upon both the making of the dish and the history of Alderaan, which he still considers to be the most beautiful and verdant world in all the galaxy, even after fifteen years attached to the Diplomatic Service.

She listens, mostly attentive. Alderaan sounds neat - she wants to explore, so.

After the history lesson, to Elesse: "How long's the trip gonna be?"

"Another half-day or so."

"That's not too bad."

"It's a decently fast ship."

"Sounds it. Ours was pretty slow..."

"The advantages of having galactic resources."

"Yeah. And better selection - I needed one that could fit everyone and their stuff, and keep going for as long as I felt we needed, and that wasn't the fastest one."

"Multi-dimensional optimization problems can be tricky. The ability to decide which variables are easiest to trade off against is valuable."

"Thanks! I might've picked different if I hadn't known we could get where we were going in time on the slow ship, though."

"A Jedi is often called upon to make such choices."

She nods. "Is that why there's so much - general education? So you know what all the different variables mean, and aren't just going by what feels best?"

"Yes. The Force is a valuable ally, but it is not a crutch, and a Jedi should understand how to think as well as feel. And being able to explain a reasoning for your decision can help convince those not gifted with foresight of your correctness."

"The Force also has different priorities than me. It's a friend, not an omniscient copy of my brain."

"A good observation, yes."

Heee.

"Though I don't wanna go too far the other way and stop listening." She swings her legs, fidgeting.

"As in all things, the proper balance is required. Speaking of which, would you like to try some Jedi stretching exercises? We don't have much room on board for anything more active, but we should be able to find space for that."

"Oh, yeah! That sounds fun." She bounces a bit more. (She's gonna go on a run next time she has open space to do it in.)

Then they can find an open area and spread out a bit. Elesse demonstrates a few basic positions and the transitions between them, and explains what muscle groups each is targeted at. The idea is to flow through the set smoothly. Some of the poses are surprisingly difficult to hold for how simple they look, making this challenging.

Not the kind of exercise she usually does, but fun all the same. She likes the stuff that's challenging the most, especially for balance.

They can do more balance exercises. Elesse can be persuaded into showing an advanced one that involves standing on your hands, then fingertips, then removing fingers one by one, floating upside down by the end of it.

Fortunately, Anakin seems to find falling over pretty funny. She has good balance, but challenges herself enough she still topples a lot.

"Can you fly?" she asks after the floating demonstration.

"Not without mechanical aid, alas."

"Can any Jedi fly?"

"Long jumps are about the best it gets."

"Aw. I like doing jumps, but flying sounds fun. Maybe I'll be the first to manage it."

"Good luck."

She laughs and goes back to doing handstands. (Her balance improves noticeably over the practice.)

Excellent.

How long will this keep her occupied?

For a bit over two hours, and she seems content to entertain herself afterwards.

Then the rest of their trip can be peaceful. And she can work out the rest what she's going to say to the Council.

They dock at a municipal spaceport, and take a shuttle to the Temple. Coruscant is, arguably, best viewed from the air. All the hustle and bustle, the shine and the steel, interwoven in a glittering tapestry that speaks the best values of civilization, without getting close enough to see the grimy underside and the sparks when the cogs don't quite mesh.

The Jedi Temple itself is an enormous edifice, a pyramid cut off partway up the slope with four tall towers capping the top. It dominates the comparatively lower district surrounding it.

She's quite impressed, trying to get a good look at everything.

"What's the Council like?"

"They have... a strong presence."

"Huh." She tilts her head. "Like with the Force?"

"Yes. But also in terms of personalities. They will test you."

"Okay. What'll the test be?"

"I can't say. Both in that I don't know how they will choose to approach it, and that if I did know, telling you would invalidate it."

She nods, slowly. "Okay. I'll figure it out myself, then."

"Consider your weaknesses, and how they might be addressed."

"Not sure they'll agree with me on what's a weakness, though."

"Then it can also be an exercise in seeing things from other points of view."

"Yeah, maybe." She seems pretty deep in thought.

Good.

They land at a hanger set into the Temple's side wall. They're met by one of Elesse's friends, a Zabrak named Marin.

