Crimes of the Young - 10.246

[Zem Vymes]

Master Zem Vymes sat in the council chambers as he waited for his colleagues to join him. He'd had a good two days to pore over Master Laran's report and to go over eyewitness accounts of the events that had transpired in the sparring grounds. Ugly business. The weighty implications of the sparring session between Abarai Loki and the student Draiya Naaianeya cast their heaviness on the elder Jedi's eyes. He continued to look through a summarized datapad of the events in question. Halajiin Rabeak and the padawan Ndonsa had helped to paint a more complete picture of what should have been an orderly training spar, but had devolved into something far more serious. At stake were the careers of two Jedi. One, a rising star among the padawan class. The other, a serious taskmaster and prodigy in whom the Council had previously placed unchallenged trust in.

The Jedi Order of Ossus was young, barely finding it's feet on solid ground. The growing pains were already starting to become deep and poignant. If the Jedi were to endure as their predecessors had done, what they did here this day would have to be done with the full application of wisdom and justice that the council could muster.

[Serena Laran]

Serena Laran entered the room briskly, her long skirts swishing behind her. As the master of one of the two young people appearing before the council that day, she was determined to be as impartial as possible. She nodded to Zem, and took her seat in the center chair, folding her hands in her lap.

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon joined them from the doors on the far side of the chambers with a traditional robe over his clerical tunic and no hat in his hand. He took his seat to Serena's right with only a glance to Zem and a brief smile of encouragement to Serena. There were no pleasantries to be exchanged today. They all knew their business and were eager to get it over with.

On a pedestal before each of them was a small datascreen on which they could review the assembled evidence. An austere protocol droid sat in attendance next to Kestra Martell at the stenographer's desk, both to record the proceedings and to answer queries into relevant case law from what they possessed of the Jedi archives. But it was difficult to know how to apply judicial precedent from an era when the Jedi numbered in the thousands to their present circumstances.

Solomon tapped his datascreen out of standby and turned to his fellow councilors. "No need in delaying any further. We hereby call this session of the Jedi Council of Ossus into order. Padawan Martell, please bring Knight Abarai and Padawan Naaianeya into the Council Chambers."

Kestra rose solemnly and padded out the front double doors into the antechamber where Abarai Loki and Draiya Naaianeya would be waiting.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya's bandages had been removed and she was allowed to face the council with a modicum of dignity. Though her left arm lay in a cast supported by a sling and her face was a roadmap of swollen-yet-yealing lacerations and bruises, Draiya knelt in front of the doorway, awaiting her fate in meditative repose. Her hair cascaded down each shoulder in a center part, and the Syragori girl wore the traditional tunic of a padawan learner.

Perhaps for the last time. The thought passed through her mind with a disturbance to the serenity on her otherwise calm face. To her left, she could feel the radiant warmth of Abarai Loki's life force. He'd always loomed so large in her mind, undiminished and undaunted against any trouble. Now he faced the same inquiry as she did, and the potential for peril to his name was a tragedy that weighed painfully on Draiya's mind. Her dark-haired head bowed lower, and she drew a deep breath. Beyond sealed doors, she could feel the situation change.

They were ready.

Unable to bring herself to look at Abarai Loki, Draiya Naaianeya prepared to face her destiny.

[Abarai Loki]

In the two days since the incident, Loki had spent most of his time in his quarters aboard the Whaladon; sometimes he got out, and, when he did, he ran a familiar route around its numerous decks; other times, he lingered in the observation lounge, and he spent an inordinate amount of time in the refresher, cleaning, cleaning, and preening. The only time he'd left the Whaladon at all was to steal away with a tray of food from the mess hall. Until now.

For Draiya, the two days of rest appeared to have been kind. Loki was pleased: she was a fast healer. That she hadn't greeted him or so much as dared to look at him upon entering the building was a cause for concern. If she resented him for his actions - if she thought him cruel - then it had all been for naught. What the others thought of him was of little consequence, save for the Jedi Council, of course. Those who had granted him a position of responsibility were today forced to weigh the cost of their decision. And, for all of his unwavering conviction, even he, Abarai Loki, could not deny the faint flutter of anxiety in his stomach as the doors opened.

