238036032-Star-Wars-A-New-Dawn-by-John-Jackson-Miller

10 John Jackson Miller
“Await orders.” Caleb gazed at the floor, and then up at her. “What
if orders never come? I won’t know what to do.”
“Maybe you will.”
“Maybe I won’t.”
She watched him, thoughtful. “All right, maybe you won’t. But anything
is possible,” she said, putting her arm on his shoulder as the door
opened. “Perhaps the answer will come to you in another form.”
Caleb didn’t know what that meant. But then it was Master Billaba’s
way to speak in riddles, and, as always, he forgot about them as soon as
he stepped out onto the floor where the young Jedi trained. On any
given day, room after room would see the mightiest warriors in the galaxy
teaching the next generation in lightsaber combat, acrobatics, handto-
hand fighting— even starship piloting, using simulators. Every
discipline imaginable where a kinship with the mystical Force, the energy
field all Jedi drew upon for strength, could come in handy.
And those he saw were just a tiny fraction of the Jedi Order, which
had outposts and operatives throughout the known galaxy. True, the
Galactic Republic was at war now with the Separatists, but the Jedi had
thwarted threats for a thousand generations. How could anyone or anything
challenge them?
Caleb arrived in front of a room where his classmates were already at
work, sparring with wooden staffs. One of his regular dueling partners,
a red- skinned humanoid boy, met him in the doorway, training weapon
in hand. He had also attended the lecture. “Welcome, Young Master
Serious,” he said, smirking. “What was all that back there with Master
Kenobi?”
“Forget it,” Caleb said, pushing past him into the room and reaching
for his own training weapon. “It’s nothing.”
“But wait!” The other boy’s free hand shot up into the air, mimicking
Caleb’s questioning. “Ooh! Ooh! Call on me!”
“Yeah, you’re going to want to focus, buddy, because I’m going to
whip your tail.” Caleb smiled and went to work.