     "Elesse! You're back! How were negotiations?"

"Hello Marin. They went smoothly."

Marin chuckles. "You do have a talent for discouraging misbehavior. And who's this?" She turns to Anakin.

"This is Anakin Skywalker. We met onworld. Anakin, this is Knight Marin."

"Hi!"

     "A pleasure to meet you, Anakin. ...Elesse, what are you up to?"

"Nothing suspicious."

Marin squints at her. Elesse regards her blandly. "Mhm. Well, the Council wants to see you."

"That is convenient, as I also wish to see the Council. We'll be up directly." Marin laughs, and departs with a wave.

She waves. "Bye!"

And then she turns to Elesse.

"Do you have a question?"

"Not really. Which way are we going?"

"The Council Chamber is at the top of the west tower. This way."

"Alright."

She follows.

It's a bit of a long walk to the elevator. The corridors are tall and grand, with patterned floors and decorated walls, and lots of windows to let in natural light. They pass many different Jedi along the way, and Elesse nods greetings to most of them. It seems like just about every species Anakin has ever even heard of is represented, with some she hasn't besides.

Around it all, if Anakin is paying attention to her friend, is a deep and abiding atmosphere of contentment, of happiness, of home.

She's kind of always paying at least a little attention. She looks at all the decorations and all the new types of people, and she basks in the feeling she's getting from her friend, letting its happiness feed and blend with her own giddy excitement, adding a more mellow, grounded undertone. 

There is a bank of dedicated turbolifts to the Council Chamber, with no visible buttons on the call panels. Elesse waves her hand over one. It beeps, and the nearest door hisses open. They get in, and the door hisses shut as the lift begins to ascend.

"How's that work?"

"The mechanism is hidden behind a panel such that one must use the Force to activate it. The panel can be removed if necessary, but the idea is that if you are not in a state of mind where such manipulation is easy, you are not likely in a state of mind to be ready to speak with the Council."

"Oh, okay. Why wouldn't it be easy, though?"

"Delicate or small-scale telekinetic manipulations can be difficult to concentrate on when your mind is preoccupied."

"Huh. I guess, yeah, if you're really upset."

"It's not a perfect system, but it's not intended to be."

"That seems kinda weird... Why wouldn't you try to get as close to perfect as you can?"

"Most often, because the returns you get for further improvement aren't worth the time and resources to develop and implement them."

"Huh. Okay."

They reach the top and the lift door opens. The doors to the Council Chamber proper are arched, twice as tall as Elesse, and dark wood. She opens them and steps through.

The room beyond is circular, with twelve chairs in a ring around the center, with a gap at the door. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer an excellent view of the city. The ones facing the sun are auto-tinted to reduce glare. Occupying eight of the twelve chairs are Councilors. The two directly opposite the door are the most noticeable. One is a tall, dark-skinned human male with a severe expression on his face. The other is a wizened little green creature, even shorter than Anakin, with wispy gray hair and long pointy ears.

Elesse goes to the center of the room and bows briefly.

She bounces up beside Elesse and cheerily copies her bow. (This is so cool, the city's so pretty, also she's never seen the green Councilor's species and that's cool too - )

     "Good to see you again, it is, Master Vendar," the little green one says. "With success in your mission, did you meet?"

"Yes, Master Yoda." She briefly summarizes the results.

The bald man leans forward and steeples his fingers. "Well and good. But I think we are all more interested in the unexpected guest you have brought us."

"This is Anakin Skywalker. I encountered her at the end of my mission, when she landed a ship full of refugees she rescued from a band of slavers on the planet."

Yoda looks at Anakin. "Mm. And accomplish this feat how did you?"

"There's - a feeling I get, from my friend, who Elesse thinks is maybe the Force, and my friend tells me how to do stuff I wanna do, and gives me good or bad feelings about courses of action. Like, it helped me learn how to make it so people don't notice me, and how far I'm gonna have to fly and where, and how to move things without touching them, and how to pilot a ship by myself. We got the chance to run because I was annoying one of the slavers so he'd get into a fight with some other slavers and get me breathing room for some other stuff I was planning, except then the fight kind of... Spiraled, and he decided to kill everyone around him, so I told all the slaves to get out of the way so they wouldn't get hurt, and we all left afterwards, before anyone could notice what'd happened."

