From the perspective of Ahsoka.


    I was watching the infuriated twi’lek girl’s antics alongside my smirking master as she continued to scream into the communicator device hidden in her collar. She even tried to pull it off, only to get zapped in return and elicit a phletora of curses which would make a hutt blush with delight. I tried to help her previously, but the thing was made in a way that prevented any internal manipulation with the help of the force. You couldn’t simply disassemble it from the inside, as it was made from a single piece of solid beskar. Without the right digital key, you couldn’t simply take it off.


    I sighed, growing tired of her antics. We were not in a situation where she could allow herself to be distracted.


    “Nizzy, it’s time to get a grip.” — I stepped closer to her, grasping her arms with a gentle yet firm hold. — “You will need your energy later, don’t waste it on cursing and fruitless endeavours.”


    Feeling my touch and hearing my gentle chastising, she eventually stopped her struggle. One of her lekku even snaked halfway around my neck as if to offer me a reluctant hug as thanks.


    I smiled at the sweet gesture, but accepted it none the less.


    Nizzal released a long and tired sigh. Feeling her presence through the force, I recognized her actions. She was channeling her emotions into the force. What surprised me more, however, were the glistening sight of teardrops at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.


    She sensed my stare and immediately blinked them away with her usual stubbornness.


    As her anger gave way to other feelings, I decided to turn away, allowing her a few moments to gather herself. Still, I couldn’t help but think about how strange it felt to see so many emotions in one person in such a short time. Well… at least it was strange to me.


    The jedi, even the padawans and the younglings, were usually very disconnected from the events that were happening around them. At least emotionally. It was a peaceful state of mind for sure. More peaceful than the average citizen’s life, when there was not a galaxy-wide war raging around.


    In the last two years, I had the time to realize what made me so quickly and so heavily attached to this stupid twi’lek. She was simply more present, more alive compared to the rest of the temple. She wasn’t afraid to show her emotions to the world either, and she didn’t care about anyone’s judgment. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, and in her own unique way. That didn’t mean she did anything which would make others uncomfortable or hurt, except when there was no other choice left for her.


    She just lived her life, while leaving others to live their own. She didn’t judge anyone around her,not even when they tried to block her way or take her freedom away. She didn’t try to fight with them either. That was always the last resort, and never unprovoked.


    The Jedi Council acted, and still acts towards her, impatiently and stubbornly, while trying to capture her again. Yet she simply accepted this fact, not even showing the slightest hate towards them. She just accepted their decision, adapted to it, but continued to follow her own lifestyle and principles. Never even thinking of changing her ways, more than it was entirely necessary, and only until the very moment she was forced to do so.


    She did it in the clone army, in the Jedi Temple, in the captivity of some random pirate group. Then again, in the Jedi Temple, and now, here. Inside the palace of a Zyggerian slaver queen. No matter how strange and dangerous a situation she gets into. She always finds a way to make it bearable, and if she can help it, she never chooses to confront anyone or anything head-on. She was much more of a peacekeeper than most of today’s jedi.


    It felt like she didn’t truly care that she was being turned into a slave. Wasn’t she angry that she had to waste her life here? I mean, she is young, but life is not exactly long either. I couldn’t understand how someone could have a “go with the flow” mindset to this degree. At least not until yesterday. Her statement wasn’t able to completely sink into my consciousness yet... But this gray twi’lek was actually thousands of years old. She was that old and still had the body of a kid. Come to think of it, how is that exactly possible? She was saying that her body is thirteen years old... only her mind is older?


    A strange thought appeared in my mind, that made me really uncomfortable. With my research in the jedi library, I spent hundreds of hours there, reading through ancient documents. Some were so old that it were actually written on paper. I mean actual paper, can you believe it? They were sealed inside glass tablets to save it from further oxidation and other types of degradation. Some of these ancient documents were dated from the time of the old republic, and even before that. They were not that well censored, more like not at all. Back then, the rank of a jedi padawan was taken much more seriously. You could have access to more dangerous and, therefore, more effective force techniques.


