A Jedi's Average Morning

Slowly I woke, my eyes edging open as the collected sleep in them had crusted over slightly. Reaching up to my eyes, I rubbed at them with the back of my hand.

When fully opened, my eyes squinted slightly at the sunlight peeking through the blinds of my window before adapting to the sudden light.

I lazily watched the speeders flying not too far away from my window before sighing and finally sitting up on my not-too-comfy bed.

Even after sixteen years in this new reality, I could barely believe I was actually here. That I was in such a mystical and technologically advanced place. Yet my disbelief didn't stop time from going on and after a few minutes of thinking to myself about this odd situation I'd found myself living, I got up and off my bed.

I began dressing myself, the basic underwear followed by very plain robes and then I looked off to the side where a very high-quality box was.

Sixteen years ago, I awoke as a newly born baby on the steps to some orphanage. I was quite unsettled by the whole experience and it took me a year or two to fully accept that this wasn't a dream. Especially when I saw literal aliens - as either other orphans or people working for the orphanage.

When I reached the age of three, two things happened. One, I discovered I'm not entirely a normal human due to some random status screen that popped up out of nowhere and pretty much said 'You're a Catachan, have fun.' It told me what I was the perfect Catachan - everything good about the Catachan Jungle Fighters compiled together...and then dialled to eleven.

Basically meant I was super strong by human standards. Good senses and instincts too. Plus I've never been ill, ever, which is due to a Catachan Human having an extremely robust and strong immune system.

My reflexes were also off the fucking chain as well. Like, 'genuinely scary' type of reflexes. But what else do you expect from a type of Human that can exist and thrive on a Death World in Warhammer?

And I was the best of the best, genetically. Giving me, frankly, terrifying-levels of potential.

Anyway, the second thing? A Jedi - yeah, I was surprised too - appeared at the doors of the orphanage and pointed me out, saying I was Force Sensitive. He took out a Midi-Chlorian counter out and pricked my finger...and it turns out I've got a Midi-Chlorian count of around 21,000. Pretty decent honestly and when put together with my already rapidly developing physical prowess...and well, I don't need to be the Chosen One to kick some ass.

And so I was whisked off to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to become an Initiate.

It wasn't all that bad, honestly. Most of the first year or two was just being taught about the Force and how it flowed through everything in the Galaxy. Then came certain tests which tested our mental faculties - followed by combat tests that measured out physical prowess. I completely aced the latter because of my new physiology and I kept my score average, on purpose, for the tests.

Don't want anyone looking around in my mind via the Force on why a kid knew so much, right? Either way, I wasn't necessary called an alien because of my above baseline genetics. I was, however, designated as being from an unknown near-human species.

I was human enough that I could have kids with them and that their medical knowledge applied to me as well, but my physical abilities, immune system, reflexes and senses were just too inhuman to be considered as a member of humanity. Plus, the genetics tests they put me through showed how different I really was.

Luckily I was under the Jedi Order's protection otherwise I have no doubt I'd have been vivisected or kept for some sort of experimentation to unlock my secrets.

Either I was paranoid or cautious, because I kept my acute mental faculties under wraps and only really acted as a sort of average student. I kept it even further from people's acknowledgement through my outstanding performance in physical tests.

Why? Like I said, I'm cautious. I knew that within my lifetime, the clone wars were gonna happen and that eventually, the Senate himself is gonna try and take out the Jedi on mass. The less they know about me, the better. The more they think I'm just some especially athletic youngling who's not the brightest, the better.

So, that's why on the surface, I focused most of my attention on the lightsaber form and exercising my body to it's peak but behind closed doors, I aggressively learnt all sorts of force techniques. That...was pretty hard, honestly. But with my midi-chlorian count, natural talent and discretely listening in on certain teachings, I was able to persevere and learn what I needed. Most importantly, force healing.

After all, it's a good trump card, no? An enemy thinks I'm down or too injured and then I just pop back up fully healed. It has an extra positive as well because of my Catachan heritage. I heal much quicker and more efficiently than normal people, and Force Healing is basically the act of speeding up the natural rate of healing through Force Amplification. The faster you naturally heal, the better your self-Force Healing will be.

Well, I think it's a good trump card. Other than my act as some sort of musclebound fighter, I also went through The Gathering and made my own lightsaber.

Pulling on the force, I unlocked the unique lock on a nearby high-quality box - the sort of lock that can't be opened without the force and even if you did have access to the force, you needed a certain level of attunement and control of the force. Both of which, I have.

