#elliot dedrin

[nawilla]

Fic Excerpt: Elliot discusses the spiritual aspects of saber crystals with young Obi-Wan.

This is an excerpt from my story about young Obi-Wan learning to build his first lightsaber.  Elliot (Master L) is his instructor who is mentoring him.

* * *

“Close up your hatch and let’s put it in the safety box.”

“Okay.”  Obi-Wan gave his stone a last longing look before he snapped the hatch into place and locked it down, feeling the seal along the edges lock in.  The stone was just the slightest bit quieter inside the hilt, but he could still hear it.

“It’s still singing,” he told Master L, surprised.

“Ah, did you think it would stop?” he asked kindly.

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I thought I might not be able to hear it through the metal, or it might be lonely in there or not sense me anymore.”

“You have a bond with your stone, Obi-Wan,” Master L reassured him.  “Putting it in the hilt you built for it will strengthen your bond, not weaken it.”  

Obi-Wan was solemn for a moment.  “If I make a mistake or break it or lose my saber, will it die?”

Elliot put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye.  Moosie could remember so many lives and how they had ended that he never feared death itself and what came after.  But Obi-Wan wasn’t Moosie.  Not on this plane anyway.

“We don’t know. The stones are not technically alive, but they do have a Force presence.  They communicate with us, they seem to have a spirit or soul of some sort which remains, even if we cut and polish them.  It’s kind of like hive insects, where the individual is part of a larger whole. A single forager bee dies every day, but the soul of the hive remains. Even the queen may die, but the hive nurtures a new queen and the whole lives on, growing and changing through the years, but often with no new endings or beginnings.  The stones can be like that, when we look at crystals that were once part of the same rock or even from the same vein, collected at different times.  That is probably why Knight Jerrold had tourmalines in different lightsabers that could sing together.  They were probably all from the same vein, part of the same group.  He probably can’t knowingly sense that, but he hears them calling and he’s one of their knights.  So, if you should lose your stone, you will lose the bond you had with it, but the whole is not lost, and you may bond easily with its kin.  Is the spirit the same or a sibling spirit?  I don’t know.  But I think the energy goes back out into the universe to bring that quality to other stones, somewhere else or something else.”

The boy considered this.  “So, there is no death, not because it isn’t alive, but because it doesn’t have to stay the stone as it is now?”

“We are taught that Jedi return to the Force when we die, as do all living things.  I don’t know what happens to our lost stones, but I think eventually they do too.”

“Thank you for the lesson, Master L.”

“You’re welcome.”  

[nawilla]

Fic Excerpt: Elliot teaches Obi-Wan how to listen to the lightsaber crystals

“Thank you for the lesson, Master L.”  Obi-Wan smiled up at him.  “That was fun.”

“It was,” Elliot agreed.  “Let’s see who else is in.”  He peeked in the window of the next consultation room, then tapped on the glass.  The stone reader waved them in, and Elliot gave the introductions.  This stone reader was a male Miralan and was consulting with a young padawan that Obi-Wan almost mistook for a human until she turned to face them and her antennapalps popped up, revealing her to be a Balosan teen.

“Good afternoon, Master Ell,” the stone reader smiled at them while the padawan bowed her head politely to the master.  “Is this Initiate Kenobi?”

“It is,” Elliot confirmed.  “Knight Senneren, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Obi-Wan, this is Knight Senneren.  He is a stone reader and a geologist.”

The boy bowed politely.

Senneren turned to his consult.  “Padawan Nardran, Master Ell is bringing Initiate Kenobi around to teach him about stone reading.  Is it alright if they sit in on your consultation?”

Padawan Nardran looked a bit puzzled but nodded her consent.  “Well, it’s okay with me, but to be perfectly honest I don’t know if I should be consulting a stone reader, a weaponsmith or a seer.  Or a psychiatrist.”

“Well, you lucked out and have two out of four now.  Master Ell is an excellent weaponsmith.”

“I know,” Nardran smiled shyly, then grimaced.  “I feel like something is wrong with my lightsaber, or my stone, but I’ve checked it over top to bottom, inside and out, and I can’t figure out what it is.” The girl sighed.  “It might not a problem with the stone itself, but there was a longer wait time for a weaponsmith consult, so I took the first opening I could in case it was stone problem.”

