The New Jedi Knights

Chapter 9: Jack in Training

Exhaustion clinging to him, he drifted in and out of sleep, her presence a constant vigil beside him. Eight hours melted away, measured only by the slow shift of light filtering through the window. Finally, he stirred, the groan escaping his lips a testament to his weariness. As he reached for consciousness, his eyes landed on Sam, peacefully slumbering in a nearby chair. The Force, their silent bond, flickered, and her eyelids fluttered open.

She looked at him. She smiled, "How do you feel?"

He smiled back and answered, "I'm feeling better. I'll feel even better if those food replicators can make Jell-O."

She laughed. The others came in when she was laughing.

Brandon said, "It sounds like things are turning out wonderfully for you."

"What was so funny?" Ben asked.

She laughed more at that question. She answered, "Jack just wanted Jell-O to eat."

The three did not understand. The expressions on their faces made both of them laugh the more. After they stopped laughing, Jack's Holocron glowed and Nomi came out. She smiled, "It is good to hear you laughing."

He gave her a warm smile, "Thank you. I'm feeling like myself. I was telling Sam what I wanted to eat."

She had never heard of that name before. Sam smiled and told her what he wanted. She replied, "We had something similar to what you described, but it was more of a sweet energy food. We called it 'Jedi power treat.' I can tell you how to program the food replicators to make it."

On hearing that, Jack jumped out of bed and commented, "Why not program the replicators now."

Sam looked seriously at him and said, "First you need to start on your Jedi training. We'll do that later."

"Let's do it then," He replied.

They all went to the training course Nomi with her friends created so long ago.

As he was carrying the Holocron cube, he asked Nomi, "Does Ituor know about this course that all of you created?"

"You five are the only ones that have set eyes on it since we created it," She smiled at him and said, "do me proud."

Sam looked at Jack and said to Nomi, "He will. I'll make sure of it."

He frowned and said, "It's a good thing I had eight hours of sleep."

She gave a devilish smile, "You will need it, today."

"Ben and I will be with you in the Force as you train."

He looked at her, "I think I'll need it."

The whir of the laser droid filled the training room. Sam strapped on the blast shield helmet, the visor is what cadets or Padawans use to not rely on their own eyes but the Force itself. He'd started with Emily and Ben by his side, their guidance a shield against the droid's fury. Now, alone, he faced the droid, a single mistake potentially disastrous.

Sam said, "You're doing great! I will set the difficulty level higher and higher each bout. See if you can keep up without Emily and Ben." After ten different bouts with the laser droid, he only got zapped three times. She said, "that's enough for now." When she took the helmet off of him, she gave him a big smile and told him, "you're doing great. I want you to duel with Emily and then Ben." He and Emily got into position and raised their lightsabers in front of each other. Sam commanded, "go!"

As he was dueling with her, Ben used the Force to help him along. At first, he was a little shaky but learned quickly. He was fighting against what Yoda had taught her. After dueling with her, Ben walked up towards him. He turned on his lightsaber, and they started at Sam's command.