Padawan Martell led the way into the chamber. Silence hung over the room like a death shroud. When he was brought before the Council, Loki bowed, as was proper.

[Zem Vymes]

The peel of the opening doors bade Zem to raise his eyes to the entryway. Padawan Martell escorted Padawan Naaianeya and Knight Loki toward the center of the room. Once they found their place, she moved back the way she came, sealing fast the doors, and again took her place to record the meeting into the annals of the Order.

Zem's eyes moved from each of them. Learner and Teacher. Each with their unique histories and talents. Each facing reckoning with their own stoic manner. There was a similarity in each that seemed more than coincidence. They did not shrink from the judgment that would be levied today.

"Draiya Naaianeya. Abarai Loki. You are called before the Council of the Jedi Order to answer our inquiry into allegations of serious misconduct unbecoming a Jedi. On your oaths, the words you speak today shall be the truth."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Fixed by Master Vymes' attention and his demand for austerity before the Council, Draiya responded with a measured bow.

"I give my oath to speak trrue, Masterrs."

When she rose, Draiya's eyes moved to Serena. She would not shrink from her Master's disappointment. It was hers to endure.

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon couldn't help but sense Draiya's spirit, which was like a quivering flame under the combined scrutiny of the council - shaken, but not quenched. He tried to read Loki as well, but the teenage Knight was much more guarded with his feelings. So guarded, in fact, the uncharitable might question whether they even existed.

It was probably well that Serena, and not he, had been the one Drax had summoned to the scene. He doubted his reaction would have been as finely measured.

"Let's start from the beginning," Solomon said. "Knight Abarai, please describe for us the circumstances of your encounter with Padawan Naaianeya two days ago."

[Abarai Loki]

Serious misconduct unbecoming a Jedi. The words, uttered by Master Vymes, hung before him in the air; his gaze hardened imperceptibly, as if he could cut them down with his very eyes. Where Draiya spoke, he held his tongue; Vymes's words had been neither request or demand, but a simple statement of fact. When he spoke, his words would be the truth, and he was given his first opportunity to demonstrate that by Master Solomon.

"Padawan Naaianeya was performing drills with remotes in the training grounds. I said that she was not challenging herself so I devised a challenge of my own: I took her lightsabers and told her she must take them back. That was when the fight began."

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon nodded, and then turned to Draiya. "And how did you respond to Knight Abarai's challenge, Padawan?"

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya's attention fixed upon Master Solomon, but as she spoke, she could feel her eyes being pulled back to the direction of Serena as she gave her account.

"I took his challenge serriously, Masterr. Knight Abarrai was clearr in demonstrrating that my actions fell below the expectations placed upon me. He told me a Jedi cannot keep the name by holding theirr weapons and themselves with ill discipline. I immediately began to attempt to take back my weapons with forrce."

The Syragori paused, thoughtful in being compelled to explain herself through words.

"I trrusted my instincts on the matterr, which werre to settle the dispute with a full display of physical prrowess. Knight Abarrai teaches us to accorrd ourrselves serriously in battle. I believed this would settle the matterr."

[Serena Laran]

"Knight Abarai, what lesson were you intending to teach Draiya, with this exercise? Merely that she was not challenging herself enough?" Seren turned from her padawan to the young Knight.

[Abarai Loki]

The conviction with which Draiya regurgitated his teachings woke a quiet pride inside of him. There was concern also that, after all she had been through, she still considered their encounter to have been a mere test of strength and nothing more. If that were the case, he wondered if his next words would sound to her ears like wisdom, or betrayal. When she found him standing over her broken apprentice two days ago, Serena had asked him a similar question; his answer hadn’t changed.

“When the challenge was issued, I was under no illusion about the padawan’s chances. Failure was the point of the exercise. It was a lesson in humility.”

[Draiya Naaianeya]

It was what she'd come to know, now cast from Loki's own mouth. Only now did Draiya look to him, a dawning in her eyes that chipped at her stoicism. She'd played the duel over in her mind so many times. At first to find the weakness in Loki to exploit. In the end, the weakness was in herself.

"I didn't want to believe it. That therre was no way I could win."