    This is how I managed to accidentally find the step-by-step description of a very effective Jar’Kai moving meditation technique that I have since then effectively integrated into my forms. Even my master had to acknowledge it when I showed it to him on a mission.


    What bothered me, however, was not this technique, but a vague description of a Sith technique that had the power to potentially transfer one’s soul into a different body. Stealing it from the original host and elongating one’s life to a technically unlimited length.


    It sounded bad, but I couldn’t quite imagine Nizzal to commit such a blasphemous act.


    I glanced towards the twi’lek girl, who was still struggling with her emotions.


    I sighed, dropping the thought for now. I grabbed my friend by her wrist and pulled her behind a nearby furniture, using it as an impromptu barricade in case we got some company.


    I stared towards the balcony, hoping that the shuttle which was supposedly coming for us was not another grim joke of that weird droid.


    While waiting for the ship, my thoughts seemed to wander back to their previous trail.


    Moving meditation techniques were quite rare, as they were the first step to learning battle trance. Which is a really special technique, very effective and very hard to master. As a jedi, or jedi padawan, you are naturally dependent on the force. This dependency varies from your emotional state among others, just like your state of mind, tiredness, and many other factors which are constantly changing. Mastering at least one type of battle trance is the first mission that is issued for every newly knighted Jedi Guardian. Guardians are the official fighters and defenders of the order and, in extension, the entire republic. There are also two other paths you can choose from. One is the Jedi Consular, and the other is the Jedi Sentinel.


    In simple terms, the guardians were mostly focused on utilizing lightsaber combat. The consulars are mostly prioritizing the use of the force and civilized communication. While the sentinels were somewhere between the two. Also, the sentinels are known for their unusual techniques and abilities like hacking, picking locks, picking pockets if needed, first aid, and any possible useful skill of basically any variety.


    Anyway, a battle trance is a technique that forces your mind into an ideal state to rely on the force’s intuitions completely. What is even better is that you can enter into a battle trance quickly. Okay... only if you master the technique to a certain level, but still! When you succeed in doing it properly, it feels like an actual cheat. I had managed to learn it well enough to enter a battle trance in two minutes. I can keep it up for about five minutes, and that means five minutes of near invincibility in any battle or duel.


    The technique boosts the user’s sense of danger to an incredibly high level. It’s almost as if you can see into the future for a few seconds ahead. It is also very precise. I can sense clearly where the attack is aimed at and how I need to move to intercept or avoid it with the slightest effort. My mind, at least, can sense it. True mastery over the technique means that your body can keep up with your mind, and you also have to prioritize which danger or attack to block or dodge first. Someone who is good at dueling will attack two or more different spots simultaneously. Or create combos that flow from one attack to the other. Those are extremely hard to interpret and defend against it continuously. Anakin told me that the best defense against such type of battle trance is to use your own against it. That way, it will turn into a battle of attrition. The one who makes the first mistake loses.


    That, or simply be quicker than your enemy so much, that they fail to keep up with you, easy for him to say...


    Whatever, if there is a need, I could keep up the technique for about twelve minutes. Sadly, that would tire me out so much that I wouldn’t be able to fight after that for hours. Leaving me entirely vulnerable to any remaining enemy. This is why I made my five-minute rule. Well, that and Master Obi-Wan took his sweet time lecturing me on this after Anakin boasted to him about the new technique I picked up in the library. Completely missing the fact that I wasn’t actually allowed to use such a technique as a padawan, well, I didn’t know it either at that time. My master should probably still know such things, though.


    He is my master, after all…


    In the end, it was Obi’Wan who told me that the exact reason why it was hidden from the eyes of the padawans was that it gave the user a false sense of invincibility.


    Well, I was guilty... and busted.


