Chapter 2 – A Jedi's Patience
Things gradually got better after the first month at the Academy. As Eryn became more accustomed to life on Coruscant, her in-home displays of nudity seemed to decrease. Jacen still caught her masturbating from time to time, though, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was a daily activity for her. Sometimes she would do it in the shower, with the door left open a crack; other times she would confine herself to her room with her door closed, but Jacen could always make out her moans and whimpers through the walls of the apartment. Although this was perfectly normal for Eryn, it made life somewhat more difficult for Jacen. His Jedi instructors were beginning to sense that his inner self was not at peace, though they were unsure the exact cause. It didn't help any that Eryn was as beautiful a woman as any, and that Jacen sometimes fantasized about her in his spare moments. He tried meditation exercises he had learned since he was but a Jedi Youngling, doing what he could to clear his mind daily. Finally, at the end of the first month, a solution seemed to avail itself to him.
After their first month at the Academy, Jacen received notification that he was selected to be in the first group of students to receive off-world instruction. Off-world instruction was a mandatory program instituted by the Academy, one in which each student would be paired with a Jedi mentor and transported to another planet to train in Jedi techniques. This seemed to be the answer Jacen had been seeking – time spent with a wise member of the Jedi Order, away from the bustle of Coruscant and the ever-present allure of Eryn's sensuality, would be just what he needed to re-focus himself on his tasks. Eryn, for her part, seemed a little nervous that Jacen would be gone. She had spent a lot of time getting to know his circle of friends, but was not quite sure how they would react when Jacen was not present. Jacen reassured her that she would be fine, and reminded her that it would only be a week off.
"How bad could it be?" Jacen asked. "I'll be back in a week – and trust me, if any of them give you trouble while I'm gone, I'll know about it. Besides, I've seen you making friends with other people around the Academy. You're practically a social butterfly – you'll be just fine."
"If you say so Jacen," Eryn said, finally surrendering to the fact. "Where are you going for your training?"
Jacen pulled up the information on a datapad.
"It says that I'll be going to Yavin IV, a forest moon in the Yavin system, with Starya Elsek. Have you trained with her before?"
Eryn shook her head.
"Not in my courses, no. But I've heard about her from some of the more advanced students – they say she'll bust your butt and then some."
"Sounds like I won't be doing any slacking next week," Jacen laughed. "Anyway, I better get going – the shuttle leaves in an hour and I have to get to the landing pad. Have a great week Eryn!"
The two embraced briefly; Jacen made sure to pull away before he let himself become too aroused by the scent of her hair and the feeling of her breasts pressed against him. Eryn blew him a kiss, and he was out the door.
When he reached the landing pad, Jacen looked around at the other students who were in the group with him. A few he did not recognize, but he did pick out his friend Roland, from his original Youngling clan, and a young woman he recognized as Liana, a girl from Alderaan who had befriended Eryn during shared classes. The students were gathered in small groups, talking amongst themselves, but they all fell silent when their Jedi mentors made their way onto the landing pad.
The mentors introduced themselves and the group split up into pairs of mentors and students. Jacen and his mentor, Starya Elsek, eventually made their way to each other in the middle of the landing pad. Somewhat to Jacen's dismay, Starya was not one of the older Jedi in the Order that he had expected. She looked hardly five years older than him, and she was quite attractive. Her hair was dark brown with streaks of light red, her body athletic, most likely a result of her extensive Jedi training. When she spoke, her voice was cool and comforting.
"Jacen Daasa, I take it?" she asked, extending her hand to his. "Starya Elsek."
"It's a pleasure, Master Elsek," Jacen said formally, shaking her hand.
Starya laughed.
"Oh please – don't call me Master. It makes me feel so old – I don't look old, do I?"
"Ummm, no, you don't," Jacen replied tactfully.
"Good answer," Starya replied with a smile. "I like you already. You can call me Starya, though my students usually call me Star – you can call me that if you like as well. I'm glad I don't look old to you, seeing as how I only graduated from the Academy myself four years ago."
Jacen made a mental note that he was not far off on his age guessing – Star was seven years older than him.
"That makes you pretty young to be an instructor, doesn't it?" Jacen asked as they loaded their gear onto the shuttle.
"A little, yes. Apparently I have a knack for teaching. I guess I'm going to be a Jedi Consular when I get old."
"A lot of students say that you're good at physical activity though – they're betting that you'll become a Sentinel or a Guardian."
"Who told you that?" Star said, a hint of laughter in her voice. "I'll have to interrogate my classes when I get back. But it's true, I do like physical activity. I run obstacle courses and take combat classes to stay in shape. And, since we're going to a jungle moon, you can expect lots of the same for yourself."
"I'm looking forward to it," Jacen said, letting Star board the shuttle first. "It'll be a welcome break from all my bookwork."
'And Eryn!' he thought to himself.
"Good!" Star said, taking the controls of the shuttle. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"
The shuttle journey to Yavin IV was uneventful, and rather quick. Jacen used most of the time to meditate in the shuttle's passenger area, clearing away any sexual thoughts about Eryn. Star laughed at him when she came to alert him that they were coming out of hyperspace.
"I see we have a meditator in our midst," she declared when she entered the passenger area. "Are you sure you're looking forward to getting physical?"
The mention of "getting physical" caused certain areas of Jacen's anatomy to perk up momentarily, but he quickly calmed himself down before answering.
"That's part of the reason I'm meditating," he replied. "Getting my body and mind prepared for the work to be done."
"Spoken like a true Jedi," Star said. "You can go back to it for a little while if you want – I just came to tell you that we're dropping out of hyperspace and will be landing soon. Or, if you're up to it, you can join me in the cockpit."
Jacen followed Star into the cockpit of the shuttle, where she quickly shed her outer robe before taking a seat. With Star now clad in only her inner robe, which was more form-fitting, Jacen got his first chance to glance over his mentor. She was a little shorter than Eryn, and thus shorter than him as well. She also seemed to carry a little more weight on her body than Eryn did, but it did nothing to detract from her looks. Overall she was still fit and trim, and Jacen had no doubt that Star could easily outrun and outfight him any day.
"Okay, here we go!" Star proclaimed, pulling a lever on the control panel.
Immediately the bluish-white blob that was all that was visible from the cockpit seemed to shrink into individual stars as the shuttle slowed its speed dramatically. A little to Jacen's right, a blue-green planetoid appeared.
"There it is, Yavin IV," Star said as she adjusted the shuttle's course toward the moon. "Once we get through the atmosphere, I'll need you to help me look for a good landing spot."
Star, like most of the Jedi, was an adept pilot – she had no trouble guiding the shuttle through the planet's cloudy atmosphere down to the treeline.
"See anything yet?" Star asked. "It doesn't have to be a big clearing – just wide enough for a vertical landing."