Draiya's sepia eyes cast downward and away once more, her voice drawn across her words with careful introspection.

"I've had time to considerr the lesson I did not underrstand. It was a warrning."

[Rev Solomon]

"A warning against what, Padawan?" Solomon asked.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

It was written in Loki's actions. Repeated through her Master's words. She'd searched her feelings exhaustively and knew it to be the truth.

"Prride."

And the terrible place where it would take her if unchecked.

"And the Darrk Side."

[Serena Laran]

"You could think of no other way to teach humility than to break a padawan's arm, Knight Abarai?" Serena raised an eyebrow at him, her personal feelings on the subject carefully hidden.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya couldn't accept Loki having to shoulder the burden of that question, and she spoke her response before he could answer.

"Masterr, with all due rrespect if Knight Loki did not end the fight on those terrms I would have continued them on my own. Without surrrenderr, and heedless of cost."

[Zem Vymes]

It didn't take much inference from what Draiya had said to surmise exactly what cost she was hinting at. Zem knew first hand how destructive forces could corrupt the best of intentions. Still, it was not her question to answer. He rebuked her in stern approach.

"Padawan Naaianeya, the question is to Knight Loki and not to you."

[Serena Laran]

"A foolish statement besides, padawan," Serena replied. "There are many ways to end a fight that do not require the breaking of bones." She turned her attention to Abarai Loki, awaiting his answer.

[Abarai Loki]

When Draiya spoke for him, Loki closed his eyes and took a breath. She embarrassed him with her presumption, and in his mind, he put leagues between himself and her words. That was until the healer decided to dismiss the truth as foolish. He met Serena's gaze, and followed the patronising arc of her eyebrow with fresh comprehension.

"It was not enough to simply end the fight. Growth, without an appreciation of one's own limitations, is impossible. Draiya had to accept that she was beaten. How and when she arrived at that conclusion was determined by her alone. If you believe it had always been my intention to break the padawan's arm, you are mistaken, and do me a disservice, Master Laran."

[Rev Solomon]

Solomon shifted forward in his seat, wondering if the young knight was aware how perilous a trap he was setting for himself.

"Had you given any consideration, then, to where your actions might take you if Draiya refused to yield?"

[Abarai Loki]

Loki's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"A broken bone was my final recourse. Had it failed to subdue the padawan, I would have accepted my own failure as a teacher, and brought her to the hospital. In which case, a broken arm would have been the very least of her worries."

[Zem Vymes]

"The lesson you've attempted to impart is an important one, Knight Loki. Vigilance in the face of what may seem to be slight deficiencies of character are what prevent greater tragedies from occurring in the future."

Master Vymes rested his chin against a raised fist as he spoke, considering the weighty implications of the dilemma met between teacher and student.

"That being said, there is great danger in addressing such a lesson this way. The state of Padawan Naaianeya's arm is the least of the matters at hand. There are many paths that descend to the Dark Side, young Knight. Some descend by degree, and others by quicksand."

[Rev Solomon]

"You'll have to pardon me, Master Vymes," Solomon interjected, "I know it is not your intention to diminish the importance of a Padawan with a broken arm. But I think the bare facts of the matter have already become clear."

The preacher turned his deep, dark eyes on Abarai Loki. "You set out to teach an important lesson, and that lesson missed its mark. This is not an indictment of your fitness as a teacher, nor of Miss Naaianeya's as a student. Lessons fail, even important ones, and when they do, it is incumbent upon us as teachers to put ego aside, reflect, and seek another path to our student's enlightenment.

"But instead, Knight Abarai, you decided that it was so important that you teach Draiya this lesson, this very day, that you were willing to deal her a grievous injury rather than admit defeat. Bad enough if she were your own padawan to instruct as you see fit. But in my solemn opinion, you have displayed presumption, arrogance, and an appalling lack of judgment."

[Abarai Loki]

Presumption. The word fell like a raindrop on the otherwise placid lake of his mind. Ripples scattered collected thoughts, turning them on his three accusers in waves of contempt. Presumption was what bridged the gaps between Solomon’s precious facts; it was the glue that held them together in a narrative that was easy for him to understand. What an agreeable song he sung for his peers. And, coming from a man who revelled in making sense of things beyond his comprehension with nonsense, it should have came as no surprise at all. Still, it was a bitter pill to swallow: when it came to him, it seemed the Jedi Council had cast their judgements long ago.

