# Yunling

Аноним Metelskiy

Lech, after death, reincarnates in the body of a child on the Pzob. At the age of 4, he is taken to the Jedi Temple. Closer to the age of 12, the clone wars begin, and he tries to save the Younglings from Vader and Palpatine.

Chapter 1.

I realized myself six months after I was born. It was an unpleasant time, I remember. To begin with, I've never liked milk. Especially steamy, straight from, so to speak, the ... body. Warm..., br-r-R. Add to this the problems with vision, hearing, misunderstanding of the environment, the unusual size of others and the lack of any communication skills. Oh yes, I couldn't even go to the toilet properly. Taking a shit for yourself is... Mmm-fuck it, I shouldn't have remembered. On top of everything else, I also felt the emotions of my parents. At least it's just them. And considering that I hadn't noticed anything like this in my previous life and couldn't recognize anything, you can imagine the extent of my comfort. I couldn't even lie down and study the ceiling properly. It was only at night that he calmed down. Fortunately, over the years, this ability... dulled. What else can I say? Until about two or two and a half years old, my new body had only two emotions -laughter and crying. I've been talking to rodaks for a while.

But everything bad, as well as good, ends sooner or later. It's just that we don't always notice this transition. People, what can we take from us, like cockroaches, we adapt to everything. In short, my baby days are over. I won't say that everything has become awesome, but what is simpler is a fact. As soon as my body was strong enough, I started learning how to walk. Both laughter and sin. But in general, it's like riding a bike. Only longer.

"Come on, baby," my father said, holding my hands, "one leg, two legs."

Fuck you, big guy! What the fuck kind of legs? These are the kultyapki. Ku-l-tyap-ki!

"Come to me, my dear. Come to Mommy."

Wouldn't you rather come to me? Oh, damn, if it weren't for your emotions, I would have sent you far and for a long time. I had to train at night. In addition to not helping, these parental suckers were also very annoying.

Before I could see properly, I thought I was either in the past or in some other world of the Middle Ages - my parents wore too archaic clothes. Tunics, cloaks, and some kind of nondescript dresses. Our house didn't look like a modern one either-it was more like a hobbit hole of some kind. In my defense, I can say that it wasn't that often that I was taken outside the nursery. So it wasn't until I first came to our kitchen that I realized I was wrong. Where I heard the plumbing. The faucet was missing, bitch, and all I saw was the sink. But I heard the sound of running water, then no water. And then Dad bought some kind of washing machine for the kitchen. Actually, that's not all he did, but the first and only thing I saw at first was washing dishes.

I noticed more and more every day and month. There is an auto-cleaning wardrobe in the hallway. Not a washing machine, of course, but it will bring down the dust. The same washing machine built into the bathroom wall. Holes in the ceiling all over the house, it turns out, climate control. And what was going on in the garage.... A workbench with a bunch of incomprehensible tools, several robots of various configurations, and a car hanging in the fucking air. And the first time I got my hands on it was when I opened a strange closet in my parents' bedroom, which turned out to contain a weapon. Futuristic-looking, but undoubtedly a firearm. By the way, my father spent half a day tinkering with the gunsmith's case, and he couldn't figure out how I had opened it. He kept asking me how I did it. What about me? Not to mention the fact that I, a child who was not even three years old, lacked vocabulary, I also did not understand anything myself. He came up, tugged, tugged again, tugged frantically. Bang! And the closet opened.

And a couple of months later, a few days before my birthday, I found out where I was. At that time, our family was celebrating some kind of holiday, where ten people were invited, of whom I knew only two - my father's friend and his wife. Although I was overreacting about ten people. Three of them had nothing to do with the human race. So, the drum roll! They were a couple of Twi'leks, probably a family, and one Zabrak. And if I could have made a mistake with the last one, then who on Earth doesn't know Twi'leks? And having seen them together, I can say with confidence that I got into a very specific galaxy. Far, far away. After all this, the very recognizable word "Jedi" that came up in conversation didn't surprise me much. Tellingly, the entire group frowned at the mention of the Jedi.

I didn't realize what kind of ass I was in until the evening, when my parents put me to bed and I was able to collect my thoughts.

First of all, the Star Wars universe is filled to the brim with wars. And I'm not talking about some small-town wars, which simply cannot be counted, but about global, galactic wars. And it's terribly easy to get into the millstones of one of them. One war with the Yuuzhan Vong is worth it. Although it seems to be one of the bloodiest, I don't even know what time I'm in!

I really got it. My second problem is that I'm not a fan of "galaxy far, far away." I've always liked this universe, but not enough to understand it thoroughly. Imagine that you are reading a book from the Star Wars series, well, or a fanfiction. Your eyes have caught on the name of a race. But the book is not a movie, and you want to know what this race looks like. You go online, find some specialized website, and find out what you need. Sometimes follow the link and find out something else. Then another one. And then you drop it and go back to the book. So, I'm not a fan. I haven't read too many of those books. Not enough, to put it bluntly. However, there are also computer games.... But you must admit, you will not become a connoisseur of the universe in this way. True, I've always liked this topic, so I know a little more than the average person, but lying in bed now, being in a three-year-old body, feeling my new parents having fun in the company of three inhumans, I'm very clearly aware of how little this "little more" is.

At least I've always had an excellent memory. It's a pity that it's not perfect. I hope I got into a relatively peaceful time, otherwise I'm completely stitched up. Unfortunately, I even have problems with dates. For the only chronology that I know is "ABY" and "BBY", that is, after the Battle of Yavin and, accordingly, before. What if I got there before that battle? Then they have a completely different chronology here, and that's a freaking thirty-five to forty thousand years.

I'm also worried about my newfound empathy. Personally, I haven't decided yet whether I want to be a force user or not. On the one hand, it's cool, on the other, it's a pain in the ass. And that empathy is quite strange. Besides the fact that her power is fading every year, I also feel only my parents. It's unclear, however. Maybe I'm not a Jedi. That is, not a forcer. The Jedi are an order.