There's no doubt Master Yoda could open this box...but why would he be in an initiate's room and snooping around? The same could be said for any of the Jedi Masters. So, I knew my goods were safe in this box and in this room.

Inside the box, was my lightsaber. It was a heavy thing, made so by myself on purpose and I doubt anyone other than me or a strong Wookiee could hold it in a single hand. Well, without the force enhancing someone's natural strength anyway. With this curved hilt in hand, I had a good chance against just about anything in the galaxy.

I trained extensively in all the forms of lightsaber combat and became proficient in all of them but I focused my attention mainly on Form Two and both sides of Form Five - Shien and Djem So. It wasn't it's own form yet and I was definitely just me using two forms primarily and mixing their movements together for greater effect but I was constantly refining it and I hope that one day, I may be able to create my own form. A big dream, no doubt, but an ambition that I felt was befitting of my status as a Catachan reincarnator.

Picking up my lightsaber, I clipped it to my side and spun on my heels, facing the door to my dorm room. I had a morning exercise routine to undergo - muscle goes away if you don't work to keep it, after all.

The door slid open as I approached and closed after I walked through, and I found myself in one of the many vast halls throughout the Jedi Temple.

Despite looking massive - and it was - I'd been here for many, many years by now and I knew the place like the back of my hand. So, without wasting a second, I turned to the right and headed toward the training quarters. I walked passed other initiates and waved hello to the ones I knew and gave a friendly nod to those I didn't - and before I knew it, I'd arrived in the training quarters.

Each of the training rooms were private and could be locked from the inside - for privacy.

Mainly because each person's exercise routine was rather personal and most of the time, people ended a workout with meditation. Something you didn't want to be interrupted from.

Upon entering, I locked the door behind me, engaging the locks to full - in case of an accident, Jedi Masters could get in if they had a seat on the High Council but other than them, nobody else was getting through that door.

Walking to the side of the room, I picked up some wearable weights. After all, Jedi didn't pump iron in the same way people on Earth do. There are no dumbbells or bench presses. A Jedi primarily uses calisthenics to exercise their bodily fitness - hours upon hours of lightsaber form training is exactly that. But for those of us who have high levels of baseline physical ability need a little more pressure to reach our maximum limit.

Fortunately for me, it wasn't odd for Wookiees to become Jedi and so the Order had implemented means of getting a better workout for those who needed it.

These weights are made of hyper-dense metal and weigh a lot despite being very small.

The weights I slipped onto my wrists, ankles and the vest I slipped on over my robes ended up being enough weight to crush an ordinary human if they tried to put it on. Even Jedi Guardians who place a lot of focus on physical conditioning probably wouldn't be able to handle this amount of weight without the force running through their bodies.

Disregarding that thought, I took in a deep breath and settled into a stance as I went through the motions of Alchaka, a form of physical meditation focused around bringing your body to the peak it can reach. But it's also about refining the efficiency and dexterity of you body. Basically honing the connection between your mind and body.

I was by no means a master of this meditation but I was thankful for that. Because I wasn't a master, I was still seeing improvements - granted I wasn't fully grown but the body of a Catachan is truly a monstrous thing.

Each movement of my legs and arms caused my muscles to ache and scream but I ran the force through them and alleviated their pain for but a moment, allowing me to ignore it and focus on refining the forms and movements, aligning the energy in my body to reach max efficiency. Progress was slow but it was surely there.

Besides, this was a good warm-up, so I didn't mind the lack of progress.

By the time I'd finished all fifty repetitions of Alchaka and it's movements, I came out of my trance and slowly set myself on the floor, my brow covered with sweat and my entire body burning from the exertion. Like I said, a very good warm-up.

Taking in a few deep breaths, I settled myself into a lotus stance as I closed my eyes and delved into the force.

It really was a mystical feeling to delve into. I let the force run through my body and mind and I focused on the feeling of getting ever closer to the force - to seeing it's mysteries and becoming more at peace with myself and the galaxy at large. As I allowed this feeling to take me, I reached outward with the force and slowly began lifting my body up into the air, weights still on.

After Alchaka and with these weights, my meditation would be most fruitful if I pushed myself as far as mentally possible. If I can reach the force and stay attuned with it while under such stress like now, I'll be able to do it anywhere, no? Or at least, that's the goal I'm working towards.

To pull on the force while in any kind of battle and situation is the goal of every Jedi Guardian. Something I wish to be.

I reached further around me and pulled weights toward me, floating them around me in different orbits. Some going clockwise, some counter-clockwise. Some fast, some slow. I felt my mind throb as the force rushed through me and to do my bidding, my blood thrumming from the intensive usage of the energy prevalent all around me and inside me.

