Jedi Academy: Chapter 1 - Boundless

Merrick watched his new padawan set off on his task. Merrick felt a little bad for setting the bar as high as he did for Zambar, but then he remembered Master Fel's first lesson to him about patience. Merrick had wanted to strangle the old Wee'quay.

Master Fel had sat Merrick in a bare room with nothing but a bottle. He instructed Merrick to evacuate the oxygen from the bottle molecule by molecule until it was a vacuum inside the bottle. Once he completed that, he was expected to refill the bottle with oxygen; again, molecule by molecule.

He'd spent the first day climbing the walls and screaming. The second day was much the same; and the third. By the fourth day, hunger began to become an issue. Merrick was forced to employ Jedi meditation to deal with the pains wracking his gut.

This led him to find his center. By the fifth day, he'd begun sorting out how to focus on the oxygen molecules in the room and how they interacted with one another and the other elements in the air. By day six, he had begun the exercise.

By Day 10, he had managed to empty the bottle. It took him another three days to fill it back up. When he had placed the last molecule in the bottle, Master Fel entered the room and graced Merrick with one of his rare smiles.

"Well done, padawan" ,Master Fel said, "what took you so long?"

Merrick had laughed and laughed until he passed out...

Merricks thoughts returned to the present. Zambar was not him. The togruta already seemed to have a well-disciplined mind. The challenge for him, Merrick thought, would be awareness.

The task he had set for Zambar was difficult but not impossible. If he really applied himself, he would be able to have a complete picture of the ship burned into his mind. That was the foundation of the skill set Merrick wanted to build in Zambar to start. Being able to take a complete mental snapshot of an area with perfect memory allowed one to use any environment to one's advantage.

Merrick's thoughts moved to another subject: Dynnyana. Seeing her in the conference room was completely unexpected. The last time they had seen one another was on Nal Hutta.

Merrick had been working for a Hutt named Baga in loss prevention which was a nice way of saying "leg breaker." Dynnyana had been working as a mercenary. After they had worked a few jobs together, Merrick began to notice her connection to the Force.

Slowly at first, Merrick began to coax Dynnyana into awareness of what she could do. When they parted company, she had said she was getting out of the merc business and going to find the Jedi. It would seem she was as good as her word.

Merrick decided now was as good a time as any to catch up.

Errad returned Steef's gaze evenly.

"Please forgive me, but I was raised in the Temple. I am not used to being informal. I find the training schedule acceptable, Mas...please, how should I refer to you?"

"Well, that's right kindly of ya. I just didn' wanna be rude 'cause y'seem like a alright guy." He glances into the room, turns on the lights and on the bed is a collection of bags and . . . luggage? Jedi are not supposed to have material possessions but this Padawan seems ready to move into a college dorm. "Well, here's hopin' y'just quietly give up. I am -not- emotionally prepared for'a repeat'a my last master." He looks away but his features darken in irritation. His presence in the Force couldn't be said to darken so much as 'complain', like a cat being forced to take a bath.