“Well, that worked out well then.”  Senneren nodded and placed a hand on the hilt, feeling for the stone.  “Hmm, something feels off, but the stone feels okay.”

“I know,” the padawan huffed in frustration.  “Whenever I go to turn it on, I get a warning from the Force, but nothing happens when I turn it on in the safety box.  It turns on just fine.  It turns off just fine, it makes a beam just fine, but it still feels wrong in the Force.”

“Hmm, how old in your power supply?  Sometimes other components wearing out can make sabers dangerous, not just broken or misaligned stones.”  Elliot reached over to feel the stone himself, frowning.  “Is this an aquamarine?” he asked as he began to open the access hatch.

“Yes, Master.  I’ve never had a problem with it before.  Did it develop a flaw?”  

Elliot caught Senneren’s eye.  “I don’t think so.”  He disconnected the power supply for safety, then placed the hilt in front of the boy. “What do you sense, Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan looked up at him, wide-eyed, but got right to work, feeling the stone while the padawan looked on, a bit disturbed.

“It feels like a nice stone.”  Obi-Wan peered at it, very focused.  “It sounds funny, but not like a flaw or the rumbly stones.”

“When did the problem start?” Master Ell asked.  

“It was a few days ago, after my midterm exams.”  

“Is that when it started, or is that when you noticed it?”

“Um,” Nardran grimaced.  “That is definitely when I noticed.  I wasn’t using my saber during midterms.”

Obi-Wan was still listening to the stone, trying to figure out what was wrong.

“When did you use it last?” Senneren asked.  “Did you make any changes or repairs?”

Padawan Nardran frowned, trying to remember.  “My master and I came back from a mission before midterms.  I did the usual maintenance.  I cleaned my saber, inside and out, but I didn’t fix or change anything.”

“Did you wash your stone?” Master L asked.

“Yes,” Nardran nodded. “I keep it clean.”

“So, it was working fine before you took the stone out and cleaned it?”

“Yes.  I didn’t do anything differently.  I used all the usual cleaner and rinse solutions.  Not tap water.  Nothing that weird happened on the mission.  There was a little dust inside, but I never dropped it.  Not on the ground, not in water.”

Obi-Wan quietly gasped, eyes going wide.

Elliot shared a knowing look with Senneren, who swallowed a laugh.

“Did you figure out the problem, Obi-Wan?” Elliot asked.

“Um,” Obi-Wan looked at the older padawan warily.  

“It’s alright Obi-Wan. Tell me what you sense.”  Elliot put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, sending him reassurance in through their bond.  Moosie would have just spit it out immediately.

“Um,” Obi-Wan glanced back at Nardran again, then leaned close to Master L, whispering.  “Master L, the stone is backwards.”

Elliot and Senneren shared a pleased look while Nardran stared at the boy, incredulous.

“What?” she asked.

“You put your stone in backward by accident after you cleaned it,” Elliot explained.  

“But it ignited,” Nardran protested.  “It’s not supposed to work backwards.”

“It isn’t,” Elliot agreed.  “Aquamarines are classified as unidirectional, but in truth they are partially bidirectional. There is an orientation that works very well, and the opposite orientation works, hmm, pretty good.  If your stone is big enough and you stick it in backwards, it will ignite instead of exploding, but it has a tendency to slowly overheat, or a hard blow can knock it too far out of alignment, and then it will blow up.  That’s why you were sensing danger from it, even though it was still igniting.”  He picked up the saber and took out the stone. It was very symmetrical.  “It’s a very common mistake,” Elliot assured her. “And it’s very common in aquamarines.” He glanced at Obi-Wan.  “Good ear, Obi-Wan.”  He held up the gem.  “You’ll probably want to mark your stone so you can tell the sides apart more easily. Senneren can do that for you so it’s visible but won’t interfere with the beam.  After it’s marked, put it in the safety box and check it with the oscilloscope.  If you ignite aquamarines blades backward, they can sometimes vibrate in the clamps, which can loosen or bend them, so you may need to make adjustments.”  

Nardran watched, still incredulous, as Master Dedrin flipped the stone around and put it back into the saber.  She put her hand over the stone as he held out the hilt.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Nardran was stunned.  She looked to Senneren.  “Did you know it was backward?”

