Admission to Alderaan University was conducted in the form of a standard exam in the university's auditoriums. Given the information Jonal had provided me — examinees were seated in exam rooms, in front of computers, given a time limit, assignments, and that was it… Everything further depended on the examinee. How well they handled it. It was worth noting that you could finish earlier than the allotted exam time. I was applying for one of the most prestigious specializations at this institution. State Administration. This specialization trained bureaucrats, of various levels — from local to the level of the Republic Senate. Graduates could receive job offers from both local authorities and various committees and subcommittees of the Republic. Of course, everyone understood perfectly well that all sentients were equal, but some were more equal.
And only those who had enough money or connections got the most lucrative positions. But that didn't diminish the prestige of the field. And, naturally, the passing scores were incredibly high. What did you need to pass? Over the course of five days, the applicant endured three exams: knowledge of Basic, galactic history, and mathematics — more precisely, its transitional state into economics. You could also choose an additional specialization, essentially an elective, which you also had to pass exams for the right to attend. You could choose up to three electives. Without much thought, I punched in an elective in "political negotiations," behind which name lay the subject I'd ignored, sometimes against logic — "diplomacy." And "advanced state economics.".. Well, I think that's clear. Essentially, in the first one, I wanted to study negotiations among "respected sentients at the political trough." More precisely, sentients who held or represented political power. And compare what was studied here with Rela's materials. And in the second — to better understand what this mythical superstructure in the form of "the state budget and what you eat it with" was all about. And understand it so that, in theory, only the state would eat it in the future, not the damn corrupt officials, who in a Galaxy Far, Far Away had acquired a galactic — in the literal sense of the word — scale. Roughly speaking, at this place I would completely focus on civilian specializations. And I needed to think about my lack of military education…
Even more so… I had never served. A Jedi now was nothing more than an elite commando. A warrior… And even in the Clone Wars, that was the case. Space combat could often be entrusted to an Admiral, or the Captain of a Venator. While you yourself sat at a fighter's controls and went off to chase droid starfighters. The same with ground combat, where the Jedi General would rush to the front line, swinging his sword. At certain moments, that would inspire the soldiers. The General himself was with us. But coordination of all units also had to pass through the General… And I doubted that while you were deflecting blaster bolts, you'd have time to study a tactical map on a holoprojector. In short — my long-held opinion was that it wouldn't hurt me to have an understanding of both space and planetary combat. Maybe I could even gain some practical experience, even before the Clone Wars, if they happened.
In short — I fully understand that without certain knowledge, I won't succeed. Or I might, but I'd look like a farmer trusted to be president. It's one thing if that farmer went through training and knew what he was getting into. It's another if he rode a wave of populism to power and then suddenly realized that shouting from a podium about how the people are about to prosper and actually doing something in politics are two different things. As they say: we say one thing and do another. The sorry fate of populists of all stripes. And the main thing here is not to get carried away. The star named Alderaan, like the planet, illuminated Aldera. The initial shock from the prices in this beautiful city had already passed for me. Only the understanding remained that prices are prices, and the Order will pay for everything…
I had no doubt about my knowledge. The Force, as well as my mind — which I've trained by learning something ever since I was born here — had demonstrated excellent results. If I wanted to get to Bail Antilles and make his acquaintance, I had to get into the best group of students. People got in for two reasons: connections and money. I have no connections, because — who would know the son of a merchant from Tustra? If I were a Sephi aristocrat… Although — I am an aristocrat, by Sephi standards, of course. After all, my mother's family of maids is essentially a rather significant family that produces specialized courtiers. But using my name and surname would be the same as shouting left and right that I'm a Jedi. Which John and I decided not to do. In the databases, I'm listed as Light from the Flyingstar family. And even without a photo — anyone with half a brain can put two and two together. Besides, we're only aristocrats for Tustra. Yes, we have a title, but it's hardly enough to earn a place among the cream of society. The second facet of the first reason is money. And if, again, Taivi Lanian from Tustra started flashing his financial well-being, questions would arise. It's one thing to rent housing on Aldera, to show off a little. But to get into that elite group, you'd need incredible money — incredible for a simple trader from Tustra. The second reason for getting into the elite group is passing scores. So the reason I'll get into the elite group is clear. Five days and I'll be enrolled in a fairly prestigious university. I'll need to thoroughly analyze Bail, his circle, worm my way into his trust. In short — to play a kind of spy. Although — I'm a Shadow, and the main goal of a Shadow is the ability to infiltrate the uninfiltratable.
