First Meetings are Always so Awkward

[Verrin Ris'To]

There was nothing different about the Temple on Coruscant that day, the sun still rose, the younglings still dueled with drones, old masters still gave out lectures on the nature of the Force, and various Jedi went about their daily business, but today was one of the most important days in Verrin's life. The day he would truly become a Jedi Padawan and be trained by a Knight. He wasn't sure who his master would be; he was just told to wait in a spare sparing room for the Knight to arrive.

It took all of his self-control to not fidget as he sat on his knees in the center of the room facing the door. All his life he had been preparing for this moment, and it was only made more intense by the fact that he had been held back for years because of his K'paur instincts that had nearly gotten him removed as a Padawan prospect.

What would his Master look like? How did his Master train? How did his Master view the Force? Did his Master like visiting the Room of a Thousand Fountains as Verrin did? What if his Master wouldn't like him? He was aware he was odd for a padawan. He was incredibly tall, barely above average among his own people, and his kind did not have a good reputation for making good Jedi.

Most importantly would the hole finally disappear?
[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

Coruscant was a hectic place, there was no doubt about it. Trillions of lives went about their business in the massive city planet, vaguely aware of the Jedi Order that existed to protect those lives, along with trillions more across the Galaxy. Flint had recently been assigned a padawan to train, someone named Verrin Ris'To.

The Jedi Knight's first impression as he walked into the sparring room to meet his new padawan was that Verrin was quite tall. Flint had met other tall aliens before, however, so Verrin wasn't the first. "Greetings, Padawan Ris'To." he said with a smile, extending his arm for a friendly handshake with his new apprentice. Dressed in his typical brown Jedi attire, Flint looked confidently into the eyes of Verrin, knowing well that Flint would be seeing to it that Verrin reached knighthood upon learning everything Flint had to teach.

"My name is Flint Dexen, and I am pleased to announce that I am your new master." Flint introduced himself to his padawan. "So tell me about yourself, Verrin..." he inquired.

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

Verrin snapped his head up at the sound of the doors sliding open to reveal the Jedi. Pushing himself up to stand, he gripped the offered and shook it before releasing it and bowing once, "Greetings Master Dexen," he said, the words coming out rushed because he had forgotten to breath in between the series of actions from standing, shaking, bowing, and speaking. He did notice that his new master appeared human, and that Verrin was over a foot taller then him. It wasn't too surprising as Verrin was almost always the tallest person in a room.

"So tell me about yourself, Verrin..." He wasn't sure why the question surprised him so much, but it was not often for him to be asked that question. He tended to keep mostly to himself, and many of his fellow padawans and younglings either stayed away from him believing he did not like them or in respect for his apparent need for isolation.

"Well I..." He said to buy himself time as he looked down at his brown robes, "I am a K'paur Pureblood. My kind are rare, and I think I may be one of the only Purebloods to be a Jedi in this history of the Order," He wasn't sure if his Master knew about the K'paur, he wouldn't be surprised if he didn't because his race was fairly xenophobic and kept to themselves. He hadn't met another of his kind since he left to become a Jedi, but he didn't really want to talk about it as his race came with many... traits that had nearly stopped his advacnement to become a Padawan.

"I have been training in Makashi, the masters said it helps concentrate me and center myself to use a form that requires such control. I like exploring and seeing new planets and their sights," He said pausing as he wasn't sure what to really say, and it became apparent of how... dull he was. Most of his life had been spent at the temple training.

[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

"Ah, I see." Flint said with an understanding nod. He remembered a long time ago when he had been a padawan, and a Jedi Master had asked Flint to introduce himself. He had given only minimum, bare, details, about himself, but being a padawan to a Jedi allowed his mentor to learn a lot more about him as they furthered their training. He hoped the same would go for training Verrin.

Flint looked at the tall padawan and gave a friendly smile. "We'll definitely be exploring and seeing new places all the time from now on. Heck, how about we go for a stroll outside the temple? Right now? " he asked.

