Earthlings 3: RISE

11 (Part I)

4 BBY, Space

"Focus,"  Eli intoned, watching Arion wobble on the pile of crates inside the private dojo as he struggled to maintain his balance and his control over R5's levitating form. He couldn't blame him, given the situation outside. But a Jedi had  to learn to tune out distractions... hence his decision to train the boy in the middle of a cargo heist. "Clear your surroundings, so it's just you and the Force."

R5 beeped indignantly.

"Oh, and you too," Eli acknowledged with a small chuckle.

Arion groaned, placing his right hand on the floor and dropping R5. "This is pointless. I thought we were gonna train with lightsabers, not... this..."

"Patience, Arion." Eli gave him a look, pausing the stopwatch and recording the time elapsed. "We'll get to lightsaber combat when you pass this lesson. It's crucial for every  Jedi to know how to remain calm and collected no matter the situation. Everything's a lot easier that way."

"Easy for you to say," Arion grumbled. "You've been doing this for what, 40 years-?"

Eli let out an amused chuckle. "I'm not that  old."

"You're probably older than Marien."

"And how old does he  look to you?"

"Around 30, tops." Arion tried again, concentrating with the Force to try and lift R5 again. Eli promptly turned on the stopwatch again, watching the astromech float into the air. "Or maybe 31? Definitely somewhere around there."

"I'm  31," Eli deadpanned, much to Arion's utter shock. "Though you're right about one thing- Lieutenant Rampart is a little less than a decade younger."

Arion's eyes widened, and he briefly lost control of R5. "W-wait, he told you-?"

Eli shrugged. "Well, he turned 25 six months ago. That's not telling. Now focus, R5 really  hates falling from more than a 3 foot distance."

"I'm trying-!" Arion grunted, reaching out towards the old droid and levitating him about 3 feet off the floor. Not even a second later, the ship convulsed as a laser hit the hull. "WHOA-"

"Keep calm and focus," Eli reiterated, crossing his arms. "Don't let what's happening outside get into your head."

"Ok, ok..." Arion muttered under his breath before yelping as he tried to regain his balance. "This isn't working-!"

"You're not focusing-" Eli sighed softly as Arion teetered on the crates before wincing as he fell flat on his back. "Oh my Lord..."

Ok, I QUIT!  R5 beeped vehemently as he righted himself. This boy is gonna be the death of me...

"Sorry," Arion mumbled apologetically, glancing at the droid.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, it's only your first lesson." Eli paused the stopwatch before recording the time elapsed. "We'll go again next time... and I expect to see some improvement."

--

"We're losing our deflector shields!"  Commander Sato hissed over the comm channel. " Wolf, Ghost, we MUST withdraw!"

"Acknowledged, Commander Sato, but first, we're getting what we came for,"  Hera insisted. 

"Negative, Captain Syndulla,"  Came the urgent voice of Lieutenant Rampart. "If we linger for another moment, it's not just the cargo we'll lose. Abort the mission!"