Only one thing bothers me. What kind of creature are we up against… Until now, it has been undetectable. And right now, we know almost nothing about it. It manages to find Force artifacts and Jedi — and when the Jedi find them before it or at the same time, it kills them. And it's very strange that the Shadows haven't been able to track it down after all this time. And I'm not overestimating them. The Shadows, if they want, can do a lot. We have excellent slicers in our service who can hack any computer and database, scouts, extra spies. And that's not even mentioning that John, as it turns out, absolutely loves putting his agents in situations where those same agents, the Shadows — have to show ingenuity and miracles of cunning, in other words, to grow beyond themselves. With all our punitive apparatus, our enemy writhes damn well… Either he knows the structure of the Jedi Order and its logic of functioning perfectly, especially the Shadows, which clearly hints that he could have been, in theory, a Jedi… Or he has a mole who leaks everything to him. It's worth noting that one doesn't rule out the other. So who do we have here? It's too early to blame Xanatos, he's still in the Order. Running around the Outer Rim with Qui-Gon, as I understand it. Besides, the enemy appeared much earlier than Xanatos himself.
However, we shouldn't forget to consider the Sith as suspects. Both Palpatine and Damask thumbed their noses at all the Jedi, with their skills, knowledge, and structures. They could be involved in this, or not… And other Dark Cults could be involved. After all, I've underestimated them until now. At least — I won't underestimate the Night Sisters of Dathomir anymore. I even felt like hitting them with a Base Delta Zero from some super-battleship. Especially in the first days, after that rout that Lorm and I suffered… And not just the Dark Sisters. The Prophets of the Dark Side, the Lost Tribe of Sith… A lot of people could come crawling out… Hmm, a tough nut. However, it's better to put this aside for now, until I penetrate the secrets of House Antilles, or rather their hypothetical connection to our enemy. Even if they're innocent — there should be at least some traces left. Alright, time to get up.
In the morning I did a classic meditation, then disassembled and cleaned my weapon. A weapon should always be kept clean. However, I shouldn't take it with me. So I hid it again in the statue of King Larik. My bracers… I did take the bracers, hiding them under fairly loose clothing. Maybe I should attach a hidden blade to them, like the assassins? So to speak, so no one would notice… Although — modern metal detectors would quickly figure it out. And my skills are quite enough to fight off non-gifted opponents. My whole body is my weapon. Plus the Force… The main thing is not to let my guard down. BB woke up with me and, after my standard routine — disassembling and cleaning my weapon, meditating, washing up — the droid stood before me, as if awaiting orders.
"Alright, BB," I said, crossing my arms in front of me. "You're staying here. I have an exam. But so you're not idle, you can connect to the HoloNet and search for information about the Antilles from Alderaan. I need some interesting facts."
The droid let out an encouraging trill and rolled over to the terminal. I headed for the exit. Before going anywhere, I needed breakfast. So first I went to the hotel's dining room. It was huge, well appointed. And… Damn it, the prices were incredible. But I remembered I had decent funding, so complaining would be stupid. I got myself a salad of local vegetables as an appetizer and a meat dish as the main course, plus some caf — and sat down at a table. The meal passed in relative peace. I only caught the tail end of a complaint from one visitor about a hangover. But — another sentient's hangover was his problem, not mine. The street greeted me with warm weather. Alderaan, the star, shone brightly.
The exam was supposed to be at ten local time. I still had about two hours. But the saying goes: "Better to come early to an exam than at the last minute." So I showed up at the university when there was about an hour and a half left before they'd let us into the exam hall. They stopped me at the entrance, of course, and asked who I was. But after checking the database and finding out I was Taivi Lanian, here to take the exam — they let me through without issue. The university's rooms were bright. I hardly found a single dark corner. And at the same time — incredibly huge, from the looks of it; every room was at least ten meters high. Right now it was essentially break time, with new student admissions. So there were no crowds of students. But I did notice anxious applicants reading something. They were gathered near the exam halls. My hall was number one hundred and one. Future applicants were standing, sitting, and waiting near it.
The crowd was mostly humans. At first, my potential fellow students met me indifferently. Then they noticed my slightly pointed ears. Some of them had their pupils dilate in surprise. That's when I also noticed Bail Antilles. A young man in rich clothes. He looked no older than twenty. Tall and stately… He looked me over with curiosity, then glanced away somewhere. Hmm… Not the time to get acquainted with him yet.
"Hey," one of the guys who was lounging on the windowsill came up to me. "Who are you?"
"A sentient," I answered calmly. "I'm Taivi Lanian from Tustra. A Sephi."
"Sephi?" the guy asked again.
"What, you haven't heard of them, Jaiko?" asked his companion, who was sitting next to him. "They're the pointy-ears from Tustra. Not human, supposedly."
"Not human," Jaiko winced slightly.
"Do you have a problem?" I asked pointedly. "Or has Alderaan become a human-centric planet? Yes, I'm Sephi. So what?"
"Listen, don't get smart with me, Sephi. My father has people like you working as servants — washing clothes and carrying trays of champagne."
"Good for your father," I said softly. "But that has nothing to do with me. Excuse me, but I'd like to review the material for the exam."