Often, Jedi apprentices were overly eager to jump right into training and be advanced into knighthood. Flint had decided that he would take his time with training Verrin. This included showing his new apprentice different places on Coruscant. What better way to get to know each other, after all? Training would follow, naturally. "What do you say?"

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

"We'll definitely be exploring and seeing new places all the time from now on. Heck, how about we go for a stroll outside the temple? Right now? Verrin offered a smile back, but it was weaker, and it felt strained. It was not that he wasn't glad at the chance to go exploring the galaxy as he always wanted to do, nor that his Master seemed to be anything but kind a nice change to some of the stricter teachers at the temple; it was just that he wasn't quite used to socializing.

When he wasn't training, he was studying, when he wasn't doing either, he was meditating to maintain control of himself. While he did, occasionally, go on missions with fellow padawans and talk with his mentors, taking a walk just for a walks sake with someone else was new for him. Verrin wasn't sure what was invovled in a walk. What would he talk about?

"What do you say?" Verrin took a breath to calm his nerve and center himself, "I would like that. I haven't gotten to see much of the rest of Coruscant."

It wasn't a lie as he truly did wish to go see more of Coruscant. It had billions of people going to and fro, living their lives... just the scope of that was staggering, but this was also the seat of the Republic, and so had to have beautiful architect, in fact, he had never even visited the Senate building despite having been on Coruscant for as long as he could remember.

Verrin motioned to the door, "After you?"

[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

"Excellent! Lets get going then." Flint remarked, patting the tall padawan on the back. Without further hesitation, he led Verrin out the door. Coruscant was always worth seeing, the city planet inhabited by trillions was quite a sight. Fresh air was good, although technically air in Coruscant was a tad bit too polluted to be called 'fresh'. Regardless, Flint was happy to take his new apprentice on a stroll. "I suppose we'll go visit the Senate. Its a place worth visitng." he announced as they walked out of the Jedi Temple and down the temple steps.

In a distance from the Jedi Temple, the dome-shaped Senate building was visible. Outside, Flint motioned for his padawan to take a seat inside a two-person speeder. Once they were both inside, Flint would fly them to the Senate district.

"Here we are, at the Senate of the Galactic Republic!" Flint informed, slowing to a stop at one of the docks by the Senate building. "Have you ever been here before, Verrin?" he inquired, looking up at the impressive government building.

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

"Excellent! Lets get going then." Verrin let a small smile slip at his Master's enthusiasm. He wondered if he was always so eager and excited about life? The pat on the back was a little strange, but it seemed to fit his master. Perhaps that was a common thing for him to do?

Verrin gave small nods to the various younglings, Jedi, and other personnel. While he normally didn't do it, he felt a little strange walking with his Master and wasn't sure what to say, do, or even where to look, so he nodded to the people as they walked.

"I suppose we'll go visit the Senate. Its a place worth visitng," He was going to be able to go to the Senate? Verrin would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited about going. It was the center and heart of the entire Republic, and all that he had been trained to uphold all his life.

Verrin slid into the speeder, having to bend his knees a little as the speeder wasn't built for... exceedingly tall people. His attention was quickly snapped by the buildings as they went by, examining the architecture, lighting, and just letting his eyes roam the plant-city that was Curoscant. Lost in his observations, he wasn't aware they arrived until his Master spoke to him, "Here we are, at the Senate of the Galactic Republic!"

Verrin looked over to his master and out his window at the massive building, it was beautiful and far more impressive in person then in the vids, "Have you ever been here before, Verrin?"

"No, I always wanted to come here, but.." He stopped pushing open the door and hoping out, "I never got the chance. It is far more impressive in person. Will they let us just walk in?"

[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

"No, I always wanted to come here, but.. I never got the chance. It is far more impressive in person. Will they let us just walk in?"

"Well this is your chance, Verrin. Get a good look." Flint said as he also got off the speeder after parking it. There were tourists and visiters going in and out of the main guest lobby, which would be the entrance they would use to enter. "The Jedi have the same access to the Senate as the rest of the general public. In other words, the furthest we'll get is the main guest lobby."