“No,” the knight admitted.  “I specialize in stones and their properties, and cuts more than weaponsmithing, but its still the first thing we check for in aquamarines and similar stones because of their incomplete bidirectionality.”

“And you could tell?” she asked Obi-Wan.

“It was singing wrong,” Obi-Wan explained.  “But it wasn’t broken.  It took me a while to figure out why.”

“Spend some time meditating with your stone after you fix the clamps,” Master L advised.  “You were probably worried about midterms and were distracted when you put your stone back in and then didn’t get back to it for a while.  It wasn’t an issue until you tried to light it, so you didn’t sense it until you were ready to use it again.  Strengthen your stone bond.  It will be good for you.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Come on,” Senneren took up the hilt and led her to the polishing table.  “Let’s mark the side that is supposed to face you when you open the hatch.”

“That will help,” Nardran agreed.

Master L glanced at Obi-Wan.  “Ready to try one more?”

“Yes, Master L.” He looked at the knight and the padawan. “Thank you for teaching me, and letting me watch.”

“Thank you for joining us, Little Stone Reader,” Knight Senneren nodded at him as the boy and Elliot stood up to leave.  Obi-Wan grinned and ducked his head at the nickname as they left.  

Nardran waited until the door closed behind them.  “Do other Jedi really put their own stones in backwards?”  

Senneren snorted. “All. The. Time.”

[nawilla]

Fic Excerpt: Elliot arranges extra lessons for Obi-Wan

Master Elliot has arranged for extra enrichment for Obi-Wan, but the boy isn’t sure why.  Docent Moot (the teaching assistant) clears that up.

* * *

“Good work, Obi-Wan. Put away your work when you’re done. I’ll come back around at the end of class to give you the next lesson.”

“Yes, Master L.” The boy beamed at the praise.  

“Be good for Master Ell, Obi-Wan,” Moot warned as he began helping Elliot wrap up the class.

“I will.”

Moot knelt down to look over his schematic.  “I know you will, Obi-Wan,” he said quietly.  “I have to say that to all the initiates to make sure I have properly communicated expectations.”

Obi-Wan glanced at Bruck and Aalto, then looked away.  “You might need to say that louder to some of us.”

To the surprise of both of them, Moot snorted, trying to smother a laugh.  “Oh, I know.”  He was audibly struggling to keep a straight face.  He took a look around to make sure they weren’t overheard as he composed himself. “I just wanted to let you know you’re doing very well in this class, and I’m pretty sure that’s why Master Ell wants you to stay late.”

Obi-Wan looked uncertain a moment.  “Is Master Della going to be upset that I missed her class?”

Moot was suddenly glad he had taken the time to straighten this out.  

“Master Della thinks it a great idea and wants to hear all about what you learned the next time you see her.”

“Oh,” Obi-Wan nodded solemnly.  “Okay.”

“Obi-Wan, don’t be nervous.  This is a good thing, not a bad thing.  Master Della knows you try very hard.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “There is no try, Docent Moot.”

It was easy to forget sometimes that for all the expectations put on them, and all the powers they had, the initiates were still just children.  “There is a try, Obi-Wan.  Sometimes Do Not just means it’s time to try something else instead.  You are doing well with your stone and your weapon design.  Go with Master Ell and see if what he has to teach you comes easier to you than the Living Force stuff.  If it does, then great, you learned something new.  And if it doesn’t, it just means you’ll try again later.”

“Okay,” Obi-Wan nodded again, but he sounded less nervous.  “I hope it goes better than it usually does.”

“Me too.”  Moot patted his shoulder as he stood up and went over to corral Bruck and Aalto.  Obi-Wan stared after him in surprise.  He couldn’t remember Docent Moot ever doing that to him before.  The other kids, yes, but not him.

He hoped that meant he really was doing well in this class.

[nawilla]

Fic Excerpt: Elliot and Simet have tea

Elliot has gone to visit his best friend Simet after they have been avoiding each other for a while, offering to tune up his lightsaber, which Simet no longer has the dexterity to do himself.  Both are facing growing old and infirm (and are in their late eighties and retired from official duties).

* * *

“Hi . . .”  The tone was so surprised it was almost a question.

“Hello, Simet.” Elliot’s grin was genuine, touched his old friend’s obvious concern.  “I had some time this afternoon and thought you might want your lightsabers tuned.”