    Inexperienced users many times became intoxicated from the feeling, which eventually led them to make stupid stunts or leave careless openings, only to end up in an early grave. This is why in the present times only proper jedi knights could access these types of techniques and masters, of course...


    They must have unintentionally overlooked the technique left in the ancient text, which were unlikely to be ever read by any padawans, much less nosy younglings. Unfortunately, they didn’t count with a certain togruta who had a change of heart regarding boring history books.


    I had already learned and memorized the technique by then, though. Since it was an accident, the council only lectured me lightly for about an hour before letting me go. They didn’t even forbid me to continue to practice it... probably they realized that it was a futile effort.


    ~oOo~


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    That was the moment when Equ alerted us to the presence of an incoming ship, which was quickly closing on our location. All of us rushed out to the balcony and watched as the ancient ship descended towards us until it could hover at the same level of the balcony while lowering its ramp.


    To our utmost surprise, a mandalorian woman was standing on the ramp.


    I sneaked a glance towards Nizzal. She didn’t seem to be surprised by the sight of a mandalorian woman appearing as part of our rescue team, so I decided to not bother about it either.


    Nizzal was the first to jump, she landed on the ramp with practiced ease. I decided to follow her crossing the short distance. Then my master levitated a panicked Equ over to the ramp, and at last he also jumped, landing next to us without a hitch. He gave a suspicious look to the mandalorian woman, as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end dropped it, for now.


    We walked further inside the ship in silence while following Nizzal’s lead. The mandalorian woman was the last in the line following us in a distance. We all could sense as the ship began to accelerate, but not to the extent that it would be able to leave the planet’s gravitational field.


    It was apparent that we were not leaving this planet yet.


    Master and I exchanged a thoughtful glance at the realization while continuing to stumble through the corridor, grasping onto the rails as the ship jerked and twisted with fresh bursts of accelerations.


    We eventually reached a more spacious room, just in time for the ship''s erratic movement to subside into a more docile pace, allowing us to sat down around a table, following Nizzal’s example. She seemed kind of drained since her emotional breakdown. I wasn’t surprised by that. The poor girl believed that she was going to die in unbelievable pain, only to be told that they forgot to notify her about the plan. Which was complete bullshit... What type of shithead would forget to tell her something like that?


    Her current expression was of someone who had just won the galactic lottery only to realize that she lost the ticket somewhere.


    Nizzal sighed loudly, leveling her stare at the mandalorian woman who walked into the room with measured steps.


    “The damn droid? Where is it?” — She demanded in a snarl.


    The woman scoffed, leaning against the wall not far beside the table. Clearly uncomfortable with the idea of sitting anywhere near the raging twi’lek.


    “He thought it more prudent to not welcome you personally.” — The woman answered in a teasing tone.


    “Of course it did... that little bastard...” — Nizzal mumbled to herself, before suddenly turning back to the armored woman. — “And who are you?”


    The woman chuckled heartily while playing with her blaster pistol, checking it over in the mechanical light of the room.


    “I am called Laora Tring. A member of the Grey Guards. We had the fortune to meet before, for a short time. I didn’t have my armor on back then, so I don’t blame you for not recognizing me. I am here to congratulate you on this joyous occasion.”


    Nizzal expression seemed confused, then it lightened with realization, followed by the appearance of a deeply etched frown.


    “... You are that shameless woman with that guy... who used my room for...” — She sighed again... — “This day keeps getting better and better... You are congratulating me? For what? To not die from slowly killing poisons which didn’t even exist? Thanks, I guess it really warms my hearth... Do you know what else would have felt good? If you would take your precious time to notify me about the fact that you and your friends removed the poison.”


    Said Nizzal, with thick sarcasm.


    “I understand your anger and rightful disappointment in us. Lord Thirteenth, but hear me out, and you will understand its necessity. I have confidante information that I was told to...“ — The woman started, but her words trailed off, followed by a meaningful glance towards me and Anakin. She didn’t want to speak in front of us, apparently. It annoyed me.


