Life is a journey, a path on itself...

But peace couldn’t linger on forever as lunch time ended and the Jedi in the Temple found other places for duties and delights. A full day lay ahead still, as I had arrived in the morning and now it was the beginning of the midday. A master and an apprentice arrived and although there was talked softly, I listened to a full explanation what a certain tree was around here, and that tree happened to be the one that was right behind of me. First I didn’t like it to listen too, but the master knew a lot about the tree and gradually I grew interested to how he thought about the living form. He was right in many aspects, but couldn’t only agree with the fact that the tree was not aware of its surroundings. There was a latent consciousness, a natural state. Something like brains a plant didn’t have, but it happened to run through the tree itself. Master Nida Sal explained it carefully; until his student knew it and was asked to do some own exploration. Nida saw me sitting there and knew I had been listening. Approving he nodded to me and then informed who I was. I told him my name, watching his reaction. My family name was a known one. He had known my father briefly as it appeared. Nida didn’t know much to tell about the youth of Ben.

Master Jal’adu Finigin found me and was displeased about my disappeared from his side. But I was a guest, not an apprentice and stubborn I folded my arms across my chest, not accepting the warning of the council member. He had no right to lecture me like an insolent child. In the back of my head I wondered if Master Jal’adu was a true Jedi and not some follower of the notorious Sith Order. That order was destroyed together with my great-grandfather. Yet voices were around that it would come back. I found the Jedi Master arrogant in his manners, very sure of himself. I didn’t voice that back. Not that I was afraid for more lectures, but it was not my place to do. I knew my place as guest. If something happened it wouldn’t be me that would start a fight, but neither would I draw away from a challenge. I didn’t listen to the request or order to come with him; I liked it in the garden and wanted to stay a while longer. That I didn’t obey was something like a violation here around in the Temple. It was interesting knowledge. I turned away from him, chose my own path by jumping over the pool to a path on the other side. There were a couple of other spots I liked to see yet.

But so far I didn’t make it, as security was called and I seemed to be labeled as an official intruder. That made me a little angry and even I didn’t want to leave, I felt neither much to end up inside a special jail for Jedi. I made a run for the exit of the garden and took a short run for the staircase. The Force was a part of me, so going to the docking bay was not a hard run for me. Security was also Jedi, but when I severed myself from the Force to hide my presence in the building, they lost track on me. I stuck my lightsaber into the access panel toward the docking bay and made it toward my air speeder. I left as I had arrived, but now not longer welcome in the midst of the Jedi. Whatever the reason was they felt they could not trust me, it was not a fair way how they had treated me. Back at my place of living I was greeted by Nerny and took the rest of the day to find out why the Jedi Council thought me better to see me as a kind of enemy. It was difficult to face that. Being excluded was one thing, but so openly was confronting in a way, that was hurtful. It pinned down something I hadn’t been aware off until now. The cold I left inside of me seemed to fade away all other feelings I had. I was not able to name it really, but it was something familiar I had felt years back, clicking back the cold pitched feeling of anguish the moment I knew my mother died. With the memory came also my other feelings back. In the screen of the monitor stared a strange reflection of myself back to me? It took a few moments before I was aware of it. Nerny was a good friend, who brought me back to reality. I knew what the cold was. With breathing techniques I calmed down and pushed the evil thoughts back a dark corner of my mind. The night went over and the next morning I secured the place with new codes and left with Nerny the system of Coruscant.

What was my summer holiday from the Imperial Academy had become a travel of new events. I flew back to Imperial space. There I began to work out another dream of me, having my own destroyer, what would bear the name of Persutor in the future. New class of design it would have to be building in a nearby and good equipped shipyard. I had all the funding I needed and to my estimation I thought that the Imperial Fleet could use some new vessels to protest the territory. I ignored the fact I was just a captain in the navy and went off to ask a ship builder if he could design a new serie of stardestroyers. The man was delighted about the order and began to work on it. My direct officers I told nothing about the order or the project. The ship builder knew nothing of me, except I was a privateer and a money lender. With a smirk on my face I had left and returned to the academy to prepare myself for a new year of teaching.