He drank it in with a long breath and cast his gaze to the floor, “I see.”

[Serena Laran]

Serena watched Loki's reaction, and her eyebrow ticked up. "You say that if Draiya had not been subdued by her broken limb, you would have brought her to the hospital. How exactly would you have done that - if she was still actively fighting you?"

[Abarai Loki]

"It would be generous to call what she was doing fighting, by that stage. If words failed, a simple chokehold would have sufficed."

[Serena Laran]

"Is this how you were trained? With broken bones and physical beatings rather than conversation?" Serena sat back in her chair after she noticed she'd leaned forward. "What reason can you give me to explain why you did not bring your concerns about Draiya to her master? A conversation that would have, I imagine, served to assuage your concerns about her training. I would hope."

[Abarai Loki]

"Iron-clad discipline, unrelenting dedication, and a hunger for self-betterment. These are qualities that set a padawan apart from their peers. Your assumptions are correct, Master Laran: this is how I was taught, and, because I saw in Draiya qualities that I recognised within myself, I believed it was a lesson from which she would benefit. In hearing her words today, I think I was at least correct in my reasoning."

The more he spoke, the less he felt it mattered. Between himself and his superiors, there were gulfs opening; he felt marooned, with an ocean of incomprehension to cross before the first friendly port. It was useless. Draiya hadn't spoken for some time and he wondered how she must've felt to be the object of contention between the two parties. In prolonging the debate, had he subjected her to a new kind of suffering? It could not go on. When he considered Draiya, the turbulent waters calmed, and he was able to focus on what was important.

"If nothing else of worth comes from this hearing, I want Draiya to know that the reason why I chose to inflict such injuries upon her that day is not because I find her lacking, but because she is exceptional."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya's sienna eyes finally dared to turn to Loki. She held the look of a confronted deer, on the cusp of bolting or finding the fortitude to hold her ground. The words Abarai Loki said - in the company of the council no less - could have easily felled the Syragori days ago. The apex of her exertions under his watchful eye had only merited a comment of adequate at most. Abarai Loki was a demanding teacher and stingy with his praises. Was this another reason he'd taken her to the brink? Not simply to correct a deep flaw within, but also because he believed that she could - and would - succeed?

A weight settled on Draiya's heart at the thought. She was deeply honored, but instead of feeling buoyed by that, she now considered exactly what price Loki was willing to pay to prove himself right?

"I harrborr no ill feelings of ourr fight orr of you, Knight Loki." her words came out at nearly a whisper from her dry mouth.

Vindication. Draiya's eyes slowly peeled away from Loki and back to the council. With every part of her, she wanted to show he was right about her in the end.

[Serena Laran]

Serena felt the stirrings of emotion from her padawan. Despite it all, the humiliation and the injuries, Draiya greatly desired to live up to Loki's expectations. And there, still, was a strong thread of pride - reemerging as he praised her. Serena sighed, mentally. This was not going to be easy.

"Be that as it may, Loki, you overstepped your authority. You have been instructing the padawans in the handling and use of a lightsaber. Taking it upon yourself to go behind the back of a padawan's own master and teach a different kind of lesson - especially such an overwhelmingly violent one - that goes far beyond the authority this Council has given you. It betrays our trust in you." She looked on either side of her, at the other Council members. "If there are no more questions for Knight Abarai or Padawan Naaianeya...?"

A last chance for discussion before the two were dismissed to the antechamber and their fates determined.

[Wei Wu Wei]

"I have questions, Master Laran."

Wei Wu Wei stood in the door to the Council Chamber. He had come in a hurry from a long away off, surveying the land for a suitable site to make the lightsaber forge. He had entered the room just as the session began, but chose to simply hang back, rather than interrupt the flow of things by taking his seat. The conversation unfolded to the Force Cripple, and though he was not connected to the Force, he still saw pretty well how things were unfolding.