Simet blinked at him, uncharacteristically uncertain.  “There isn’t something else you would rather be doing with your time?” Or someone else you’d rather be spending it with?

“No.”  Elliot just smiled back at his friend, trying not to wonder how long he had known and what else he could sense.  “May I come in?”

“Yes, of course.” Simet backed up and let Elliot in. “Would you like some possibly terrible tea?” he asked as he took Elliot’s robe and hung it up, then followed him to the workbench and hurriedly removed the plants that had taken up residence since he had lost the ability to maintain his own weapons effectively.

“How terrible is terrible?” Elliot asked as he sat down and opened his toolkit.

“Hmm,” Simed held up his shaking hand, mulling it over. “It will be sloppily prepared and presented, but it’s still looseleaf.  I haven’t resorted to tea bags. Yet.”  

“With or without len root?” Elliot asked as Simet brought over his saber.  It was clean, but the polish was uneven as Simet had lost the dexterity necessary to clean the hard-to-reach places.  

“You are the guest, that is your choice.”  Simet stepped into the kitchen and soon returned with several tins of tea.  “I also have black breakfast tea if you were so inclined, like some people I know.”

Elliot snorted, knowing Simet meant Yoda and that too much caffeine made his friend’s tremor worse.

“The stonefruit and chamomile.  I don’t want to up all night.”

Simet nodded and took the tea back to the kitchen.  Elliot could hear a few thumps and bangs as the tea was prepared with less than Simet’s usual grace and more than a little telekinesis, but he seemed to be doing okay on his own.  He turned his attention back to the saber, feeling it carefully with the Force.  One of the brackets was starting to wear out and should be replaced before it caused the stone to shift and compromised the perfect harmony between the stones.  The power supply could also stand to be replaced.  Not that Simet expected to be using it a lot.  It might very well not be turned on again for anything more than a check before they were both ash in the pyre and the historians were preparing Simet’s plaque.  It certainlyq wouldn’t do to have a Kanu harmonized saber carried by a Battlemaster in less than optimal condition when the time came.  Leila or Noughty could probably get it into optimal alignment if push came to shove, but the less to fix later the better.

Elliot opened the casing and stopped dead at the feel and sound of the stones.  It felt like Simet, this was his lightsaber, it had been for decades, but Force, it still felt like Moosie on the inside.  Simet had been neither a stone-reader nor a weaponsmith specialist, but he had always been exceptionally good at picking his own stones and able to hear nuance in stones he had communed with.  He had an affinity for sapphires in general, as opposed to a specific color family as was the case for most Jedi.  This had surprised the masters and utterly perplexed the docents when they were children, and it had resulted in him using personal weapons with a variety of different colored blades.  It also led to rumors that if one strayed too far from the Jedi path, Old Master Silvanus would challenge you to a duel and would take your saber away when you lost.  Which was technically true given his earlier career exploits, but it didn’t tend to happen in the salle, and he had his own blades to use, thank you very much.

[nawilla]

Fic Excerpt: Yoda and Elliot talk over dinner

Yoda and Elliot are having dinner.  Elliot has been recently diagnosed with a serious chronic illness.  Simet is Yoda's former padawan and Elliot's best friend from childhood.  Elliot and Simet are a too old to be taking padawans (which is why Yoda is teasing about it) and Simet suffers from depression

“Hmm, a good argument that was, but so sure you are.”

Elliot looked confused as he felt Yoda scan him in the Force.

“Aha!”  Yoda poked a clawed finger in Elliot’s direction. “Knew I did that something different was!  A new training bond you have!”

Elliot looked a bit embarrassed.  “It formed spontaneously.”

“Hee hee!”  Yoda looked positively gleeful.  “Looking for a new padawan you are?”

Elliot rolled his eyes.  “At my age, no.  You go take that nonsense to Simet.  We both know he’s not as old as he pretends to be.”

“Eh, on the short list he still is, but looking at other options first I am.”

“How is Simet?” Elliot asked, concerned.  “I haven’t seen him around recently.”

Yoda sighed. “Climbed back out of the hole he has. Better he is doing, but emotionally difficult retirement has been.  Getting worse his hands are.”  

