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"Kenobi's Blade": Book Six in the Junior Jedi Knights series


Jedi Cool
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chapter 1
Anakin Solo work on a holographic light puzzle in his room. Master Ikrit compliments him on his skill. Tahiri arrives and tells him that Master Skywalker has gone back to Coruscant for a couple of weeks so their next few lessons will be with Tionne and Ikrit.
She notices the light puzzle and realizes he’s put together a hologram of his family. Anakin admits he got the idea from the hologram of Luke in Vader’s castle. He’s pulled images of his parents from his last birthday party and combined them with ones of Jacen and Jaina when they were here on break.
Tahiri wishes she had holos of her parents, but she does keep one of Tionne. Which reminds her that Tionne wants her and Anakin to listen to some of the first lessons on the new holocron they found at Bast Castle. They should bring Uldir, too.
The keeper of the holocron, Asli Krimsan explains she taught children for two hundred years and believes that they must teach future generations of Jedi to use the Force as children, otherwise, they will never reach their full potential. Uldir points out that Luke was not a child when trained and he’s pretty powerful.
Asli goes onto say she’s compiled her teachings into this holocron which is going to be put in the great Jedi Library at Exis Station. Tionne explains that she had gone to Exis Station to find the library but it wasn’t there. Solar flares that erupt every nine years or so make it impossible to stay there for long. The library had been moved to Jedi across the galaxy.
It was there that Luke found her and recruited her to be one of his students. They worked together to preserve the place. Exis Station, they recall, is also where Mage Orloc claimed to be master of.
Tionne is reluctant to go further with the holocron because Asli said it was for Masters to use. Ikrit admits he is a master, but would feel more comfortable if Master Skywalker gave his permission first.
Uldir fumes that he wants to learn now. They remind him they can do other things until Luke returns. Tahiri offers to help him work on lighting flames. He thinks that’s better than lifting leaves since he can’t seem to do that yet. There has to be faster way to do this.
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  • If Ikrit was in Anakin’s room, didn’t he already know Luke was leaving? Why did Tahiri have to come in and reveal that?
  • In the last book, Tionne was present when Orloc claimed to be Master of Exis Station. She did not mention having been there herself.
  • Exis Station first appeared in Dark Horse Comics’ Tales of the Jedi: Redemption.
  • When did Asli Krimsan live? Jedi were taking children to learn the ways of the Force at least 1000 years ago when children helped form the Army of Light on Ruusan. In fact, it was mentioned that the Jedi are so picky about the age of Jedi candidates that they would probably restrict themselves to infants soon. So, it would appear that the Jedi move toward only taking infants into their Order began sometime within the last 1000 years and was certainly the practice at least 100 years BBY. This holocron must be ancient.
  • I would hope Uldir would want to work on lighting a flame considering he is supposed to be able to do just that or lift a pebble after three months at the school, according to the bargain he made with Luke.
  • Why did Tionne get the students all excited about learning the lessons from the holocron only to stop it when Asli indicated it was intended for Jedi Masters. Didn’t Tionne check that out first or speak to Luke before he left?

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chapter 2:
Uldir can’t sleep and walks the halls of the academy. As hard as he’d tried, he cannot make use of the lessons Master Skywalker and Tionne have tried to teach him. He’s sure that he would have become a powerful Jedi under Asli Krimsan.
The holocron is the key. Convincing himself he’ll just borrow it, he sneaks into Luke’s quarters, knocks into a couple of things, and has to pick up Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber off the floor. Igniting it, he finds the holocron. But it won’t work for him. He decides he needs someone to teach him.
Mage Orloc claimed to know how. Uldir thinks about Ikrit’s ship, Sunrider, sitting on the landing pad and decides he’ll have to get Orloc to teach him.
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  • In the last book, Uldir realized that Orloc didn’t have the Force and really couldn’t teach him anything. I guess he’s gotten more desperate.

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chapter 3:


Tahiri goes to find Uldir the next morning, but he’s not on duty in the kitchens and, when she checks his room, his possessions are gone. She finds Master Ikrit and Anakin and tells them Uldir is missing.


They determine that Sunrider is gone, too. When Tionne appears to ask Ikrit if he used the holocron, they compare notes and realize that Uldir must have stolen both the holocron, the lightsaber and the Sunrider. The holocron will not work for him, but he’s probably still in dangerous territory.


Anakin suggests that Uldir probably is going to Exis Station to find Mage Orloc. Tionne offers to fly her ship there to retrieve it. Tahiri suggests that Uldir might just be going for a short ride. Tionne decides to wait until evening. If Uldir isn’t back by then, they’ll go find him.

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  • Surely the two Jedi realize that it’s highly unlikely Uldir just went for a ride with someone else’s ship, stolen lightsaber and a holocron. The greater lead time they give him, the worse this is going to be.