They would then enter the giant dome building, passing by half a dozen armed Republic senate guards. Flint personally stayed as distant from politics as possible. He found many politicians to be corrupt, selfish, greedy, or otherwise just plain evil. But regardless, he held much respect for authority delegated to a democratic government, and thus naturally he, along with the rest of the Republic, abided by the laws and policies set out by the Senate. "Some senator seems to be speaking at the moment. Want to hear what senators have got to say?" the Jedi Knight inquired his padawan, as they and many other tourists looked up at a holoscreen displaying a senator speaking within the Senate chamber.

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

"The Jedi have the same access to the Senate as the rest of the general public. In other words, the farthest we'll get is the main guest lobby," Verrin was a little disappointed in that as such a beautiful building had to have something worth finding in it. Maybe a secret gardin? A library? A beautiful statue or painting? But, he understood why they wouldn't be allowed to go past the guest lobby, even if they were Jedi, the universe was... turbulent. They had to have tight security, anyone with robes could pretend to be a Jedi and get entrance.

As Verrin neared, he was astounded by the size of the building as it stretched out above him. The long columns, huge waving tapestries, intricate sculpture adorning small pedestals, and the marble walkway that he could tell was meticulously maintained, but at the same time, the building was almost... exceedingly extravagant as if the people who built it had made it their singular goal to make whoever entered feel tiny and unimportant. It was beautiful by design, but almost, oppressive by intention.

"Some senator seems to be speaking at the moment. Want to hear what senators have got to say?" Verrin nearly jumped as he was so absorbed in his thoughts and observations of the Senate building, itself, he had almost completely forgotten about the people inside of it. Turning to look at the holoscreen, Verrin couldn't help but ponder out loud, "I wonder what it would be like... to know that every decision you make, no matter how big or small, is going to effect hundreds of thousands of planets and untold trillions of people," He paused and closed his eyes for a moment, "I would not want that responsibility," He confessed, re-opening his eyes to watch the screen.

[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

"I wonder what it would be like... to know that every decision you make, no matter how big or small, is going to effect hundreds of thousands of planets and untold trillions of people. I would not want that responsibility,"

His padawan had made a good observation, Flint noted. "It probably would be a lot of pressure. Should be a lot of pressure, anyways. Sometimes, I think the Senate makes some decisions as if they don't care about the trillions of lives at stake. Listen to that senator speak."

Just as Flint said that, a female senator took the spot in the Senate chamber, and her voice began to sound from the Holo-screen. According to the caption title on the screen, the senator's name was Alena Beswin, the senator of Kuat. "Our Military Oversight Committee has come to decide that it would be of benefit to the entirety of this Republic, its businesses, and its people to give at the minimum a 5% tax break to our faithful major ship manufacturing companies, including Kuat Drive Yards, Rendili StarDrive, and Alderaan Royal Engineers."

"Seriously, doesn't the Senate have better things to talk about than tax breaks to corporations?" the Jedi Knight remarked quietly.

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

"It probably would be a lot of pressure. Should be a lot of pressure, anyways. Sometimes, I think the Senate makes some decisions as if they don't care about the trillions of lives at stake. Listen to that senator speak." Verrin turned his head to look at his master, he sounded almost disappointed at them. Did he not like the Senate? Politics? He had never been to the Senate building before and rarely was able to see senatorial addressees, so was it really so bad? Verrin did as he was told and turned back to the holoscreen.

"Our Military Oversight Committee has come to decide that it would be of benefit to the entirety of this Republic, its businesses, and its people to give at the minimum a 5% tax break to our faithful major ship manufacturing companies, including Kuat Drive Yards, Rendili StarDrive, and Alderaan Royal Engineers." Verrin did not know much about Galactic Economics, but he did notice that the senator putting it forward was from Kuat and happened to make sure to list Kuat Drive Yards as the first in line. Did the other two companies mean that those senators were her strongest supporters? Why would they need a tax break anyways? He didn't know many, if any, of the answers to his questions. Galactic Politics and Economics were something beyond his knowledge, and he could admit to being a little curious at both fields. He didn't want the responsibilities of the Senators, but just thinking about what they were saying and understanding it could be worth while.