Oh, yes, it's also worth considering that this is still reality, and what I know may not match the "canon." Both in general and in small things.

Oh, Lech, Lech.... Well, you should have buckled up in that car, maybe you wouldn't have gotten into this mess.

A couple of months after I realized where I was, my father took me to the nearest mmm... a locality. Moreover, he took me on a two-seater speeder bike, a kind of analogue of the thing that Imperial stormtrooper scouts liked to ride. The name of the technique, by the way, is cool, have you noticed? For me, such things generally sound strange, I know that there is no Land with its English in the foreseeable future. And yet, here he is. However, I've come across words familiar from my past life quite often. And not only English, by the way. So I've given up on such coincidences for a long time.

My mother didn't want to let me go with my father. Not on a speeder bike. Even when he strapped me to my stomach, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't fall off, even then I resisted. Mothers... What else can I say.

Overall, I was on her side. It's not that I didn't want to go to the city, but the motorcycle I associated with that clunker didn't inspire confidence in me. I especially didn't trust the fact that I wasn't driving. Driver's syndrome, as they say. In my world, I was a racing driver. Shitty, yes, but nevertheless. And I started doing this because of my love of speed, which, although not passionate, was somehow present. And even the car accident that took my life into this universe didn't take away that love. Most likely... I don't know. But the rejection of another person behind the wheel of the car I'm driving has blossomed. I can tell you that now with all responsibility.

Oh well. My father argued with my mother, but no one asked me. My dad turned out to be a great biker and drove us to the city in about forty minutes. At an average speed of about two hundred kilometers per hour. Although I won't say anything here. For me personally, as expected, the trip was not pleasant, and all the time I spent on the road, I hoped that the city would be over that hill. Therefore, I would not be surprised if we reached our destination a little faster. Looking ahead a little, I would like to note that I was not much mistaken. Dad drove from us to the city in an average of thirty minutes.

The city itself... well... a locality, as I said at the beginning. There are only two houses above the ground floor, and there are not more than two hundred houses themselves.

That first time, my father came there to meet with an acquaintance and arrange for the supply of spare parts for the droids, which he repaired. He has a workshop in the backyard for this purpose. He made arrangements in a cantina, a half-bar, half-dining room. When I went there, I thought that, as in the cantinas of the canon, I would see a whole bunch of different races. It turned out to be in vain. Twi'leks and Zabraks, that's all I saw. Well, I didn't really want to. By the way, I can responsibly state that Twi'lek women are simply wonderful. I have rarely seen so much femininity and grace in my world. But their men, in my inexperienced opinion, were quite ugly on the face. And what do the poor things see in them? Although here, like any man, even in this body, I am still biased. But I can't say anything about the rejections. Here, as with people, there are beauties, there are freaks.

Overall, it turned out to be a pretty informative outing.

After that trip, my father started taking me to the workshop with him, telling me what was what. I didn't feel like studying, but that's exactly what it was all about. I wonder if there are institutes here? Well, or an academy other than the Jedi academy?

As a child, I grew up uncommunicative, at least that's what people around me said. And how can you, like, grow up sociable, huh? Of course, I didn't die an old man, but how do you want to behave in the body of a three-and-a-half-year-old child, but with the mind of a twenty-four-year-old guy? Fuck you again! Do I have to talk to my dad for the life of me? Or with your peers about the theory of the Dark Lords? Yes, and I saw those peers.... Actually, I've only seen it three times.

Traders come to our planet with an incomprehensible frequency, but my parents, and not only them, always know when this event will happen. And exactly one day before that, the whole crowd gathers and goes to hell, leaving us kids to one of the mothers. Moreover, women who have a child under the age of three do not participate in this lottery.

The first time I was in our hop group of teenagers, I was hanging out with some human woman I didn't know until that time. And she had nineteen of us underage terrorists, ranging in age from three to eight years old. I felt sorry for her, honestly, but there was nothing I could do to help. Except to sit quietly in a corner and not shine. I don't like children.

This is the second time I've been with a Twi'lek woman. And once again, I was convinced that the stories about the flexibility and coordination of their women's movements were not exaggerated. In front of my eyes, she managed to bend over and keep another one standing around the corner from falling. With her foot. No, I understand everything, no miracles, everything is within the limits of what, say, a trained gymnast can do. But fuck! She's just an ordinary housewife!

Well, this is the third time this kindergarten has come to us. When I found out about it... I felt so sorry for my mom... in short, I decided to look after my peers at least. And do you know what I realized? Little kids, they're like animals, they don't even have to fight. It is enough to stand in a spectacular pose, different in different situations, and put pressure on them with your eyes. In very rare cases, growling. And when the sister of one of the little ones, whom I had put in a corner, decided to defend the honor of the family, I "crushed" her too. An eight-year-old Twi'lek girl. And it turned out to be no easier than with her brother. Yeah. By the end of that meeting, I almost felt like a king. All the boys under the age of five and the girls under the age of eight, that is, all of them, obeyed me. The others tried not to get involved. And, if anything, they fulfilled my requests. And that day was, perhaps, the most "sociable" in my practice of communicating with peers.

Actually, what was I talking about anyway? I was almost sent to my uncle, my father's brother, who lives in the city and has four children. At first, they wanted to send me there for half a year. I started crying. Well, what else could I do? At my current age, I would not have been perceived any other way. Anyway, I started crying. And he amazed his parents so much that they immediately dropped the deadline to a month. It's almost the first time in my life that I've started crying. Being very young doesn't count, although even then, according to his parents, he wasn't a big fan of crying. After such a concrete surrender, I slowed down a little and just sobbed. But then suddenly my mother came over to my side, and all my father could get was two days a week. Which only lasted a month.