It took him some time before he was able to speak. When he did, his voice was even. "For Jedi Loki, I want to know: how did your decision in dealing with Padawan Draiya show consistency with the Jedi Code? Padawan Draiya, how did your response to Jedi Loki show consistency with the Jedi Code? I want you to think about why you intervened in the Padawan's training. As learners, is it more important to gain fluency in self-mastery, or push the limits of their lightsaber training?"

Wei looked at Loki first, meeting the Knight's hard gaze with his softer, steady one.

[Abarai Loki]

Trust. Loki’s eyes narrowed, sharp with curiosity, and surprise. Serena’s words had, at last, given him a thought with which he could find purchase. And it troubled him. A betrayal of trust, she called it. Is that what it was?

His thoughts were scattered, however, by the sudden and unexpected contribution from Wei Wu Wei. He turned and listened with guarded interest. Even now, after all this time, the dubiously-titled Force Cripple remained something of an unknown quantity to Loki. Perhaps his unique perspective would shed a fresh light upon his own murky predicament.

"...Jedi Code..."

Perhaps not. Loki closed his eyes, as if he could hide from the indignity of it all. Wei went about directing a similar question to Draiya, but by that point, he had stopped listening. The Jedi Code: an infantile creed unworthy of intelligent beings. Unbidden, the tired old lines stirred like a stink in his head. He set his eyes again on Master Wu Wei, and let him know exactly what he thought of his code:

“Contrary to the implication, it was not out of pride that I took it upon myself to challenge Draiya to an unwinnable task. There was no emotion, only peace, as it were. And since I have seen this lesson carried out before, successfully, I will go as far as to say I was not ignorant of what I was doing. When I broke Draiya’s arm, I can assure you I was quite calm. One might say serene, even. The fight was chaotic up to the point that it was stopped, then there was harmony. And, since Padawan Naaianeya and I are standing here before you, I can say, truly, there is no death.”

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei felt he had gained new insight into the teenaged Knight's way of thinking. His discipline was direct, forceful. Will to power. Decide, act, and be justified or condemned by the consequences. Be strong, or be subjugated by those who were stronger. Though the young Knight hadn't answered Wei's second question outright, his disdain answered better than words: for Loki, limits were for breaking. If you were not truly free of your limits, constantly pushing to break them, then you might as well be enslaved.

For all his discipline, though, Loki couldn't help but be a rebellious teenager. Flinging the words of his elders back in their faces and sticking out his tongue. Loki wouldn't tolerate that sass from a pupil.

Wei allowed Loki's words and tone to pass him by. "If you were calm then, you are not calm now. Padawans learn to master their power by mastering themselves. They master their emotions. When they are calm, they can see things for what they are. They can recognize truth. They learn to use their knowledge, not their personal preferences and prejudices to solve problems. They rely on the Force to guide them to the patterns in seemingly random and chaotic events to bring balance to the Force. They learn that the Force is no mere tool--it is an ever present, ever-living field of energy, and that we are all inextricably connected to it. We are more than bodies: we are luminous beings."

Wei paused.

"You lost control. You taught Draiya to revel in her skill with a lightsaber. If she is arrogant about her skill in combat, you instilled it in her. It is evident in your ignorant assumption that she could not beat you because she is a Padawan and you are a Knight. You lost control of the sparring match, and were forced to grievously injure your student to maintain your own superiority and thus 'prove your point' because you are too attached to the idea that you are better than your students, that they're not disciplined enough to be as good as you are."

Wei sighed, stepped aside. "Draiya, I do not expect you to answer my question now. I want you to consider it deeply, and confer with your Master. You may both step outside to the antechamber. I have heard enough."

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Aghast, Draiya stood lead-footed in her place as Master Wei dismissed both her and Knight Loki. Was that it, then? A condemnation of method heedless of results? They only saw the physical remnants of his lessons on her body, and looked past the very real danger she'd been turned away from. Perhaps Master Laran would have turned her away from the allure of her own pride and arrogance. She had wisdom that Draiya had only begun to grasp, and the Syragori understood her Master's reasons at being upset. The Padawan's senses reached out to the brilliant life energies seated around her, noting with concern that their intentions remained inscrutable to her.