"Mm. Reckless, you are. Incautious."

"I knew it'd go well, and it did, I just didn't always know why or how. I don't risk my people when I've got a bad feeling - and not doing anything would've definitely hurt us. Lots of people were already slowly starving, or dying of medical issues, or just suffering, and now they won't."

"A path begun in violence, to no solution does it lead."

"Wouldn't call it begun there, unless you count the slavers taking slaves as the path's beginning. My part began with redirecting them away from my people, and hiding, and stealing medicine, and I started trying to get us out because no one was coming, and no one'd come for a thousand years, and I knew no one'd keep coming. I'm not always good at keeping things from escalating in ways I haven't predicted, but I'd like to learn how to do that, and the Jedi seem - to be good at getting goals without messing up like that."

"Training you seek, hmm? And what say you, Master Vendar?"

"I believe it would be best for everyone if Anakin were accepted into the Jedi Order."

Yoda looks around the room. A chain of glances passes from Councilor to Councilor, ending up at Master Windu, to Yoda's left. His frown deepens. "She is too old," he says.

"I've got a lot of catching up to do. But why is age a factor, other than how much I need to learn?"

"Attachments you have. Fears, ambitions. These things a Jedi needs not."

"Pretty sure I don't have fears, and I don't think there's anyone I'm attached to right now - I got my people set down somewhere safe, so they're none of my concern anymore. Dunno I have any ambitions I'm actually attached to, more current whims."

This is definitely not someone who's felt a lick of fear since coming to the planet. Interest, fascination, curiosity, excitement, a sort of background hum syncing with the contentment and happiness she feels around her - even when being challenged, she'd remained focused on the puzzle of it, any irritation mild at best, and floating away rather quickly.

"Know your mind well you do, for one so young. Nothing hidden lurking in dark corners you have, hmm?"

"If it's hiding, I don't currently know about it."

Another look chains around the room.

"Deliberate on the matter of Anakin Skywalker, this Council will. Dismissed, you are."

Elesse turns to go.

     "Master Vendar," Windu says. "Stay a moment."

"As you like, Master Windu." She returns to her spot.

She tilts her head. "I'll wait in the turbolift," she tells Elesse.

"We may be some time. Feel free to explore the Temple. I'll find you after."

She nods, says, "Okay," and turns to head back to the turbolift. (And figuring out how to make it work on her own.)

The doors close behind her, and the lift opens on her approach. There are helpfully numbered floor buttons inside for her to press.

Well, that's easier than the way up, at least.

She pushes the smallest number.

Down the lift goes.

It opens to reveal a mezzanine or entrance hall, with more banks of turbolifts to her left and right, and doors out to the plaza surrounding the temple in front of her.

She'd rather stay in the temple, it's new and interesting...

She closes her eyes, spins, picks a turbolift based on which way she's facing when she stops, and then selects a floor, also at random.

Zip zip off she goes.

On this floor, she can hear the sound of young children playing.

Probably not very interesting... She looks at some of the decorations briefly, because they're pretty, and looks out the windows, because city, and then zip, off to a new floor.

Looks like greenhouses.

She explores those for a short while, then remembers Elesse had mentioned some gardens or something that she liked, and Anakin starts looking for those specifically.

Doesn't seem to be this floor, which is more practical than decorative.

Zooming between floors and turbolifts it is, and trying to get a mental idea of the layout.

Living quarters, training halls, cafeteria, more living quarters, classrooms, conference rooms, janitorial supplies, workshops, classrooms again, the Archives...

She stops at the Archives. That sounds interesting.

There are lots of books, and also an old woman at the front desk who asks, "Can I help you, young one?" when Anakin walks in.

"Maybe! There's so many books! I wanna read, but I dunno where to start..."

"Are you new here at the Temple? I can't say I recognize your face..."

"Master Elesse Vendar brought me here. She's trying to talk the Council into letting her teach me, I think? But she said I could wander around while she's doing that, and I haven't ever seen so many books before, and I wanna read everything."

