Star Wars_ I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole [34]
I frowned. “But if we don’t have a coordinated sense of time here, how will we know when our watches begin or end?”
Luke regarded me quizzically. “Why would we need to stand watch?”
I wanted to answer that if someone like Thrawn wanted to show up with an Imperial fleet to raze the planet, warning would be a good thing. Of course, all the warning in the world about a fleet coming to attack would be useless since we didn’t have any ships here to let us evacuate. There was, then, absolutely no practical reason to have folks stand watch, so I fell back on the reasons given for such things at the CorSec Academy.
“Standing watch provides us with a sense of responsibility and fosters trust between the students, since we are looking out for each other.”
Luke nodded. “This is good, but here I want you to come to trust the Force. You will find, as your understanding and skill grow, that the Force will provide us all the warning we need if there is a threat. We will know it and have ample time to react to it.”
Which seems to describe how the Invids avoid all the traps we set for them. A chill breeze seemed to cut at my spine. Is it possible for someone sufficiently versed in the Force to hide his presence from detection?
“I stand corrected, Master.” I bowed my head toward him. “Then will we just get up at dawn to begin physical training?”
He opened his hands. “You may do whatever you feel necessary to make yourself feel at ease and receptive to the Force.”
“So there will be no organized physical training?”
Kam laughed gruffly. “You sound disappointed, Keiran.”
“Not really, just confused.”
Luke smiled. “You will find your training demanding enough, I think, and quite exhausting.”
I pointed toward Kam’s lightsaber. “We will, at least, have combat training, correct?”
“Yes, you will be trained in the ways of the lightsaber.”
“Not the question I asked.”
Luke’s head came up. “You had better explain, then.”
I pressed my fingertips together. “The lightsaber, as all of us know, is a very powerful and lethal weapon. My father once said to me that no one ever regretted hitting a target with a stunbolt as opposed to a lethal shot from a blaster. Basic combat training could help us avoid having to use a lightsaber where a less dangerous method might work. Training in that area means we will have more options available to us.”
The Jedi Master narrowed his eyes. “These would be defensive techniques?”
“They are combat techniques, which can be employed offensively or defensively, just like a lightsaber.” I shrugged. “It’s just an idea.”
Kam nodded. “Such training would lay the foundation for any lightsaber training we do later.”
“Okay, Kam and Keiran, you will come up with a plan for that type of training. We will discuss it further when you have something.” Luke regarded me with the hint of a smile on his lips. “Anything else?”
“No, Master.”
“If you think of something, let me know.” He waved us on toward the Temple. “Now find yourselves quarters.”
The trio of us left him behind and did not speak as we approached the Great Temple. Having lived on Coruscant, I had seen much more massive buildings, but little there had the antiquity and sense of stability that I found in the Temple. It did not strike me as odd that a building which had been old millennia before the Empire came into existence had sheltered a movement that overthrew that Empire. I could easily imagine the dignity of this building being offended by the city world that had been Imperial Center and doing what it could to contribute to the Empire’s destruction.
Why the Empire had not flattened the place after the Rebellion abandoned it was a puzzle I figured could never be solved.
Generators and lights left behind by the engineers brightened the large hangar area. Aside from stockpiled supplies, the room stood empty, but echoes of the urgency the Rebels