    Nizzal, catching onto the gesture, sighed and waved her concerns off.


    “You can say it... I trust them... They already know many of my secrets. One more wouldn’t make a difference, really.” — The girl admitted.


    There was a moment of uncertainty, followed by a heavy silence.


    “As you wish.” — The mandalorian woman eventually acknowledged Nizzy’s opinion and continued. — “You have been chosen by the Immortal Conclave to be the next Living Grandmaster. Your trials have been successful and the majority of the conclave members have accepted you as the next Living Grandmaster. Your initiation as the new Living Grandmaster will be held in the High Temple of the Order. It’s location I am not allowed to enclose in front of anyone who is not a member of the order. Therefore, I will not say it here. I also think that you should already know its exact location.”


    After that burst of information, a deathly silence descended on the room.


    Everyone looked at Nizzal with a certain level of suspicion while waiting for her reaction. Then she said with a confused expression.


    “What trials? What the hell are you talking about? Is this another shitty joke from HK? It’s done. I have already decided to melt him down. Is this supposed to be a distraction while I go on looking for this supposed initiation, he will get away again?”


    “No, absolutely not. Let me explain the trials you have taken, and you will see.“ — The woman, her name was Laora, if I remember correctly, stated in a firm voice.


    Nizzal was clearly uncertain and very suspicious about this whole ordeal. Still she sighed and nodded, finding no signs of deceit in the woman’s voice and force presence. — “Go ahead...“


    “There are seven of the so called Grandmaster Trials: Trial of Emotions, Trial of Lies, Trial of Silence, Trial of Vigilance, Trial of Blood, Trial of Servitude and Trial of Death.” — The woman explained in an elevated voice.


    “First is the Trial of Emotions: Because one should know to do the right thing, even if it pains thine heart.”


    “Second is the Trial of Lies: Sensing the lies behind good intentions is just as important as feeling the bloodlust behind your enemies’ blade.”


    “Third is the Trial of Silence: When one speaks, thou shouldst speak words that are worthier than silence itself.”


    “Forth one, Trial of Vigilance: Even the mightiest of warriors fall from the lack of caution.”


    “Fifth, Trial of Blood: Without the will to act, power and knowledge are meaningless.”


    “Sixth, Trial of Servitude: For those with great power to serve those who entrust it to thee, thine must.”


    “And the seventh is the Trial of Death: To accept one’s own death is to shred the influence of fear.”


    As Laora stopped her explanation, another wave of silence fell on the ship. It was broken by Nizzal this time, too.


    “You are actually serious?” — Nizzal asked, and the woman nodded solemnly towards her direction. The girl sighed, exasperated by everything she have heard. — “ I guess… It would be an uncharacteristically complicated lie, even from HK...”


    “Because it’s not a lie.” — Laora stated, frustration leaking into her voice for the first time.


    Not that the twi’lek seemed to care about it.


    “Then tell me, how did I pass the third? The trial of silence, was it?”


    “You didn’t share any crucial information that would risk the order’s future with anyone, even when threatened by the Jedi High Council.”


    Nizzal’s expression turned sour.


    “Well... that may have been true until now... Since you have shared quite a bit of information in front of them.“ — She snorted while pointing at me and Anakin.


    “You told me that you trusted them, so I decided to trust your judgment.“ — Laora said matter-of-factly, leaving the grey twi’lek speechless for a second or two.


    All of us exchanged silent glances in the growing awkwardness in the room, before Anakin chose to swiftly interrupt their banter, hoping to gain more knowledge of their order from this clearly more outspoken person.


    “So what is this Immortal Conclave?”


    “It is exactly what it sounds.” — Said Nizzal with an amused shake of her head to Anakin’s surprise. — “They are the dead masters of my order, who have managed, or more precisely, decided, to make the effort of regaining their consciousness after death. They are immortals, spirits of the force, if you like that description better. They are called the Immortal Conclave.”


