Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [112]
I tapped myself on the breastbone again. “I don’t know if you think that makes me weak or just stupid. Maybe by not taking revenge I can’t be the kind of Jedi you want, maybe by not having wallowed in the dark side and returning you can’t be certain of me. I don’t know, but don’t tell me I don’t know the dark side, that I don’t know its temptations. I’ve been there, and I’ve walked away.”
Luke looked ashen-faced, then glanced away from me. “I don’t think you are weak or stupid. I think you will make a fine Jedi Knight.” He hesitated for a moment, then plunged on. “I am concerned, though, that you think I’m an incompetent idiot. You don’t like how I run the academy, my choices concerning other students and my view of the way the universe works.”
I shook my head slowly. “No, I just don’t think those things work for me. Couple of points here. You were trained to be a Jedi Knight, and you have become a Jedi Master. I accept that and respect you for all you’ve been through and learned. What you’ve done I never could do.” I softened my tone as I realized I was jumping all over him while he was at a low point. Though I had problems with the academy, he didn’t deserve to be beaten up.
“Despite all that, there’s no guarantee you’re going to be an ace at teaching, especially the first time out. That said, you’ve done a fine job with the majority of the students. Even tossing Gantoris, me, Mara, Cilghal and Kyp into the mix, your first class only has three failures out of fifteen. That’s only a twenty percent failure rate, and I don’t think Mara was really a failure. Me, neither.
“As for what I said, that’s just one opinion. As we used to say in CorSec, if one guy calls you a Hutt, ignore him. If a second calls you a Hutt, begin to wonder. If a third calls you a Hutt, buy a drool bucket and start stockpiling spice.”
The Jedi Master smiled for a second. “You really are going to leave?”
“I have to.” I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them again. “You told me, Tionne has told me and even the Holocron told me about how the Corellian Jedi tradition was different from other traditions. We have the Jedi credits and tended to keep more to our home system. You invited me here to bring part of that tradition with me, but I’m not truly following it unless I head out and discover more about it myself.”
Luke nodded slowly. “I am still concerned about you and your development. There are things, in the future, challenges you will face.…”
“I know.” I shrugged. “I can only face them as I find them.”
He sighed. “Well, you have some time to reconsider. It will take a while to get a ship out here to take you away.”
“I have Mara’s Headhunter.”
Luke frowned. “I thought the hyperdrive motivator was shot.”
“True.”
Before I could finish my explanation, Artoo rolled into Luke’s room, bleating frantically.
Luke squatted in front of the droid. “What is it, Artoo? What’s the matter?”
The droid’s holographic display unit glowed. Hovering in the space between us I saw the image of an Imperial Star Destroyer in orbit over the academy.
The Jedi Master groaned. “What now?”
I patted him on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Master Skywalker.”
“An Imperial Star Destroyer shows up here and we shouldn’t worry?”
“Nope,” I said, letting a smile grow on my face, “that’s just my ride.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
From far enough away, the Errant Venture looked like an Imperial Star Destroyer. There was no mistaking that daggerish shape or the tall bridge. The ship’s stark bone-white color and sheer size invoked memories of the days when the Empire’s need for discipline often dispatched such ships to punish worlds that harbored Rebels. It was truly a sight to behold, and one from which I would have flown as fast as possible if I did not know what the Errant Venture really was.
I brought the Headhunter up and around in a loop over midships on the ImpStar.