First, I began to portray universal sorrow at departure and the same universal joy at return. And secondly, I was reducing my communication with my parents every week. It turned out that their idea only made things worse. And they gave up. It's so easy to turn parents around, and I'm more than sure that all children do the same. It's not as thoughtful as I am, but it's somewhere around. And that's another reason why I don't like little gnawers.

By the way, the planet itself, on which I was born for the second time, is also interesting. However, not at first glance. A traveler who arrives here will see an ordinary agricultural planet, whose main income is food. Of both plant and animal origin. Everything is managed by the Council, which consists of thirty-eight of the richest and most influential inhabitants of the planet. Among them, by the way, is my father. Dad, as I eventually found out, is one of four, JUST four, technicians on the planet. Moreover, his first brother, the one who lives in the nearest city, is the second technician. And his youngest brother is engaged in the cultivation of cereals and rickrits, vicious-looking animals that are bred for their meat. However, I did not understand how the brothers were dealing with profit sharing. Either the father is in charge of ONE enterprise, or each of them has a share in the brother's enterprise. But if that's the case, then Daddy has a lot to share, because he doesn't hesitate to give orders to his younger brothers.

The planet itself is located at the junction of the Outer Rim and the Wild Territories. On the one hand, it's cool. There is a huge chance that no one will pay attention to this planet. I mean, the Palpatines and the Yuuzhan Vong. So if I want to live a calm, measured life, it's better to keep my head down from here. On the other hand, the planet does not actually fall under the jurisdiction of the Republic, and it is far from it, and if pirates or slavers descend here, its inhabitants will have a hard time. However, from the remarks of my parents, I realized that EVERYONE has a weapon here. And who will have a worse time: innocent victims or malicious aggressors, that's another question.

In general, at first glance, the planet is quite mediocre. But there is something here that sets her apart from the others. I found out about it a couple of months before my fourth birthday. At that time, I was sitting with my uncle, the one who lives in the city, and was waiting for my father to return, who was meeting with one of the local owners of his own ship. By the way, there are only eight such people on the planet. And yes, they are members of the Council. Well, I'm sitting and waiting, and then a joyful and practically glowing father bursts into the courtyard of the house. And the first person he saw was me, perched on a bench by the door of the house.

"Rain, baby!" He flew up to me. "Your dad is very, well, just very happy!"

After that, I was picked up and slightly thrown up. And again. And more. Dad was interrupted by his brother, whom, for once, I was glad to see. He's actually not a bad guy, but he has kids. Fucking backbiters. And if they were older, I wouldn't have any complaints about them either. And since my uncle and his children were still inseparable for me, I was usually not happy to see the man either.

"If you drop your son in joy, what will you tell your wife later?" he greeted his father in this way.

"Ha! Why would I drop baby Rain? No way." But he let me down to earth anyway.

"Come on, share the good news. What's the matter with you?"

"Gaari returned home today."

"Oh, so he's back," Uncle said with a grin. Even I knew who my father was going to meet.

"He managed to get her, Ram" said the father, turning on the second brightness level.

"Her?"

"The pearl of the krayt dragon!"

"That's it," Ram nodded."An idiot's dream has come true. I won't even ask about the price."

"Two hundred and thirteen thousand!" My father exclaimed joyfully. "Green!"

And he picked me up in his arms and threw me up again.

"Ugh, at you. If a miracle happened and you sold your collection...."

"Yeas I"...

"A miracle! I repeat - mi-ra-cle. If you did that, you'd be rich by a few million."

"Besides, we're not in trouble as it is," my father waved him off.

"That's right," Uncle nodded. "What if you went into economics and left the hardware to me..."

"Oh, don't start."

"The Dakari family could become the richest on the planet," Ram concluded. As usual, they don't take me for a full-fledged person. And I'm not offended. Four years in total. Will be soon.

"Am I coping? I'm coping. Are our families thriving? They are thriving. So let's not talk about it."

"You know, unlike you, I'm JUST a technician." Uncle began to speak in such a tone, as if he had already made this speech hundreds of times. "and our youngest generally only thinks about his little animals. But if..."

"You're going to get something in your eye right now," my father said, smiling. Holding me in his arms at the same time.

"Uh..." my uncle interrupted. "Your wife will kill you. Consider this."

"What?" Dad was surprised, and then he looked at me. - ar-ar-ar. No, you don't have to worry. I have a strong son. You, Rain, the main thing is to turn around and hit this uncle with your head in the eye. Okay?"

So what could I say to that?

"Yeah"

After all, the Dakari brothers are very friendly. And this is without any irony.

About an hour later, after saying goodbye to Ram and his family, my father and I went home. All the way I was thinking about how to approach my father with my questions, because my curiosity was at its limit. I wasn't going to ask him anything on the way, but maybe he'd take his mind off the road and mention his name, but no one bothered me figuring out how I'd start a conversation. If my body were older, I'd ask you straight out, but I'm only four, almost... Anyway, I decided to play it safe. Even though I knew it was all bullshit. Don't think I'm being paranoid. I just got here with my adult consciousness and just couldn't take everything for granted. And that's why I was afraid to blurt out something wrong.... Eh, it's hard to explain. Oh well.

Arriving home, my father put the speederbike in the garage and, picking me up, was about to go inside, but halfway there he froze for a couple of seconds. He looked back at the speeder bike, at the door leading into the house, and shook his head:

"And why not? I'll have to show you that sometime. Okay, baby, let's go tell Mom that we're fine, and I'll show you something interesting."

We found Sana Dakari, my mother, in the kitchen, where she was pouring juice into glasses.

"Hi, darling," her father kissed her in the ear. "Look, baby, what a wonderful mom we have. The men have just returned home, and this wonderful drink is already waiting for them."

Then he sat me down on a chair and pushed one of the glasses towards me.

