Draj Matterburn

Draj stood up from his chair, wiping food from his mouth. "Rest seems like a good idea, master" Draj walked out of the room slowly, his legs still sore from the three-day meditation. He took a two-hour shower, both because the water felt nice and because his thick fur was hard to clean, drying it afterward took 30 minutes. Draj decided it would be best to get some sleep before arriving at Coruscant. He dropped flat on his bed and immediately fell asleep.

Draj had many questions, too many to ask one at a time. After devouring half of his meal, which was several times larger than Dashel's, a large group of question came out before Dashel could answer the first one. "I felt energy, all around, I could almost make out the shape of the room just by feeling it, I'm guessing that's the Force. How long did the meditation take? My perception of time was one of the first things I pushed out of my head. How can I clear my mind faster, new thoughts appeared almost as fast as I could push them out. Has any other padawan fainted after feeling the force for the first time, because it does feel slightly embarrassing?"

Draj sat there for a long time, not a word coming from his mouth. First came the thought of his home planet Kashyyyk, a huge forest with the sound of many animals, as he pushed it away his ears blocked out all sound, all he could hear was silence. Then came the thought of space, completely silent, as he pushed it he pushed it away from the silence stopped. He saw dark and pushed it away, he saw light and did the same. He saw animals and pushed them away, he saw droids and pushed them away. This continued for an unknown amount of time, pushing out opposite from his mind. He heard no sound, yet it was not silent, he saw no light, but was not in the dark, he saw nothing, he was more relaxed than he had ever been. He at that moment he began to feel energy, flowing through his body. He noticed another source of energy, much stronger than Draj's, he somehow knew it was Master Dashel. He felt a thin layer of energy all around them, the walls, and he felt a small amount of energy, an object hovering over Dashel's left shoulder. This all happened within the span of a second, then thoughts flooded back into his mind like a wave, shocking all his senses. His eyes shot open and he gasped for air as his body fell limp on the ground. Then he passed out.

After thinking for a few seconds about what would be the best way to respond to the question he finally spoke, "Master Kirlocca began training me on the mindset of a Jedi, more specifically, the Jedi and Sith code. He explained the various parts of the Jedi code to me. He has not taught me anything about using the force. I assume learning how to utilize the force will come after learning about the Jedi, Sith, and the force in general."

As the ship exited hyperspace, Draj began running diagnostics to make sure nothing had been damaged. After the tests were done he spoke "Master Illioni, all systems are functional and nothing is damaged."

Draj did not like the idea if Master Kirlocca travelling to a planet that had been attacked by the Sith on his own. If anything happened to Kirlocca, Draj would blame himself for not insisting on going. But, what could he do if they did end up fighting a Sith, he would not be of much help. Finally, after thinking about it for a moment he decided, he would be better able to help Kirlocca and the Jedi if he got some training than if he got himself killed. Draj finally spoke, "Very well, it would be the smart thing to do"

Draj, who had been quiet throughout the whole conversation finally spoke. "When will we leave for Carida, master? The more we wait, the more people will die; but, we can't rush in without analysing the situation. What could the Sith want on Carida anyways, do they plan to take over the planet, or is their target more specific? Perhaps the are looking to assassinate a target, or destroy a facility." Draj couldn't think about what it would be like to face off against a sith. He had no Jedi combat training, and fighting a sith with a blaster would probably not end well. Was he afraid, or simply cautious, was there even a difference between the two?

Draj slowly opened his eyes and took a few seconds to contemplate the majesticness of the temple. "The code makes a lot more sense now, but, master, I still don't understand why the Sith Code is considered evil" Draj stood up and stretched, how long had he been out? Everything looked much cleaner that when he had closed his eyes. Draj just stood there, trying to wonder what had happened while he was being taught about the code.

Draj brought his furry hand up to his chin and looked upwards. After a few seconds, he responded. "Well, when I first found out about my gift, I was skeptical about coming to the Jedi. I have never liked the idea of being part of a large group or organization. From what I researched being a Jedi seemed like being part of a strict religion. I have also had a look at the Jedi and Sith code, and, as I interpreted it, the Sith code did not seem inherently evil. It simply promoted self-improvement, while on the other hand, the Jedi code seemed to me like it discourages self-improvement. It also seemed to me like Jedi discourage dissenting ideas, and are not fond of people who don't view the teachings of the Sith as bad. This is how it seemed from my research. So my options were good people with ideas I partly disagree with, or bad people with ideas a slightly agree with. I could have tried to find a teacher who was neither Jedi nor Sith, but it would take a long time to find one. My goal is to bring peace to the galaxy and help people, so I decided that the Jedi order was the place for me to go, even if my viewpoint is different from the Jedi, we have the same goal. That is my answer."

"I found the power cell, master" Draj said as he walked past Kirlocca and up to the comms unit. He inspected it for a few minutes, then turned again towards the other Wookie. "That unit is in bad shape, it will most likely last us two months, three if we are lucky. I could fix it if I had the parts and the tools. Parts should be easy enough to craft from salvage, what I need is the tools. I think I left my omnitool back at my ship, on Tython, if I had one I could fix it in a few weeks. I could do it without one one, but I would need more time and pre-made parts, I can't make the parts out of scrap with my bare hands."

Draj took out his grappling hook, just in case. What could be at the end of the corridor? "Welp, only one way to find out" Draj walked slowly, his right hand held the grapple hook, aiming it in front of him, the other hand feeling along the wall. He took every step with caution, who knows what traps could lay here. The corridor became a room. He looked around the room, then, for some reason, he felt an urge to turn around. He did and spotted something very familiar, a power cell. Draj walked over to and picked up the power cell. It was not the most common model, but he had worked with some like it before. He put away his grapple hook, the place seemed safe enough, and hurried back to where Kirlocca and him went different ways. Draj quickly walked down the north east passage into which Kirlocca had disappeared.

"And that training will lead to more questions. I'm noticing a pattern here" Said Draj as he followed Kirlocca. They were getting closer to their destination.

Draj turned to Kirlocca. "What now, master?"

The Jedi Council, Draj had always wondered how powerful the council was, both in the force and in politics. He hurried after Kirlocca, this is sure to prove very interesting, and he was planning to look at every detail.

Draj closed his eyes and focused, 3 images flashed through his mind. The first, the trees of Kashyyyk, surrounded by nature. The second, the skyscrapers of Coruscant, surrounded by technology. And the final one, an underwater Gungan city, balance between technology and nature. His mind began to wander. Balance, balance, balance. Between light and dark, technology and nature, the blade and the handle of a sword, the voltage of a non-lethal knockout shock of electricity. "Balance," Draj said softly "Corsucant, too artificial; Kashyyyk, too primitive; Naboo is the place that calls to me. A gungan city, to be prescise." Draj opened his eyes