Saga First Impressions (OCs, Plo Koon, Serra Keto, Cin Drallig, canon, EU) novella

Title: First Impressions
Author: Atarumaster88
Timeframe: 2 years before AOTC
Characters: OCs, Serra Keto, Plo Koon, Cin Drallig
Genre: Humor, Drama, Canon, EU
Summary: A day in the training of Jedi Padawan Selusda Kraen doesn't go nearly as well as he would like, or at least not according to his first impressions.
Notes: This is a prequel novella to the novel I've posted on TF.N, Force Exile I: Fugitive
Disclaimer: All things Star Wars are property of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, Ltd. I do my utmost to avoid conflicting with the official universe they?ve dreamed up.

More information on this Force Exile work, including behind the scenes information, can be found at its page on SWF.

FYI: I am relatively new here. Apologies if I ask a stupid question in spite of reading all those welcome pages and FAQs or do something differently than usual-that's my Wookieepedia background coming in. That said, I have delusions of grandeur and would love to submit as much Force Exile related content to the Fanfic Archive as much as possible if it's good enough. If you find yourself really into this story, I could really use a couple beta readers.

Dramatis Personae

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[b]Galactic Republic[/b]
Cin Drallig, Jedi Master
Ylenic It'kla, Jedi Master
Bairdon Jace, Jedi Padawan
Plo Koon, Jedi Master
Selusda Kraen, Jedi Padawan
Serra Keto, Jedi Padawan
Skip, Jedi Padawan
Aubrie Wyn, Jedi Padawan

[b]Foreward[/b]
[hr]
[i]Welcome, my friend, to a galaxy far, far away. Enter the realm of Jedi and bounty hunters, soldiers and droids, rulers and beggars, aliens and humans. From to Stackpole?s Corellians to Traviss's Mandalorians, immerse yourself in a universe with the exotica of Zahn, the wit of Allston, the grimness of Stover, the daring of Ostrander, the imagery of Luceno, the detail of Wallace, and most importantly, the vision of George Lucas, to whom we owe it all. And if you listen close enough, you?ll hear the sweet sounds of John Williams? score in the background.

Welcome to[/i] Star Wars.

[b]Excerpt[/b]
[hr]
[i]The cup rattled just a bit, sliding almost imperceptibly across the table. The water inside sloshed around as it was moved by invisible hands, the meniscus bobbing frantically with the motion. A few meters away from the table, a lanky teenage boy of fifteen years stood, his eyes closed, his right hand outstretched and trembling with exertion. His name was Selusda Kraen, though he usually went by Selu, and he was a Jedi Padawan, as denoted by his plain tan tunic and the long braid extending from his otherwise close-cropped black hair down across his shoulder. Though he was in no way touching the cup of water, it continued to vibrate and then lifted off the table to float twenty centimeters above the hard gray ceramic surface, joining two other cups that were floating there, suspended in thin air by the power of the Force.

The young man stood there silently, gritting his teeth as his brow furrowed with exertion. He had been standing that way for the past couple minutes. There were three cups in the air now, all hovering perfectly still, and three more that remained on the table. The teenager?s right index finger twitched, and the base of the fourth cup started subtly shifting as he sought to extend his mind?s reach around it and lift it, too, off the surface of the table. He had once lifted five into the air, and now, today, he would strive to hoist six into the air telekinetically. If the Force was with him.

[/i]

 

The cup rattled just a bit, sliding almost imperceptibly across the table. The water inside sloshed around as it was moved by invisible hands, the meniscus bobbing frantically with the motion. A few meters away from the table, a lanky teenage boy of fifteen years stood, his eyes closed, his right hand outstretched and trembling with exertion. His name was Selusda Kraen, though he usually went by Selu, and he was a Jedi Padawan, as denoted by his plain tan tunic and the long braid extending from his otherwise close-cropped black hair down across his shoulder. Though he was in no way touching the cup of water, it continued to vibrate and then lifted off the table to float twenty centimeters above the hard gray ceramic surface, joining two other cups that were floating there, suspended in thin air by the power of the Force.

The young man stood there silently, gritting his teeth as his brow furrowed with exertion. He had been standing that way for the past couple of minutes. There were three cups in the air now, all hovering perfectly still, and three more that remained on the table. The teenager?s right index finger twitched, and the base of the fourth cup started subtly shifting as he sought to extend his mind?s reach around it and lift it, too, off the surface of the table. He had once lifted five into the air, and now, today, he would strive to hoist six into the air telekinetically. If the Force was with him.

And then the light, tinkling sound of female giggling resonated across the small practice room where he?d been straining to control the water cups. Selu?s concentration vanished like a group of younglings caught out of their dormitory by a Jedi Master after hours. All three cups of water tumbled out of the air to clatter into a landing on the table and floor as he lost his mental grip on them, spilling water everywhere. None of the cups broke-the Jedi Order had been far too prescient to place easily breakable objects in a place filled with younglings who could move objects with their minds.

?Blast!? Selu burst out, his eyes darting towards the source of the laughter.

As it turned out, that source was one rather well-known to him. A lithe female human about his age, also wearing the familiar tan-and-brown tunic and leggings of a Jedi Padawan, was standing at the entrance of the room. Her hair, shiny, mostly straight and as black as midnight, was fairly short, coming down to her neck, except for her own Padawan braid, which was tucked behind her back to lie against her shoulder blade. There was mirth in her blue eyes as she surveyed the sight before her.

?Nicely done, Selu,? she said with a wry grin. ?I think Master Yoda was looking for someone to mop these floors as an exercise. He?ll certainly thank you for volunteering.?

Selu muttered something incomprehensible under his breath as he stooped down to pick up the fallen cups of water. Serra Keto was in his lightsaber class-and by class, he meant the physical group of students, as she outclassed him and most of the other students in nearly every way when it came to handling a blade. Some people, Selu thought jealously, had everything handed to them on an aurodium platter. Based on his first impressions of her, Serra was certainly one of them and she knew it. Furthermore, adding to his consternation with the trim young Padawan, Selu thought she was the prettiest girl he?d ever laid eyes on. However, he quickly damped down on all those emotions, releasing his control on the Force. Merely having those thoughts was bad-having Serra sense his emotions would compound his error a hundredfold.

However, Selu?s introspection had the unintended side effect of diverting his attention from the task at hand-a bad choice given his situation and particularly his audience. As he leaned forward to pick up a cup rolling around just out of his reach, it happened. His Jedi senses gave him a quick precognitive indication of what would happen, but his wandering mind could not react nearly fast enough-he had much to learn in that regard, it seemed. Even as h

 

Yay, thanks for informing me about this. Looks like another interesting story. Keep up the good work, Atarumaster. I would like to know what happens next =)