"Tell me, man, how was your meeting?" The woman said with a smile. "Wonderful! New supplies for droids, new seeds, and even a bag of Jedi wheat."

"Wow. Did you make it? I didn't believe it."

"That's something else," he said conspiratorially. "After all these years, I finally became the owner of the krayt pearl!" He exclaimed at the end.

And the mother smiled. Sincerely. I could feel her joy and just a little bit of pride. But not the joy that you feel when you receive something you have long desired, as, for example, your father has now, but the joy that you feel for a loved one, rejoicing with him. Feeling the pleasure that HE rejoices. How lucky they were to have met each other.

"You finally got her," she said, smiling. "What color is it?"

"Green. Come on, I'll show you!"

"Finish the juice first, hurry up."

"That's what I already am."

After these words, my father drank the contents of the glass in one fell swoop, and my mother shook her head and nodded at me. At that moment, knowing my father, and fearing that I would be left here, I tried to finish my portion. But because of my age, I couldn't physically drink everything in one gulp, as a father. Besides, my glass was twice as big as my father's and mother's.

"Take your time, honey, we're not going anywhere without you," The woman said, smiling.

My father took the bag out of the trunk of the speeder bike like some kind of treasure. And in the same way, but already from the bag, he took out a small metal container. And with what a face he opened this very container...

The pearl itself did not impress me. A translucent green ball the size of a tangerine, the center of which was pale green, almost white in color, and veins of the same color stretched to the edges from the center. I knew intellectually that this was a rare and expensive piece, but I had seen similar jewelry in my world.

"That's something else," Dad said. "That's when I sharpen it, like the Jedi do, that's when it will be truly beautiful."

Two hundred and thirteen thousand. My dad's speeder bike costs one and a half grand. New. And he wants to "sharpen" this thing? Isn't he afraid to break it?

"Won't you break it?" Mom voiced my thoughts.

"Me? No way. I'm not going to do it manually." he explained to his mother. Who raised an eyebrow skeptically. "It will even cost more after that."

"How do you know how the Jedi sharpen them?" the mother did not give up.

"I saw it," his father muttered. "Back when I was a youngling."

What!? Yongling? They're like the kids they teach at the Jedi Academy. Was my father a Yongling? In the tin. So maybe he's a Jedi? Damn, how should I ask. I'm not supposed to know anything about it.

"Yongling?" I finally blurted it out.

"These are gifted children, son, who are trained at the main Jedi temple on Coruscant."

"Is Dad a Jedi?" I asked a new question. Which made my father sigh sadly.

"No, baby. I never got to learn to be a Jedi. He was too weak, so he left."

Awesome. Is it possible to leave from there?

"Dad is strong," I said as confidently as I could.

"Ha ha ha. Of course, son. Your dad is the strongest dad in the galaxy." He patted me on the head. And his sadness was fading before his eyes. "Let's go," he said, putting the pearl in the container, "I'll show you my collection. It looks like," he grinned, "you're not very impressed with this one."

"Okay," Mom said with a smile, "you go, and I'll go cook dinner. Come back in an hour."

"Whatever you say, dear," he kissed his wife.

There was a workshop in my father's backyard. A barn is not a barn, a hangar is not a hangar. In short, something big and tinny. But we didn't go to the workshop, but behind it. About ten meters from the building, there was a boulder lying on the ground, which dad approached.

"Look carefully, son. You see this notch, you click here and... oop." A disguised console opens. "You enter the code... Even though you won't remember it the first time... Oh well, look carefully anyway." He slowly dialed ten digits and looked at me: "Don't worry, you'll learn it later." Oh, you shouldn't have done that, Father. I have a really good memory. After he pressed "enter", something clicked a meter away from us, and my father went to this place and lifted the hatch merging with the ground. "Well, come here." Grabbing me by the armpits and putting me on his neck, Dad started to go downstairs. "Hold on tight, son," he said, "if you fall, Mom will burn me out."

When we got down, we found ourselves in a two-by-two-meter room, directly opposite a metal door and another console. However, this time she was more sophisticated. After lowering my mortal carcass to the ground and taking my hand, my father went to the door.

"And now, baby, we'll add your details to the list of those who can enter here. Come on, put your finger here." Putting my finger where it was pointed, I felt this place heating up, and then it also stung sharply. "You see, it doesn't hurt at all. Now, look here," He said, picking me up and holding me up to the glowing blue lens. A flash, and I'm back on earth. "Well done, son, you're a real man. Dakari!" The father said with pride. Apparently, he thought I was going to throw a tantrum here - first my finger stings, then it blinds... "And now another code... which you don't need... right. Now remember. We'll learn it later, though." And ten more digits. "That's it, you can come in."

The space that opened up to me outside the door wasn't that big. It's about ten by five meters. And the wall opposite the door was a huge glazed shelf, which was decorated with a lot of colorful stones. At first glance, some were defined as crystals, and some could not be called anything other than cobblestones. There was even something that looked vaguely like ginseng root.

"That's my pride!" Dad stuck out his chest. "I've been collecting these crystals ever since I ran away from the academy. Four hundred and eighteen crystals for the lightsaber. Most of them are common, often found cheap, but there are also quite rare specimens here." Looks like Dad needs new ears. "Look at this," He said, going up to the glass and pointing at one of the stones with his finger, "Sawdust." It is mined in the asteroid field of the Fith system. Increases the cutting properties of the sword. It was relatively easy to get it. And here," he pointed to another stone, "is the Nextor. Originally from the planet M"khaeli. I won't say exactly what it does, but I've been wandering around the planet for three months trying to buy it from someone. As a result, I won it in sabacc. Although I'll tell you a secret, I don't know how to play cards at all. It was probably the most successful game of my life. Or here," another stone "This handsome blue one is called upari. Found in the orbit of forest worlds, it gives a lot of advantages to a lightsaber. However, small ones. I got this one from Kashyyyk. I just bought them from a local merchant, they use them as jewelry. I gave away twenty thousand for a little bastard. Yeah.... Almost every crystal in this collection has its own story. Both general and my personal. For example, because of this red crystal, which is very rare, your dad, baby, had to lead three Jedi by the nose for two months. Because quicksoni is a very powerful crystal that increases the power of the dark side. I am generally silent about its uniqueness. I got it for free, but on the black market such a stone will cost five thousand five hundred. Although, as for me, the price is still too high. This one," he pointed to a milky-white stone, "is secreted by a huge earthworm living on one of the planets of an Unexplored Territory. If you only knew what it cost me to get it.... I almost started looking for the planet itself. The Sigil," He pointed to a pale pink pebble. "An extremely powerful crystal that increases the power of the sword. And I'd rather keep quiet about the price. I still don't feel right."