"Ah. In that case, let me introduce you to the catalog computer." She leads Anakin over to a row of terminals, and shows her how the search function works and how to interpret the location. "If you have any questions, just come ask me."

"Okay. Thanks!"

And poking at the catalog... Hm, maybe history or politics, she's torn between 'stuff about the Jedi' and 'starting on figuring out ending slavery,' except the Jedi are shinier so she looks up beginners' guides for Jedi history.

The Jedi have been around even longer than the Republic, which is quite a long time indeed. Way back when hyperspace travel was discovered and the galaxy was beginning to be explored for the first, all the different planetary civilizations began to meet each other. In the midst of this unprecedented cultural exchange, Force users also began to find each other. They came together to form the Jedi Order to study the mysteries of the Force and learn to harness their abilities for peace and justice.

Cool.

She jumps over to reading about the Republic's founding.

There have actually been a succession of Republics, brought down by wars or infighting or pressures of expansion or corruption. The most recent incarnation has stood since the Ruusan Reformation, almost a thousand years ago. At this time, the constitution was rewritten to redistribute power between the Senate, Supreme Chancellor, the courts, and sector governance, and to disband the standing army.

History's interesting, especially the stories about people. She finds some biographies of important figures mentioned in the overview, especially anyone noted as a major reformer (especially if they were a Jedi or opposed slavery), and settles in to read.

About an hour and a half later, Elesse finds her.

She's read so much! Her eyes kinda hurt.

She grins when she sees Elesse, and starts closing books to put them away, briefly committing to memory where she left off.

"How'd it go?" she asks.

"Welcome to the Jedi Order, Padawan Skywalker."

She makes a quiet, happy noise.

"The Council also acceded to my request to take you as a student."

Louder, happier noise.

The lady at the desk looks over, annoyed.

"Come on. Let's visit the commissary and get you some things before Madame Nu bans us both."

"Sorry," she whispers, finishing putting the books up.

And then they can go get Anakin measured for robes. There aren't many choices for style, but everything is comfortable and well-made.

Eh, she's used to having not even both of 'comfortable' and 'fits,' it's cool.

"What am I gonna learn first?"

"Let's start with the way to our apartment."

She nods, bouncing a bit. "Alright. Which way?"

To the apartment. It's plain but neatly kept. A few landscapes break up the monotony of the walls in the living area, with a couch, two chairs, and a low table in the center. Off to the left is a small kitchen and refresher. Straight back are the doors to two bedrooms.

"I've been using the one on the left as a meditation room. You can move your things in and just drop the rug in front of my door."

"Thanks. I don't really have much, though..." She'd like to acquire more, sometime.

"Then it shouldn't take you long, yes?"

She giggles and runs off to explore her bedroom (and return Elesse's rug).

The lights are auto-set to low; there's a panel by the door where she can change that. The rug is in the middle of the floor taking up the space where the desk chair (currently stacked on top of the bed) should be. As just hinted, there is also a bed and a desk. The bed, in addition to the chair, has a full set of sheets, and the desk has a datapad charging station that will nicely fit the datapad she got from the commissary. There is a wardrobe suitable for storing her new clothes, and a small bedside table suitable for storing the sort of knickknacks or mementos she does not currently have any of.

She drops her clothes on the bed and her datapad on the desk so she can roll up the rug, then unstacks the desk chair, puts clothes away, and goes to return the rug to Elesse.

"Thank you. Does the room meet with your approval?"

"The bed's soft enough, and the lights aren't bad or anything. It's a nice room."

"I'm glad you're satisfied. I'd hate to have to move."

" - Would you move, if I wasn't?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Your comfort is worth more than the inconvenience of relearning which door to come back to after meals."

She nods, slowly. "Thanks."

"Speaking of which, it's Cifanti chili night in the cafeteria."

"Haven't had that before!" She bounces a bit.

"Then let us go."

Off, to food! Anakin matches her walking speed to Elesse's, mostly, still looking around at everything.

As long as she doesn't get lost.

The chili is traditionally served over thick chunks of bread, and eaten as a sort of open-face sandwich. Elesse has two slices' worth.