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chapter 4:


Uldir congratulates himself for arriving in the system safely and looks for the station. He worries that Orloc may not even be here. He knows, though, that this is his only chance to be a Jedi.


Inside the station, he finds it’s easy to move around. A strange site greets him. Numerous droids are here with Ranats moving around. Something tosses a bag over Uldir’s head and he feels an injection that knocks him out.


When he awakens, he realizes he is being moved on a platform by the Ranats. He is moved into a room and the bag is yanked off his head. He finds himself still bound to the platform in a room full of pillows. Mage Orloc is there.

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chapter 5:


After waiting a sufficient amount of time, the passengers of the Lore Seeker lift off in search of Uldir. Tahiri can’t tell if she’s feels guilty or betrayed. She wonders if she should have spent more time encouraging Uldir.


Anakin points out that, if it weren’t for them, he wouldn’t have been allowed to stay in the first place. Tionne and Ikrit remind them that Uldir is responsible for his own actions. They shouldn’t feel guilty. The only way to know why he’s done this is to be inside his head.


They ask if Ikrit isn’t angry that his ship was stolen. Ikrit answers that he is fond of his ship, but it’s a machine that isn’t as dear as a machine like Artoo and is certainly not more important than his living friends.


Along the way, Tionne shows them a holo of the way Exis Station currently looks now. She and Luke had programmed a couple of the docking bays closest to the control center to respond only to their signal. They will be landing at one of those.

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chapter 6:


Uldir tells Orloc that he is offering the holocron and the lightsaber in exchange for getting the training Orloc promised him. The Mage doesn’t believe that he is sincere. He thinks Uldir is just bait so that his friends, the Jedi, can swoop down and arrest him.


Uldir insists he came here of his own free will and that they don’t know where he is. Orloc warns him that he should be sure of that. He’s programmed the droids in here to obey him. He is told that the training offered by the Jedi just isn’t working for Uldir.


The Mage accepts the offer and takes both items from the boy. He holds the holocron in the air and Uldir expects to see Asli offer to teach them. Nothing happens. Orloc asks him what he wants to learn.


Uldir says he cannot even light up a room. Orloc tells him to empty his mind of any thoughts at all except of light. The room lights up.


This is progress.

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chapter 7:


The Lore Seeker docks at the huge Exis Station. They wonder how they are going to find Uldir here. Tionne mentions that Luke found her though he was not expecting to find anyone here.


They start to move out of the hangar when blaster bolts fire over their heads. They all drop to the floor.

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chapter 8:


After lifting a heavy crate, Uldir is feeling more confident. Mage Orloc tells him he’s a natural. This is more like what Jedi training should be. Uldir has already levitated and commanded a Ranat using his powers. When Orloc has Uldir read his mind, Uldir correctly guesses that the Mage is proud of him.


He is about to ask what they will do next when Orloc becomes angry. He accuses Uldir of betraying him. A ship called the Lore Seeker has just docked.


Uldir assures him that he didn’t tell them where he was going and has no idea how they found him. Surely, Orloc can sense he is telling the truth. The Mage says he can and will believe him. This station is large enough to hide them for now.


He returns to Uldir’s lessons. The boy wants to know how to make lightning and rain which the Mage is happy to demonstrate.


The Jedi decide to run for the blast doors, but Tahiri’s hair gets caught in a grate. Tionne comes to her, lightsaber blazing, deflecting blaster bolts and cutting the hair free. Ikrit, in black camouflaging color, helps her up.

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chapter 9:


They have Anakin scramble the locks on the door after getting through. Ikrit counted eight droids firing at them inside the hangar. They will have to move on lest the droids catch them again.


Artoo tries to keep the door closed, while the Jedi climb up a ladder to a hatchway. They’ll have to come back for him later. Tahiri’s bare feet start to hurt. Anakin sprays some cooling mist on the blisters to heal before Ikrit comes down and tells them there’s a room not far.


Inside, they eat and rest. Anakin knows that Uldir is here but he doesn’t have a strong bond with his friend to know exactly where. They put on their packs and start exploring again, finding a room with a lot of old equipment in it and a diagram of the station.


They hear noises and hide, only to see several creatures Tahiri identifies has Ranat from her homeworld. They wonder if they might be friendly enough to give information. The Ranat gather around the diagram and mark off a spot. They may be scavenging the station.


Then a Ranat turns around, spots them and gives a loud screech that sends the rest of them running.

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  • Didn’t Tahiri learn the importance of wearing footgear in strange places when she was on Dagobah?


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chapter 10:


The Ranats pick up whatever they can find to defend themselves with. Tionne ignites her lightsaber while Anakin pushes a screen partition at the nearest Ranat. He and Tahiri knock it over with the partition, while Tionne uses it as a running ramp to leap and take out the glowpanels. Ikrit uses the Force to pull the weapons away.