By the way, I remember something about sigil. I think I met someone in the game. Well, yes, exactly. He was there, and he was really increasing the damage. But listen to my father, and all these precautions with the bunker become clear. If he's not lying, and I doubt it, there are a few more crystals here than his brother said. While I was looking at the stones, thinking about the great things at the same time, dad opened the shelf and put a pearl in one of the few empty places.

"This pearl, baby," he said, admiring it, "can only be extracted from the stomach of a krayt dragon. A rare, huge and very dangerous animal that lives in the Tatooine desert. The black pearl is considered the most valuable, but it will be a miracle to get it. Especially without leaving our planet. By the way," he continued, "there is also a cave of crystals on our small island. I just don't know what they give to the gifted. Here they are, by the way," he waved his hand somewhere to the right. "From the very edge, if you're interested."

Awesome! The cave of crystals? Here?! Well, wow. After my father's words, I suddenly really wanted to look at this place. Very well. Nothing like that, just curiosity. This is the fucking crystal cave of the Star Wars universe! Ah-аh-аh, and fuck that fucking age. We'll have to wait.

"Are you interested, kid?" My father asked, looking at me. I still didn't go to see the crystals, and after my father's words about the cave, I just stood there, staring at him. And when he asked about the interest, he nodded very quickly. To which he laughed good-naturedly:

"Don't nod so fast, baby, or your head will fly off. So be it, I'll take you there. I'm going to go that way one of these days to get ore, why not make a little detour for the sake of my boy," At the last words, Dad started hugging me like I was a stuffed animal. However, for the sake of this, I am ready to endure these bullying without words.

We went to the cave, or rather to get the ore that my father uses in alloys, a day later. Mom walked around with such a face, as if we were going to war, and in response, I showed with all the methods available to me how I was looking forward to this trip. As a result, my mother remained silent. And by the end, she was no longer upset, but annoyed.

However, when they put me in the car and strapped me in, a thought flashed through my head - or maybe it was him, but the thought flashed only once and very quickly. After all, this was a cave of crystals! Damn, to get into this world and not look at such a cave? Yes, it can be done later, but curiosity is gnawing at the moment. What if I'm a forsyuser myself and I smell my crystal there? At least, that's how I think the Jedi find them. I can't say for sure, but there seems to be something going on in my head. If I'm right.... No, I don't want to be a Jedi, and neither do I want to be a Sith, and I'm doing well on this planet, but I'm a force user, a gifted One... or whatever they're called here... in general, I want to pull objects with the power of thought. It's such a small thing, I hope I can learn on my own. I don't even need great power, it's enough that I'll be different from others. And how can you turn around with this force?... Here on the Pzob, I mean. One problem is that one of the Jedi, Obi-wan, I think, said that there are billions of living beings in the Galaxy, but there are only a few thousand Jedi. The chance of me being force-sensitive is one in several billion. Pretty bleak odds, you'll agree. Even if the Jedi find only a small fraction of such children, still, one in several million is not a very good chance, if you are optimistic. For the first hour of the trip, Dad, without stopping, told the cases from his life, how he mined this or that crystal. It was interrupted only when we passed the serpentine, and a picturesque valley stretched out on our right.

"The Talar Valley," my father said. "That's where the crystal cave is located, but we'll look there on the way back. First, we'll collect cortosis ores. Metal is fragile, but in some places it is very necessary. But if we turn west at the nearest fork, we can get to the lommite deposits. Durasteel and transparent steel are made from it. It's not as expensive an ore as cortosis, but it's also awesome. Pzob is generally rich in all kinds of ores. One day, our family will save enough money to be able to start mining all of this. First, what's cheaper, so that they don't get crushed right away, and then, as we turn around, the most expensive. Like the same cortosis. And when we become big people by the standards of the Galaxy, we'll take care of the nearest asteroid belt," my father dreamed, while I was blown away. "My father, your grandfather, also found phryquite and tydirium deposits there. And that, kid, is just a lot of money."

Dad gives it to me. Yes, he has Napoleonic plans, as I see it. And I don't even mind at all-he only has one heir. And even if I get a couple of brothers, it doesn't matter, I'll still be the eldest.... Hell, no. It's a real problem. That's two bullies on my head.

And the heir to all this, baby, will be you. So look at me, not philony. Diligently learn everything that you will be taught. When you turn thirteen, we will send you to the University of Alderaan. The pleasure is not cheap, but it's worth it. Although I personally would have sent you to Coruscant, but the trouble is, Mom was against it. You see, there are too many criminals, seduction and perverts.... Okay, though, I agree with her on that. But they teach technical sciences better there.

And my father, as I see it, doesn't really need an interlocutor. Look how he broke up. However, no matter what he says, I'm all for it. I'll see the world and gain knowledge.

We reached the place only half an hour after that conversation. My father spent an hour digging in the ground, choosing cobblestones, and then another forty minutes driving to the cave, and finally, here it is - the purpose of my visit!

