"Good. Good. Doing well, you are. Improved, your connection with the force is. Greater control, you have." Yoda said as I opened my eyes, lowering a rock the size of my head gently back onto the floor of the fountain room I first stayed in when I arrived at the temple.
"You have seen me lift heavier objects before." I said as I relaxed on the floor, resting my head on my arms to bring me as close to eye level as possible with the small dustling "It is not my ability I am worried about."
Yoda nodded and sat down, crossing his legs. "Told me, you did. Lose temper, everyone does. Expected to happen to padawan, it is. Give in, you did not."
"The force came easier when I was furious. I never had a particular difficulty using it due to my species, but it came easier than ever." I said, shifting my wings uncomfortably.
"Touch the Dark Side, you did. Alone in doing this, you would not be." Yoda said as he held his cane across his lap "Happen to many students, it does. Control, the key is. Angry you were...letting go of that anger, you need."
"I was betrayed, they could have brought everything I worked for down. If they had been caught by somebody else...how could I not be angry?" I said as I watched him.
"Attachment, you felt. Your company, your crew important to you they are. The Jedi order has few personal possessions, no families. Understand why, you do now." He said with a small sigh "Jedi, you are not. Jedi problems, you might still have."
I sighed and closed my eyes. I did indeed start to understand the reason for the Jedi's stance. Finally, I shook my head "I can't stay here and I will not become a Jedi. I need the stars and I need to soar. The Jedi might be able to hide from the problem, but I need to face it head-on."
Yoda frowned slightly but nodded "Come back here for guidance, any time, you can. Open, the gates are for you." he said before he got an amused look on his face "Given your picture, the guards have. Easy to recognize, you are."
I snorted slightly and rose my head feathers in amusement "I am, aren't I?" before I sighed "Thank you, Master Yoda."
The small green alien smiled "Saved my life, you have. Trust you to make the right choices, I do."
I didn't, which is why I was here in the first place.
"That does remind me, though. Have you ever heard of a drug cartel known as the 'Glass Hand'?" I then asked, "It was them that my freighter was moving contraband for."
He frowned "Heard of them, I have. My old apprentice and his padawan, investigate them they did, when you saved them. Unable to discover anything, they were."
Frack me, don't tell me I need to interact with that fucker?
"If you hurry, you might be able to have somebody catch up with my former employees before they leave the system. Should give you a place to start at least." I said as he got up and pulled out a small communicator.
"Do that, I will. Handle this now, I will need to."
I nodded and then relaxed as he hobbled out of the room while talking softly into his communicator.
I glanced around before I lowered my head back onto my arms and closed my eyes, returning to my meditation. I didn't feel like leaving yet...I might even spend the rest of the stay at Coruscuant here.
XXXXXXXXXX
Half an hour later I opened my eyes again. Something was...off. I raised my head and looked around. At first, I didn't see anything, but then I saw a small head poke out from behind one of the largest fountain and heard some whispers.
Hiding a snort I shook my head "If you are trying to hide, younglings, staying quiet and out of sight usually helps."
A small group of children, mostly humans, but there was a wookiee along with them. A blond human girl looked like she was the oldest in the group at ten years old...even if I had no idea how to judge wookiee age.
"I'm sorry master, we didn't mean to disturb you. We were just curious" she said and bowed, quickly followed by the rest.
I tilted my head and raised my head feathers in amusement "You did not disturb me, I forgot the time. Were you meant to use this room at this time?" I asked, ignoring the master thing. I really did not feel like explaining 'I'm not a Jedi' again and even less to a group of ten-year-olds.
They all shook their heads and I just sighed slightly "Don't you have a lesson to be to?"
She shook her head "No...There are no more classes for today, master."
Which meant there was no way to politely tell them to scram, great.
I looked at the group for a moment, trying to think of a way to get them to leave me alone to my meditation without being rude about it.
They were only hatchlings after all. Future Jedi or not...besides, they lived in the temple so I was technically their guest.
"Well, if your classes for the day is over, you should practice on your own. Is there anything you think you might need more practice at? Introspection and realization is an important skill for a Jedi." I finally said.
The blond frowned "Intro..."
Oh, right. Ten years old.
"To look within yourself. To understand who you are." I explained, "To know what you need to learn, you need to know what you already know."
The group slowly nodded at that.
I tilted my head and shifted my wings "You should go meditate on this, younglings. If you know yourself and your opponent, you will never need to fear defeat in anything." I said, stealing shamelessly from Sun Tzu and likely misquoting him as well.
They nodded quickly and turned to walk away.
I sighed and closed my eyes, laying my head down once more only to open my eyes again as I heard them return, carrying pillows. They sat down in a half-circle in front of me and started to meditate.
I looked at them for a moment before I shifting my position slightly and closed my eyes again. At least they were quiet now and had stopped bothering me.