“I should stop by and visit him.  I’ve been avoiding him,” Elliot confessed.  “He’s so strong in the Force and I didn’t want him to sense my illness and worry.”

Yoda carefully patted his hand.  “Already knows he does.”

“Oh.”  Elliot turned his hand over so he could hold his lover’s hand.  “You told him?”

Yoda shook his head. “Told me he did.  Sensed it he did before the healers.  Told me to tell you he did.  Skilled enough to identify the problem he was not but sense the imbalance he could.”

Elliot stilled, not quite sure how to feel about that.  “Did you tell him?”

“Told him that go to the healers you had, so that stop worrying that know you did not he could. Pry for details he did not.”  Yoda squeezed his hand.  “Visit with you he has not either.  Worry you with his depression he did not want when know he does that ill you are.”

“We’re both being very silly.”

“Yes,” Yoda agreed. “Enjoy your visit he would now that in a better mental place he is.”

“I should offer to tune up his lightsaber.  I know he has trouble with it and the technicians can have difficulty with Kanu Resonance blades.”

“Enjoy that he would.” Yoda gave him a reassuring smile.

“He might need it if he takes on a padawan.”

“Ah, tell him that not.  Thinks that off the hook he is.”

[nawilla]

May the Fourth Ideas

I’m trying to outline a story for Star Wars Day and here are the ideas I’m batting around.  All three are in the Little Lights Stories Universe (which I’ve been writing in for a while), but all three of them would work as standalones, even if the reader would get more out of them if they are familiar with the universe.  

I don’t know if anyone is reading this, but feedback is welcome.  The three ideas are:

1.  Eller’s Out Sick: Mace Windu and Yoda’s personal assistant is out sick and the Chancellor is supposed to be visiting.  Surely the Order and the Republic is not going to come to a screaming halt just because one admin is out sick.  Surely the Grandmaster of the Jedi and the Master of the Order can handle their own business for just one day.  Surely the Force will be with them.  Surely, right? 

2.  First Training Saber: Young Obi-Wan Kenobi builds his first training lightsaber and meets and meets his mentor, Elliot Dedrin (original character).  Elliot meets someone the Force told him he’d meet for a long time.  Elliot has one more chance to leave a legacy behind, and Obi-Wan meets someone who believes in him and his future as a Jedi Knight. 

 3.   Simet’s younger days: a young knight goes to Yoda in concern about the mysterious knight she has never met who has been asking just a little too much about the Dark Side of the Force and Yoda decides it’s time his reclusive former padawan (original character Simet) gets back out there into the Light.

[nawilla]

Evenstar is Finished!

The last chapter of Evenstar has been posted up on AO3, in case you were enjoying the excerpts and wanted to read the whole thing.  It’s part of a larger series but it’s set in the Jedi Apprentice era and could be understood as a standalone.  Young Obi-Wan Kenobi learns to build his first lightsaber and his teacher has one more chance to leave a legacy behind.

Evenstar by ms_nawilla

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38757615/chapters/96909747

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, M/M

Fandoms: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton

Summary:  Obi-Wan Kenobi learns how to build a lightsaber. Elliot Dedrin gets one more chance to leave a legacy behind.

I was trying to write something short for Star Wars Day and it kept not ending, so you get the first chapter for Star Wars Day instead. Enjoy!

This could probably be understood as a standalone, but you'll get more out of it if you've read the series.

[nawilla]

May the Fourth Be With You

Happy Star Wars Day!

Unfortunately, while I completely overshot my word count goal of 10K for the month of April, I did NOT actually finish the story I was writing for Star Wars Day.  However, I did post the first chapter (it was not supposed to have chapters) after wracking my brain to find a chapter title (it was NOT supposed to have CHAPTERS), so hopefully all will enjoy it.  Hope to finish it up soon.  No promises.  Work is crazy.  M the Cat is being a furry fiend.

Evenstar

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38757615/chapters/96909747

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen M/M

Fandoms: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton

Summary:

Obi-Wan Kenobi learns how to build a lightsaber. Elliot Dedrin gets one more chance to leave a legacy behind.

I was trying to write something short for Star Wars Day and it kept not ending, so you get the first chapter for Star Wars Day instead. Enjoy!

This could probably be understood as a standalone, but you'll get more out of it if you've read the series.