    Anakin stared at the girl with an incredulous expression.


    “What are you talking about? How would anyone regain their consciousness after death? What kind of nonsense are you spewing, girl? That is obviously impossible!” — He stated, crossing his arms over his chest before continuing to elaborate further.


    “Everything we learned about the force states that all living beings return to the energy of the cosmic force after death... and believe me, I would know if there was something that suggests otherwise in the jedi archive. I looked into this topic, quite deeply, searched all the holocrons, that I could find.”


    Nizzal chuckled dismissivly.


    “I don’t care if you believe it or not, you asked a question, I gave you my answer. Do with it what you want. I must say, though, that the Jedi Order truly wandered far from its path, to even forget about this essential knowledge.” — She smirked and added in a tone reminiscent of Master Yoda. — “A pity it is.”


    I chuckled at the playful gesture, and couldn’t help but notice the small tug at the edge of my master’s lips.


    I decided to ask my own question in the moment of silence that ensued.


    “What did you mean, Laora, by saying that Nizzal would become the next Living Grandmaster?”


    “In our order, there are always two grandmasters at the same time. One from the living and one from the dead. This way, tradition which represents stagnation can exist in tandem with revolution, which represents change. The Last Living Grandmaster was Nizzals master, Joseph Grey, who passed away two years ago.” — The woman elaborated. Those words, however, seemed to confuse my friend more than anyone else.


    “Wait...” — She frowned deeply. — “How, how can that be? I don’t remember anything from this whole grandmaster thing?” — She said seriously. — “I should know about this, since I have his memories!” — Nizzal interrupted our conversation with a sudden spike of annoyance and suspicion.


    My eyes widened hearing the statement and attempting to absorb the implications. — “She has his memories? — I demanded. — “How would that happen and wait… all of them? Ew…” — I stuck my tongue out in disgust, as the possibility of having all of my memories leaked to someone else, or perhaps gaining all of my master’s memories, truly would mean.


    “That is waaay too embarrassing… I would literally die.” — I shouted in abhorrence, earning a glare and a faint blush from the exasperated twi’lek sitting at the other end of the table.


    “Well, on that account, you are not wrong little togruta.” — Laora stated with a laugh. Then she turned back to Nizzal to answer her previous question. — “The Grandmaster of the order knows a technique to manually change the archives information. It can only be used with both the grandmaster’s blessing and presence. It was simply changed or sealed away in the memories before you got them. You were not ready to have those memories at the time.”


    Anakin decided to ask another question after hearing that.


    “Changed memories? Before she got them? Are you saying that you can change people’s memories and share them between your members as you please?” — He was quite baffled by the idea, and the willingness to do something like that. — “Are you insane?”


    Laora looked at him with a catlike smirk.


    “Of course not. There are serious restrictions on doing something like that, manipulating the functions and structures of a mind is an extremely sensitive matter. One that could easily kill or maim a person if not done with the utmost care and precision.” — She stated.


    “I expected as much…” — Said Anakin, then stopped as he realized what she actually told him. — “Wait, you mean that you actually can do that?”


    “So, this is how Nizzal must have got her memories, making her mentally older in the process!” — I stated with a happy realization while bolting to a standing position in my excitement.


    That means she is actually just a thirteen-year-old girl, with a lot of memories, information pressed into her mind... but... aren’t memories what make up your personality? Isn’t that admitting that her personality had been completely changed by those new memories? They must have turned her into a different person... That is just cruel and inhuman...


    I plopped back down into my chair, earning a few curious glances from the people in the room.


    A memory of Nizzal from the short time that we served on the Venator came to my mind. The night when in her dream she was desperately crying for her lost master... Even back then, I noticed that her voice and choice of words were very different, more sufficient for her actual age. Yet I didn’t think much into it, thinking that it was only because she was dreaming... Now, it seems that was her actual personality... without all of those conscious memories weighing down on her psyche... This realization was both worrying and infuriating...