The Talar crystal cave wasn't that big. I imagined her... Well, maybe more. There were actually four caves connected by branches. And if you want to, you won't get lost. But it's beautiful. The walls of the cave were dotted with multicolored, already transparent crystals, and this was in an unprocessed form. And when my father turned on the second lamp.... In short, it looked really amazing. But I didn't feel any call. I spent an hour wandering around there, and at least that. I wonder if the Jedi cave is as small as that? Although, of course, not what I mean. She would have been robbed thousands of years ago.

Overall, it turned out to be a fun trip. Informative, interesting, and frustrating. I can't even begin to say how much my chances of becoming a force user have decreased. And two months later, I turned four years old.

Yeah.... It turned out to be a glorious holiday. However, due to my young age, it's more likely not from me, but from my parents. They invited twenty-two people to my fourth birthday party... that is, intelligent ones, including several Zabraks and Twi'leks. That's apart from their children. It was on that day that I saw my father's youngest brother for the first time. And his children, by the way. Two boys of six years old. And it turns out that I was the youngest among the Dakari children. Even Rama's youngest son, who was also four years old, celebrated his birthday six months ago.

By the way, gifts were given not only to me, but also to my parents. And yes, they were given. I mean, there was a tradition of birthday gifts in this Galaxy. Maybe not everywhere, I don't know, but I've been here. Right now, the last donor is coming up to me, who turned out to be Galil, my father's youngest brother. He was holding a plastic box about fifty centimeters in his hands, and he squatted down in front of me.

"Well, The nephew," he said, smiling broadly, "it's my turn. "Look what I have."

With these words, the uncle opened the box. And when I looked into it, I realized that even a cynical loser like me can still be touched. There was an animal in the box that looked like a kitten. But instead of fur, his body was covered with small scales. Curled up in a ball, the animal slept, ignoring the noise and hubbub in the courtyard of the house where the holiday was celebrated.

"It's a Khasi gratt," Galil said. "Pick it up and bring it to your face. You should be the first person he sees when he wakes up."

Taking the kitten in his arms, he brought it to his face, but Galil then moved a little to the side. Gratt, disturbed by the movement of his body, began to wake up, blinking and wrinkling his muzzle. And when he blinked, the first thing he saw were my eyes. And so, believe it or not, but after that, I felt like a soft paw was touching my brain. Not something ephemeral called the mind or consciousness, but specifically the brain under the skull. Nothing unpleasant, just unusual. It lasted for about a minute, after which the animal made something similar to a meow, but only similar. Rather, he even meowed and purred at the same time.

"Well," Galil came up, "now you won't have a more reliable friend than this Gratt. He will not betray, will not leave, will always support and share his joy. Take care of him and remember that these animals are very smart. I've written your parents care instructions, so ask them more often how best to take care of him.

Against the background of the various toys that were given to me here, this gift clearly stood out. As I later found out, gratt was not something amazing and rare, their kittens were quite easy to tame. A rare drug was a drug that tied gratt's cubs to their master on a mental level. But I found out later, and now I was looking at the kitten curled up in my arms, who decided to continue his sleep, and I was touched. Never in my second life have I seen such sweetness. I was especially touched by the way he tried to get comfortable in my arms. The gratt was small, but my hands of a four-year-old child were not very big either.

"And also, baby," my uncle added, "don't stray too far from him in the next month. Nothing like that, but it will be unpleasant for the kitten."

Oh, in my opinion, Uncle, there's something you're not telling me. Maybe the binding might get lost or something? I may not have known about the drug at the time, but what happened, plus the many fantasy books I read back in my home world, allowed me to draw a very definite conclusion. Oh well. In principle, it's not difficult for me.

In general, the holiday was undoubtedly a success. And I certainly remember it. If only because I had to sit for two hours surrounded by kids who, if they had their way, would have torn the kitten apart. And the next day, after the guests had gone home, my father boasted about a brand-new crystal given by one of the guests.

I gave my gift the nickname Bane, and for the next two months I carried it everywhere with me. Even though my uncle was talking about a month, I decided to be safe. My father called me to the workshop more and more often when he was busy with orders. We even went down to the Talar cave with him once more. Where I felt nothing again. And a couple of months later, two Jedi knocked on our door. I was in his workshop with my father at that moment, and when my pale mother came in, I felt very clearly her fear and hopelessness, turning into longing.

"The Jedi," was all she said in response to her father's worried look. And for once, I've watched a man turn pale before my eyes.

And also these emotions.... I was very scared then. Canon is canon, but when people whose love you feel every day are so scared of two Jedi, it means something. It's better for you not to know how many things I managed to invent for myself then.

Work, of course, stopped. I was picked up by my mother and carried to my room, and my father apparently went to meet the Jedi. Mom didn't stay with me either. A few words that everything is fine and I have to sit in my room, a kiss on the cheek, and now I'm alone. I had enough patience for about thirty minutes, which I tried to kill with the help of Bane, but I couldn't relax. So, after telling him my mother's words, I quietly slipped out of the room. The parents were in the living room with the Jedi, and they had no intention of muffling their voices.

"... The politics of the Order," I heard an unfamiliar voice say. "Approved by the Republic, by the way. Either he becomes a Jedi, or he is cut off from the Force. By the way, I didn't notice any negative emotions in my voice. But they've been admonishing their parents for half an hour.

"After that, he turns into an emotional cripple," the father replied. "With a good chance of going crazy."

"That's why no one likes to do it. Understand that neither the Order nor the Republic can afford to ignore the gifted. Statistics show that only two out of ten such people do not plunge into darkness. The power will wake up in him sooner or later, I can already feel it, and then he will have a lot of temptations, slowly but surely plunging him into the abyss of Darkness. I'm not talking about accidents. What will you do when he gets angry and uses his instincts to vent his rage on others? You're adults, you should understand that children sometimes just don't understand when they're being mean. Are you ready to take responsibility for the death and injury of local children? Wielding Power is a difficult task and a great responsibility. I'm not talking specifically about your son right now, but if there's at least one child out of a hundred... out of a thousand of those whom we will miss, he will fall into the Darkness and gain enough strength, he can bring untold troubles. And we can't let that happen.