Then he opens an air duct and has them crawl through it. It’s pretty clear the Ranats are working for Orloc.


They reach the center of the station and see Orloc through a grate. Uldir is there in his brown Jedi robes, holding his arms high. They spot a recorder emitting sounds of thunder and the sprinkler system is sending water down.


Orloc turns and tells Artoo to tell his friends what he has seen. The droid is drenched and wearing a restraining bolt.

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chapter 11:


The grate gives way and tumbles Anakin and Tahiri out onto the floor. Tionne and Ikrit follow more gracefully. Uldir is furious that they want to take him away from the first real power he’s had.


They try to explain to him that he didn’t really create the thunder or the rain, but Orloc tells him they are lying to him. Since he cannot give them the lightsaber or the holocron, they’ll have to be eliminated.


Uldir cannot let his friends die. When Ikrit uses the Force to call the lightsaber to him, Tionne leaps to the droid that holds the holocron. The Ranats jump on Ikrit and grab the lightsaber, but fail to hold him. Anakin pops off Artoo’s restraining bolt. Orloc orders his minions to kill them. A fight erupts between them and the Ranats while Orloc disappears.


The children yell to Uldir to come with them. They run with blasterbolts sounding behind them. Ikrit leads them down a corridor to a door that they may be able to hide behind.


After sealing the door behind them, they look around to see a huge room with sophisticated equipment. Anakin thinks they’ve found Orloc’s control center where he manufactures the magic he claims to use.


A door appears where they hadn’t seen one before. Orloc is standing there with Ranats and droids. He demands the holocron now.

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chapter 12:


Orloc reveals he left Uldir, the sentimental boy, behind. The Jedi tell him they don’t want to hurt him. He unleashes his Ranats and droids on them, but Ikrit disarms the Ranats and vanishes.


Anakin and Tahiri use the Force to levitate a heavy statue and push it over on the droids. Orloc causes a storm within the room when Ikrit returns, riding on Artoo’s head. Uldir accompanies him into this chamber of wonders where Orloc promises to show him real power.

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chapter 13:


Uldir watches the power brought down by Orloc. Ikrit tells him to watch the Mage and see how he really wields no power at all. Uldir can’t understand why Ikrit can’t trust what he sees with his own eyes. The Master points out that Uldir sees what he wants to see. He must open his eyes for real to see what is true.


With strobe lights going on and off, Anakin can’t see the droids, but he can see that Orloc has the lightsaber. He tells Tahiri they have to get it back. Orloc sends his droids after Tionne who is the biggest threat to them.


Anakin and Tahiri knock another statue over on a droid, then Orloc sends an electrical current up the ladder to the catwalk Tionne is climbing. The jolt knocks the holocron out of her hand and she falls to the floor, shaking, with blisters on her hands. Anakin tosses her saber to Ikrit who catches it deftly and flies to meet the Mage.

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chapter 14:


Uldir hadn’t really considered the Mage his friend, but he now sees that this power doesn’t come from the Force. Orloc uses his magic selfishly. He spots an assassin droid going after Tionne who is still very injured. Feeling his power surge, he runs.


Tossing his robe over the droid, he knocks into it. Then Anakin and Tahiri use the Force to smash it against the wall. Uldir then grabs the dropped holocron.


Olroc is distracted and loses the lightsaber. Anakin grabs it and white smoke begins to envelop the room. Uldir tells Anakin it’s a lie. He tosses the holocron to Tahiri and it activates.


Anakin uses the saber to cut the silver spangles on Orloc’s robe and the illusions disappear. After Uldir confronts the Mage over his phoney power, the latter disappears, too.

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chapter 15:
After Tionne is strapped in, they aren’t sure whether they should take Lore Seeker or Sunrider. Sunrider won’t adjust to Ikrit’s small form. Uldir offers to pilot Lore Seeker if they will allow him.
Tionne uses a healing trance along the way. Anakin points out to Uldir that he appears to enjoy flying. Uldir admit that he does, but that it’s not the same flying his parents did: shuttling the same way and back. There are other options for him, he’s learned.
A week later, things are returning to normal. Ikrit has a new lightsaber and considers that he may return for the Sunrider some day. Uldir wonders why he was able to do some of the things he did on Exis Station is he really doesn’t have the Force. Luke suggests that he learned more than he thought he did while here.
In the meantime, Uldir thinks he will join a crew of evacuation pilots on Coruscant who move people out of harm’s way during disasters. In that way, he can help people, too. He joins Old Peckhum and they take off while their friends wave good-bye.
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  • End of Book 6
  • This is the end of the Junior Jedi Knights series. It does a reasonably good job setting up the characters of Anakin and Tahiri. Of course, these are books for grade school kids, so we can't expect too much out of them. Still I found myself annoyed by the adults in these books.

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