Anakin has three, and peppers the meal with questions about the things she read while Elesse was talking to the Council.

Elesse has answers. She's quite well-versed in a variety of topics, it seems.

"How'd you become a Jedi?" she asks, eventually, having been mostly asking about Jedi history, and having already started making a few connections between the overviews and biographies she read.

"A Jedi is all I've ever been. I was brought into the Order at a very young age."

"Huh. How'd you become a Master, then?"

"Long years of practice and study. And I solved an ancient mystery or two."

She giggles. "Is everything practicing and studying?"

"If you look at life in the correct frame of mind, everything you do is practice for what will come in the future."

"What about doing things just 'cause it's now and they're here, though?"

"Then you're practicing improvisation and reaction."

"But what for? If everything's practice for the future, what's gonna be the final act?"

"If there is one, I have not yet encountered it. It's more about... continuous improvement. Always being better than you were. Quicker, wiser, stronger. For me, that is enough."

"Huh. That does sound nice... But I like having stuff that's fun 'cause it's fun, too."

"I can give you advice, but your path is ultimately your own."

"Definitely! Though I don't think learning about other paths hurts."

"In most cases, certainly."

"When would it hurt?"

"Not all knowledge is benign. There are some ideas that can eat away at a person like a cancer, twisting and distorting their thoughts beyond recognition."

"Oh. That sounds unpleasant. How do you keep those out of your head?"

"You can learn to spot the way such things begin, or listen to those who have already done so."

"Can you get it out of your head once it's there?"

"Possibly. But it would be difficult."

"Is it different for everyone, though? Seems like it would be."

"There are variations, yes."

"What if what bothers you is really weird, then?"

"Weird in what way?"

"I don't think there's anything I could find out about myself that'd be horrifying, and I've already seen a lot of people being horrid to each other. And that's the sort of thing that bothers most people, I think."

"Perhaps. But the galaxy is vast, and there are some things that you do not yet have conceptual vocabulary to visualize."

"I guess I'll have to learn a lot, then."

"You were already planning to do so, yes?"

"Yup! Got a lot on my list."

She smiles. "That is good. We can make a start tomorrow, how about?"

"Yeah. Learned a lot already. I like reading, though. It isn't hard or anything."

"Noted. We'll have to keep our stock of books up."

"Yeah! And not annoy the librarian person."

"It's very hard to seriously annoy Jocasta Nu. Fortunately."

Giggle. "Well, she hasn't done anything warranting even non-seriously annoying her, and she has books, so."

"Quite."

"Can I get books on the data pad, too?"

"Yes. The electronic library is quite thorough."

"I'll wanna do that, then. The data pad's good for carrying around."

"This can be arranged."

She nods, grinning. "What's day to day life like, here? I got a bit of an overview, exploring, but this place is big, and then I got distracted by the Archives..."

"There's not really a universal set schedule, apart from the younglings. And you don't really count as one of them. One spends one's time according to one's interests, whether that be research or meditation or saber training. In your case in particular, you and I will work together to determine how you can best learn the material the Order requires of its initiates, whether that be your individual study, one-on-one tutoring, or enrolling you in group lessons, and organize your days from there."

She nods. "Doing whatever I feel like that day and time seems good, yeah. What I'm used to."

"As long as you're making overall progress."

"I like learning enough that I think I will."

"That's all I ask."

She nods and takes a few bites of her food, clearly thinking. "Lots of people seem to want more than that from me."

"Some people live more in the future than the present. Eventually, I will ask more of you as well, but we'll build up to that."

"What kinds of things would you ask?"

"Your help with missions, most likely. Or that you attend a problem I am too busy to see to myself."

"I don't mind helping you with stuff, even if it's boring stuff. You're doing a lot to help me."

"I appreciate that."

She grins, though she seems to - for once - be out of easy questions.

Then after they've finished eating, they can return to their apartment for the night.

She retreats to her room, a bit over-socialed, and curls up in the bed, letting her mind drift into the meditative state she likes - she hasn't properly let herself just float since getting here, which probably isn't helping the restlessness she's feeling.