But I pushed on, continuing with the meditation/control practice. I thought about the force, it's mysteries and ways to use it more efficiently. Most of all, I thought about myself and my emotions. I wasn't closed off to them like a Jedi, but neither did I let them loose and let them control me like a Sith. I was the controller, not the controlled. Deep, rhythmic breathes came and went, my lungs working like pillows as my body recovered from the earlier exhaustion and as my mind went through an exercise of it's own.

This continued for about an hour before I slowly lowered back to the ground and the floating weights returned to their original places. I continued meditating but this time I let my mind rest as well as my body.

For another thirty minutes I sat there until I felt recovered enough to continue.

Opening my eyes and standing, I unclipped my lightsaber with the force and had it float to where my hand caught and held it, the curved hilt fitting right into my palm.

I willed it on and a purple blade of plasma came to life* and I casually spun the hilt in my hand, my superior hand dexterity showing itself as I used my senses alone and not the force to not cut myself with the saber.

(*AN - I like purple, sue me.)

Holding the saber with my strong hand (my right hand), and held at my side, the blade pointed down, and my feet shoulder width apart. I was facing an imaginary opponent, so the blade was pointed in their direction. The lightsaber hilt was held with the thumb pointing down the length of the blade to allow for smaller, tighter, more accurate movements of the saber. The rest of my fingers wrap around the hilt holding it tightly, but not so tight as to limit the fluidity of the movements to come.

This was Form Two, also known as Makashi. A form that focuses entirely on duelling. A form that focuses on precision and skill, a form perfect for my unreal reflexes.

I began my practice, my movements efficient and seemingly relaxed - yet my entire musculature was tensed and coiled as if ready to strike at stunningly fast speeds at any time. Makashi focuses around jabs, thrusts and small cuts rather than the wide-swinging hack and slashing movements other forms go for. It's basically like lightsaber fencing.

Slowly, I began switching my form usage and my sharp movements began to become wider and more powerful, my muscles bulging slightly as I lifted my saber for a downward slash, the thrumming of the plasma against the air heightening somewhat as I flexed my arms and swung down as hard as I could. The movement looked uncontrolled but that would only be to an untrained eye - when I wanted the saber to stop, it stopped, regardless of the momentum it had.

This was Form Five, or rather a part of it. Said part was called Djem So, a form that focused on brute strength and overwhelming an opponent with pure physicality. It's counter part, Shien, was focused around defending against Blasters while also counterattacking.

Form Five and Two weren't the most compatible. One was all about precision and skill, while the other was all about whacking stuff as hard as you could to overwhelm it.

But, used together, I have a feeling it could bring about a new style that employs superior strength through superior skill and technique. That's why I've been trying to merge the two together. And I was getting closer than you'd think. Wide and powerful swings began to become more and more precise as I merged the two forms, the skill of Makashi overflowing into my footwork and bladework as I smoothly transitioned from attack, to defence, to counterattacks.

Said merging and practicing came to an end and hour or two after I began and I willed a training droid to come out of the walls as I closed my eyes and pulled on the force to help me. Yet not as much as I should have, but that was on purpose.

I swung my saber up and blocked a blaster shot, the force warning me a second too late but my senses and reflexes made up the difference. I was training my senses without using the force to cheat.

Who knows when I'll need just my senses or when I won't be able to use the force, so practicing now is better than doing it out on the field.

Continuing to block what shots I could sense, I did get tagged a few times but it was much better than last week and the week before that. Every little bit of progress adds up, after all. In a week's time, I'll be better.

I repeated that in my head as a personal mantra and continued with the training until my body was really starting to become exhausted from wearing the weights while doing all this.

When I was about to stop and settle into some more meditation, I heard the doors slide open behind me. I looked to the door over my shoulder with an inquisitive expression hiding my annoyance and frustration at being interrupted but even that disappeared when I saw my favourite Jedi Master.

"I see you're still trying to hone your senses without the force," the new arrival chuckled, his face stretching in a smile, "A wise move, Ezra. The force takes what's there and enhances it. The better your senses without it, the greater your senses will be with it," he sagely nodded before giving a small grin, "Though I assume you already know this and that's why you're doing it."

The man who entered was a tall man of similar height to me, and was built very powerfully - that much was clear even under his thick and baggy Jedi robes. He had long brown hair that he let down for the most part but kept any bangs out of his face by having it tied up and behind his head.

He looked upon me with kind and wise blue eyes that had no doubt much more experience throughout the galaxy than me.

Seeing him, I smiled in reply and bowed my head slightly, "Master Qui-Gon."