"If your beloved Republic had not reduced its army and navy, you would not have to be so afraid of the appearance of new dark lords."

"The Order is outside politics. It's their decision, and we're doing our best."

It seems that my father is losing ground. Well... from what I've heard, they almost tell him in plain text that if I'm not given to the Order, uncles from the Republic will come to them and drag me by force to a place where my access to power will be blocked. Or maybe not from the Republic. I mean, they'll come straight from the order.

On the one hand, they can be understood. There is no navy, there is no army. One dark lord can gather a lot of power, and then start a war of annihilation. On the other hand... It kind of smells rotten. It is easier for the Republic to search for and take away their children's parents than to maintain a fleet, the money for which can be put in their own pocket. So, by and large, parents have no choice. Either they take me to the Order, or an incomprehensible ritual with incomprehensible, but, judging by my father's words, unpleasant consequences.

The next ten minutes showed that the conversation, in principle, goes in a circle. Both the parents and the Jedi have the same arguments, said in different words. So after listening to the Jedi talk for the third time about how dangerous it is to leave a gifted child unattended, I went to my room. Looks like it's time to pack up.

The guests left only two hours later, after which my parents tried in every possible way to show me that everything was fine. Except even Bane didn't believe them. He ran after me and meowed sadly from time to time. The animal feels that everything is not good. My parents informed me that I was going to the center of the Galaxy only in the morning, and the faded faces and circles under my eyes said that they had not had an easy night.

"Can I take Bane with me?" I asked my father when he dumped the news on me.

"I doubt it, kid. You'll probably have to leave it at home," He replied with a sad smile. "But don't worry, we'll take care of this highwayman", He stroked my head. And mom, sobbing, ran away towards the kitchen.

If it were an ordinary child in my place, he would probably be crying by now. Even I was terribly uneasy. And what was going on in the parents' soul right now.... Actually, I felt very well what was on their minds.

"Will I be a Jedi?" I asked, hanging my head.

"If you want to, son. You can leave the Order, I tell you that from my own experience. But you'll have to study there for a while."

"I'll be back," I nodded. "Dakari do not abandon their own."

"Right. And we'll be waiting for you, son. No matter what happens, no matter how long it takes. You must remember, this is your home, where they will be waiting for you. And love," He hugged me. "Always."

The rest of the day was a blur. If it weren't for empathy, maybe it would have been easier for me, but it was getting more and more frustrating every hour. My mother was especially zealous in this regard. All I could do was try not to show how bad I felt.

We were supposed to go to the city in the early morning. I could hear my mom crying all night, and that was despite Bane's crying. I can't interpret the sounds he made any other way. That's another crybaby on my head. I don't even need to imagine what it was like for my father there, I felt it anyway. I spent half the day trying to calm my mother down, but the trouble was, as soon as I mentioned that I would be back, she started sobbing and very quickly went to her room, from where she only came out after about twenty minutes. So it was difficult to immediately determine which of us did not get enough sleep in the morning.

After breakfast, we went to the garage, where I was given to my mother. Who didn't want to let me out of her arms for fifteen minutes. And when I finally let go, my father came up to me.

"We have collected the necessary things for you." He said, squatting down. "But I want to give you something personally. With these words, he showed me an oblong plastic cylinder, which he had been holding in his hands all this time. I do not know if you will need it, but if anything, you can sell them. In the Order, the situation with money for Younglings is not very good. And then.... In general, here," He finished by opening the cylinder.

It contained crystals for a lightsaber. Four exhibits from my father's collection.

"This," he touched the crystal on the far right, "The Lorrdian gem. Inserted into the hilt of the sword, it helps to anticipate the enemy's movement. That's what they say, anyway. It's also said to help deflect blaster fire. This," He pointed to the next crystal, "Kasha. Helps to clear the mind. It can be very useful in battle. And this stone you should remember is the pearl of the krayt dragon. It helps to increase the beam power of the light blade without consuming extra energy. And the last one is Luxum. Adds an ionic effect to the blade. I think it would be perfect against droids. What to do with them," he said, closing the cylinder, "will be explained to you at the academy. I would give you more, but a lightsaber and crystals for it are such an individual thing... I wish you could use these. But if anything, feel free to sell, I allow it. Just do it through mentors, please. It will be much more difficult to cheat them." I don't want them to screw me over. "And don't be afraid of anything," he patted me on the head. "No matter how I feel about the Order, they won't cheat you with crystals."

Does he read minds?

But now we're finally on our way. For half an hour, during which the father did not utter a word. We didn't stop anywhere in the city, we went straight to the spaceport. Although I would probably be careful not to call this place by such a word out loud. It was just three large concrete pads, and one of them was currently holding the Jedi ship we were staying next to.

"Barloz," my father said, stopping not far from the ship. "They got a good car."

I didn't know what it was good for. But it looked like this vessel... It's not presentable. In length... About forty meters, I can't say for sure. As well as the shape, it's hard to determine from my angle, but it looks like a kind of projectile with a cockpit tip and a huge antenna above it.

Less than five minutes later, a Jedi emerged from the ship. The man is a man in his thirties. In a traditional Jedi robe.

"Here you go, son," my father handed me a small backpack. "The academy will provide you with everything you need, but here your mother has saved for you..." He pushed through the lump in his throat. "lunch. And a container with crystals." Then he took out a leather belt and, sitting down next to me, tightened it on my belt. "To grow," he noted. "There are three anonymized chips with a certain amount in their pockets. Spend wisely, son." My God, doesn't he realize that he's saying this to a four-year-old kid? No, he understands everything. But he can't do anything.