"Seriously, doesn't the Senate have better things to talk about than tax breaks to corporations?" His master said quietly, and Verrin had almost missed it, "Like what?" He asked on reflex.

[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

"Like what?" Flint gave a slight shrug. Personally, anything besides corporate tax breaks would be better. He turned away from gazing at the holo-screen as the Senate chamber broke into thunderous applause following the senator's proposal. "Anything else." he said.

"Do something about the poor, or do something to help those that are starving. Or do something to fight crime in Coruscant. There's a lot more they could be talking about right now. Regardless, they're the ruling body of the Republic, and we as the Jedi ought to honor their decisions." Flint said to his padawan, leading Verrin back out of the building.

"Just out curiosity, have you ever visited the Coruscant Underworld?" he asked casually.

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

"Anything else." Verrin was about to say his master was being very vague, when he clarified, "Do something about the poor, or do something to help those that are starving. Or do something to fight crime in Coruscant. There's a lot more they could be talking about right now. Regardless, they're the ruling body of the Republic, and we as the Jedi ought to honor their decisions."

Verrin nodded as he talked, following Flint out the back of the Senate building. They were to honor their decisions, they served the republic, as his teachers said, they were never to rule over it. Sometimes he wasn't sure if some of the Masters understood that; he had heard... stories. It seemed almost as if they were only too happy to take more and more responsibility and control over the Republic then was necessary.

"Just out curiosity, have you ever visited the Coruscant Underworld?" Turning his head, "I have gone a few times. Missions, trips, and other things. It is... an interesting place," he said unsure of what word to really use to describe the Coruscant underbelly.

"Sometimes I admire the people for their perseverance in a bad environment, but other times," Verrin paused thinking over how to phrase it, "I am disgusted by their actions."

[member="Flint Dexen"]

 

[Flint Dexen]

@Verrin Ris'To

"I have gone a few times. Missions, trips, and other things. It is... an interesting place. Sometimes I admire the people for their perseverance in a bad environment, but other times. I am disgusted by their actions." his apprentice said, and Flint nodded in approval.

It wasn't very clear why Flint had felt the need to bring out the subject of Coruscant Underworld, but it had something to do with the fact that Flint wanted to give his apprentice a chance to better know about himself. "I'd say I've got quite some knowledge about the Coruscant Underworld." the Jedi Knight said as he and his apprentice roamed the plaza infront of the Senate building.

"I was born there and lived there for most of my childhood, in fact." he said simply, glancing at nearby passing Coruscant air traffic. "So where were you born? And how did you join the Jedi Order?"

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

"I was born there and lived there for most of my childhood, in fact." Verrin nodded as he understood better now why it was asked. He had met a few other Jedi who came from Lower Coruscant, and he always heard the life was never easy down there. Always a struggle that was hidden beneath the white, pristine buildings of Coruscant's surface.

"So where were you born? And how did you join the Jedi Order?" Verrin blinked a few times as, honestly, it was the first time he had ever been asked that question. While he had asked others, no one had asked him, but it wasn't too surprising as he never spoke to his fellow Padawans or younglins often, and most of the Masters already knew where he came from.

"I was born on Kanakura, the home of my people the Kpaur, we don't usually leave the planet which is why I am fairly sure I am the only Kpaur pureblood in the history of the Jedi Order. I left when I was fairly young, six or seven, as my mother fell in love with a human, a Republic Diplomat. Relationships with another species are... frowned upon in my people's culture, so they kept it secret, eventually she became pregnant, and they were forced to flee the planet." Fearing he was being too vague, he clarified, "My people kill hybrids and their parents. They believe it dilutes the bloodlines,"

Verrin paused thinking over everything that had happened, "We moved here to the upper levels of Coruscant where a year later, after my younger sister was born, I was sent here... I have never seen my little sister. I heard she is Force Sensitive like me, but my mother did not want her to become Jedi."

[member="Flint Dexen"]