"Masterrs, I know I am in no position to ask forr favorr herre, but I will ask nonetheless, because I can't let these worrds go unsaid. If therre is condemnation to be given and punishment to be passed down, let it be on me alone. No matterr how Knight Loki administerred my lesson, I was not coerrced orr trricked into my courrse of action that lead me to conflict. I chose it myself."

Draiya could feel the heat on her ears and cheeks, and she pushed forward lest she lose her nerve.

"I know wherre my actions stand in rrelation to the Jedi Code, Masterr Wei. I know now, even if I didn't comprrehend how farr I'd strrayed in the moment. Isn't it betterr that I learrn frrom my mistakes herre than elsewherre on some farr-flung mission?"

Swallowing hard, Draiya continued on, her hands smoothing against the sides of her tunic as she stood her ground.

"I'm not the firrst of Knight Loki's students. He's trrained many young Jedi in combat, and you can judge each of them on theirr own merrit. I beg of you, council. Don't make me the last of his students."

The Syragori's sienna eyes drew to the ground.

"Even at the cost of my own path in the Orrder. If that is the will of the Forrce..."

[Wei Wu Wei]

"You were asked to leave, Padawan."

Wei's tone remained even, but his posture and the way he gestured to the door indicated there would be no more discussion.

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Then that was it. Draiya met Wei's eyes and found no room for recourse there. She gave a look to the other council members, and then a parting one at Loki before she turned to leave.

Even if it accomplished nothing, saying what she had said felt better than letting it go unspoken.

[Abarai Loki]

Once the doors to the Council Chamber had rumbled shut, Loki fought a strong urge to drive his fist through the nearest wall. For a moment, he stood, every muscle electrified, every thought a blinding objection. It was the faint shuffle of feet that reminded him of Draiya, and her proximity disarmed his outrage. He took a breath, and sat. Although he could see her on the periphery of his vision, when he addressed Draiya, his gaze lingered on his hands. His small, ineffective, guilty hands.

“When judgement is delivered, you must lower your head and hold your tongue. Do not shame me with your objections, Draiya Naaianeya.”

[Draiya Naaianeya]

Draiya turned to Loki's voice, and her mouth parted somewhat at the sight of him weighed down in the aftermath - away from the Councils' eyes. He looked like a man defeated. It was the most vulnerable she'd ever seen him, and the Syragori averted her eyes from the sight, turning her back to him.

"I will keep my silence, and accept the Council's decision with dignity."

Even with her eyes averted, Draiya could feel the conflict roiling off the young Knight. This had all become a disaster. Was it meant to be this way? Draiya's eyes closed, heavy with the implications that would soon fall upon both Loki and herself.

[Abarai Loki]

There was nothing else to be said, so they passed their time together in painful protracted silence. Loki’s gaze never left the same spot on his clasped, white-knuckled hands. His insides boiled like a stormy sea. The words of his superiors, he recalled with despairing disbelief.

How could they all be so utterly wrong? The Jedi Council! There was Wei Wu Wei, who simplified complex issues like an infant attempting to handle big-boy toys. And the old preacher, Solomon, warping facts to fit his own mould of preconceptions. Zem Vymes, of all people, fell for the tried-and-tested pitfall of “When in doubt, warn of the Dark Side.” It all spoke volumes of what they thought of him, their strange dangerous lightsaber instructor. Only Serena Laran had managed to convey to him anything of real significance: his actions were a betrayal of trust. And, though he could see that now, he imagined for Draiya’s master, the betrayal was deeper, and more personal. How could it not be?

And why could they not see what was so plainly in front of them? Relics of an extinct order, each of them, clinging to tired values, small ideas, and feeble superstitions. His master had it right, all along. The doors to the Council Chamber opened again. He would weather their judgement and be done with them.

[Rev Solomon]

Kestra conducted the accused back to their places before the Council dais and meekly assumed her own at the stenographer's desk. Sunbeams now beat a slanted path through the interlocking windows that ran the circumference of the rotunda overhead, a testament to the progress of the day during the Council's deliberations. It was time.