"I'll be back, Father," I said for the umpteenth time. But now I didn't stop there. "After all, I am your heir. Dakari. You'll be proud of me... When I get back. Just take care of Bane. And tell Mom, as soon as I get the chance, I'll leave them."

I had to keep my voice down with each word, because the Jedi was approaching, albeit slowly, probably allowing us to say goodbye.

"We'll be waiting, son," Dad hugged me. After that, he got up and squinted at the man who came up. That's why so many people hate you," he said harshly.

"Let them," the Jedi replied. "If only there was someone to hate."

My father handed me over to the man and patted the top of my head.

"Don't embarrass the Dakari family there, kid."

After leading me through the entire ship, the Jedi led me to a small room with two rows of chairs and a holographic projector. Probably something like a mess hall or a meeting room. Where he left it, warning that we were taking off soon. It looks like they were just waiting for me. Five minutes later, I felt a slight hum, which, however, soon stopped.

The Jedi returned when I was almost asleep. I won't say that he was gone for a long time, but a sleepless night for my young body was still a noticeable challenge. His padawan came into the mess with him, and in my opinion, a guy of about fifteen or sixteen couldn't have been anyone else.

"Well, let's get acquainted. And then I'll show you where you're going to live for the next few days. So," He rubbed his palms together. "My name is Kor Chuu-tal. I'm a thirty-year-old Jedi knight, and unfortunately, I'm the one who took you away from your parents. I'm sorry, man, but neither your father nor I could have done anything else. You'll figure it out when you're older. And this young man is my padawan. A student, to put it simply. His name is Danil Sak, and despite his sullen appearance, he's a kind guy. Now let's go and show you your cabin, and then Danil will take a couple of tests from you. But don't worry," he smiled, "it doesn't hurt at all. And if you want, he'll give you a tour of the ship later." After these words, the guy sighed. But he didn't say anything. "He'll show you where everything is. Well, let's go?"

The cabin was small. Three by three meters, to be exact. I'm fine with my childish body, but I have no idea how adults live here for weeks. When Danil took my blood with the help of some kind of device similar to a pistol, I asked the question:

"why" - and received the same simple answer:

"to measure the level of midi-chlorians in the blood."

And then I asked a slightly more tricky question:

"why"?

The guy thought about it and said,

"That's the way it's supposed to be. Preliminary tests before a full examination at the Academy."

I wanted to ask my question again, but I felt sorry for the guy - how would he know why to do the same job twice? But it became clear that this was not the curiosity of individual Jedi.

"Will you tell me... well... this...?" I asked another question, and hesitated.

"Test results?" He clarified. And after my nod, he shrugged his shoulders: "If you want. It's not a secret."

Great job. I was afraid I'd have to be curious. Although, remembering the canon, when Skywalker Sr. measured the level of these midi-Chlorians, Obi-Wan, being only a padawan at the time, quite clearly indicated that there were more of them than Yoda. That is, he had some knowledge in this regard. However, there are many nuances here. Take for example the fact that I do not know what era it is now. Maybe a hundred or two hundred years before that incident, the Jedi kept such information secret. I wish I knew what time I was in. I know that it's the year 969 of the ARR, after the Ruusan reform, but that doesn't mean anything to me at all. I'm not lying, he says. This year means that I got there before the Uprising and the New Republic. That means before the Yuuzhan Vong, who carved out a third of the galaxy. Or a quarter? In general, it doesn't matter. And the worst part is that I don't know anything about that war. Almost. According to the canon, I've watched movies, animated series... a couple of seasons... I scrolled through it... I've read a few books about that period.... If you think about it, there are also a lot of things, but these were links on the Internet, the information was not visually supported. For me, it's like statistics - I read it, I forgot. If the Power allows you to stimulate my memory, everything is great, if not, I can only hope that I am far enough away from those events in time.

What else can I say about the flight? The tour of the ship was boring. At least, they didn't show me anything interesting. Except maybe the bridge. Or what do they call it here? The cockpit? Oh yes, they also told me how many midi-chlorians I have in my blood, or rather in every cell. Drum roll... 19361. When asked if this was a lot, I was told: "above the standard." So understand it as you want. Well, at least higher, and that's okay. I wouldn't be upset by "lower" either-it's easier to leave the Order that way.

I was extremely happy that we finally reached our destination. Doing nothing for more than three weeks can make an adult lose his temper, but despite my consciousness, I am physically a child, and biochemistry requires action. When asked to teach me something, they put me in a cabin and gave me a lecture on meditation. I was afraid to ask them to teach me anything else. Although, what could be scarier than meditation? In general, I was glad to arrive on Coruscant. Let's start quickly, let's finish quickly. I'll get through the training as soon as possible, I'll go home as soon as possible. The main thing is not to stand out and get away from the teacher. At the Academy, if my memory serves me correctly, yunling goes without a teacher... I don't remember what it's called, but in short, he becomes a farmer. Or something like that. There seem to be several departments. But I don't know how they become padawans. Either the Council chooses them, or the knights choose them themselves.... Nonsense, I have more than one year of study ahead of me, but I'll know about that for sure. You can ask the same Danil, but I, in theory, don't know about anything at all, but here are such questions. Mm-hmm... After all, the age of four has more cons than pros.

The Jedi Temple was impressive, especially looking at it from above, from the glider. Not as much as the city as a whole, but yes, there was something about it. When I saw him, I thought the Jedi were just being greedy. Probably, when they were given a place in the capital, they didn't have enough space for anything serious, but they didn't want to give back the extra square meters either. So they built... a house. One, but a huge one. And they called it a temple. What's the temple for, I just can't figure it out. And yet, when we flew up to this building, I thought about those dozens... hundreds of bullies that I'll have to live with for the next ten years. Lord, save and preserve!