Solomon sat forward with his elbows propped on his knees, his remaining hand raised to his chin. Once the doors had swung shut, he took in a deep breath, straightened up, and spoke:

"This has been a difficult matter to discuss. Before we pronounce our judgment, I want to be sure that both of you understand what we are judging here.

"We do not object to the lesson itself, except as far as it intrudes on the domain of another master. In the future we will have to set clear guidelines for offering instruction to another Jedi's padawan, and in absence of such guidelines we may offer correction, but not discipline.

"We do not pass judgment simply because Padawan Naaianeya was injured during a training exercise. Many forms of training carry risks, and worse injuries have been sustained in the course of combat training. For this reason we expect our instructors to avoid unnecessary risks, and to take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of their students. This is why the intentional injury of a student, as a training technique in itself, is far beyond the pale.

"Knight Abarai, we do not believe you broke Padawan Naaianeya's arm out of anger, or recklessness, or as punishment for failing to understand your lesson. On the contrary, we believe you took these actions with a cool head and clear intentions. Your failure is not in any lack of control over your actions. Your failure is that you either do not understand the boundaries of safe and responsible instruction, or that you have chosen to ignore them. In either case, it is now our responsibility to make these boundaries clear to you."

[Serena Laran]

Serena looked at her student. "Padawan Naaianeya, you have allowed your ego to rule your actions - believing your abilities to already be great enough to get you out of any situation. Even now your pride is causing you to feel responsible for the actions of another; in this case, those of Knight Abarai.

"You must understand that there was nothing you could have done that would have caused a Jedi Knight to suddenly change his character and commit an act such as what happened between Loki and yourself. You took part in what you saw as a training exercise in good faith, and the results of the incident are not your fault. You are still finding yourself, and so you are not to be punished, except with further instruction. You will no longer be taking part in group combat lessons, and instead will be spending that time with your master."

[Zem Vymes]

"It's important to know that the steps we take here are formative to the direction this Order will traverse. We've all found our path through the force under very different circumstances. There are those of us who carry forth the old ways, and those of us who have learned under the crucible of duress, fleeing destruction. The Jedi Order of the past never had to face this crisis of identity, but we certainly must, if the Jedi are to continue in our service."

Zem's eyes moved from Padawan Naaianeya and her statuesque, restrained expression, to the simmering control of Knight Abarai.

"To that end, we will pronounce judgment. Not just on one individual or two, but on the expectations we will enforce from here onward. Knight Abarai, you possess great skill and discipline, and these are admirable traits. However, this council feels that in order to pass on what you have learned, you yourself have a great deal remaining to learn. Effective immediately, you are to relinquish all martial training duties to padawans and initiates. This council shall find a new mandate for you in the meantime, but we urge you to contemplate your own path of growth and improvement in the meantime."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei felt there was nothing more to be said--his fellow Council members had stated things very plainly. They would soon discuss Loki's new mandate. Loki was to consider himself deeply. But did Loki know where he would begin?

The Force Cripple wanted Loki to see the Council as allies, mentors, and aides. He wasn't sure the young man would, though. Thankfully, there was one way to know his mind.

"How do you feel?"

[Abarai Loki]

The judgement itself came as no great surprise to Loki, who had considered the removal of his training duties, along with several other, more severe, punishments, as a potential consequence of his actions. That did not mean, however, that the judgement, when it was pronounced, did not hurt. Up until that moment, training a new generation of Jedi had not just been his goal on Ossus, but his life’s purpose. What was he without that? The Jedi Council believed they had removed his training privileges, but they were wrong; they were taking away so much more than that. And yet, he was angry no more.

Master Solomon’s words had quenched his raging indignation like water upon a naked flame. Over the course of their private deliberations, it seemed his superiors had, at last, divined the truth of what had happened between himself and Draiya Naaianeya. On those terms, he could accept his punishment. He was not cruel. In the bare light of his actions and their consequences, he realised that, of all things, it was that small, but important fact, that mattered most.

Wei’s question forced him to consider the sum of his feelings, such as they were, but, in that moment, his heart was a vault that no amount of questioning would prize open.

“Would you ask the same question of man impaled upon your blade? Be satisfied in the knowledge that I am content with the judgement of the Jedi Council.”