I walked over to the opposite wall, sat down on a free chair — there were comfortable little couches along the walls — and started reviewing, opening my datapad. But I also kept an eye on "Mr. Racist," who supposedly has Sephi in his service. Funny joke. At most, Sephi could be mercenaries for his father, but never servants in the roles he described. Serving like that, among my people, is only done for other Sephi who have earned respect, or whose families have earned respect. So this sentient, Jaiko, is ridiculous. I swept my gaze over his group again. Jaiko himself was tall and stately, with platinum hair and blue eyes. His regular features signaled that he was an aristocrat. The guy who had corrected him was red-haired, with brown eyes. And there were two more among them. One was sitting hunched over, constantly glancing at Jaiko himself, more like he was the pack leader. He was short with gray hair. And the last one, with a shock of black hair, seemed not to pay attention to anything except the information on his datapad. A group of four, most likely one of them a definitely rich aristocrat and ringleader, the second, judging by his regular features — also from an aristocratic family. The one sitting hunched over — maybe from a smaller family and considers himself practically Jaiko's servant. And the last one, who almost doesn't care about anything, and who is typically the true voice of reason in this group.
I opened the personal files of the applicants that the Order had sent me. Hmm… All four are aristocrats from the Tapani sector. And Jaiko is a member of House Mecetti, one of the most influential houses in the Tapani sector. And the red-haired one is from House Calypso. The one who looks at Jaiko like a loyal slave at his master — is a member of the vassal House Alor to Mecetti. And the last one — a member of House Rina from the Tapani sector. Who are these Tapani? They are, essentially, the very embodiment of everything you think of when you think of nobles. They are the reflection of those aristocrats: noble, but at the same time arrogant and vain. And the Tapani also developed their own style of lightsaber fencing. They have a so-called group: "armed rabble." The gist is that there are aristocrats who use lightsabers in their duels, albeit slightly weakened, because the quality of their crystals doesn't compare to what we mine on Ilum… Not to mention mine, which I got from the stomach of a krayt dragon. Those crystals, as Master Yoda himself noted, are among the most powerful a Jedi can obtain in our time. And they have a hell of a temperament, resonating exclusively with my Force. With another user, they could, theoretically, not work the same way as they do with me. Ah, it's a shame I left my weapon in Larik's statue. I'd gotten used to having them in my scabbards, which I attached to my shoulder, just above the elbow. The scabbards were hidden in special folds of my clothing. So, in theory, I could have come here with my weapon too.
Either way — better get back to reviewing. Finally, after almost an hour — a woman who had clearly seen better days came out and invited us inside.
"My name is Dorna Zara!" she introduced herself. The hall was simply enormous, amphitheater-style. That is, each subsequent row was higher than the one before. I counted about ten such rows, each with thirty seats. And the applicants filled them all. "All of you are applicants who wish to be admitted to the most prestigious program at Alderaan University," I deliberately sat closer to Antilles to observe him. He was looking at everything with a bored expression. "You should know that our program has only three groups per year, with thirty sentients in each. Aurek, Besh, and Kresh respectively. Which group you end up in depends on your exam scores. And yes… There are three hundred of you here," there had been far fewer sentients in the hallway. Most had come right at the start of the exam. "And in hall 201, there are also three hundred sentients. That makes six hundred total. But only ninety will get into the program," damn, that's some serious selection. If you divide it — that's almost seven sentients per spot. Six point six six percent. But let's round it — seven sentients per spot. And it's worth noting that the selection is already from among the richest and the best. "We have a total of three entrance exams. The first is in Galactic Standard, the language most of your textbooks are written in. As you probably know, it consists of two parts. A test and a free-topic essay. The essays will be checked by the instructors, and the results of today's exam will be posted on the university's website tomorrow!" That's some productivity. Six hundred essays in one day. But then again, how many instructors are there, and what exactly are they checking? "You have two hours for everything! Keep in mind that using any additional sources of information is grounds for disqualification. If you take longer than two hours to complete the tasks — disqualification…" Wait… But the timer… She had started it when she began her speech. Hutt! I started up my computer and the exam program. There were only three of them now. Since I'm taking Galactic Standard… My neighbors looked at me in surprise, and then it dawned on them, and on most of the hall.
I no longer paid attention to the hall, focusing on completing the tasks. It took me about an hour, but I was absolutely sure I'd pass perfectly. I could have finished even earlier if I hadn't dwelled on some questions. Over the next week, I took the remaining subjects… And John had told me that my groups were extra, that the bulk of the students had already been enrolled. And… He was partly right. The aristocrats who have money and connections take the exam purely as a formality. To keep up appearances. In reality, by the second exam I already had access to the database of admitted students. My acquaintances from the Tapani sector and Antilles were listed there. About twenty sentients in total, all admitted to the Aurek group, the most elite group of the course. And by the end of the week, I too had been admitted to the same group.
To start talking to someone, you have to learn their interests. So I had ordered descriptions of Antilles from the Order, even before the mission. Bail is a classic aristocrat. Above-average intelligence. He performed well in the House's transport company. His hobbies are hunting and fencing. Probably some ceremonial form.
The academic year began unexpectedly for many. At least, on the first day of the first year, I met my classmates frantically searching for their classrooms. Upon admission, I had immediately made my mark, simply by getting the highest scores and without any doubt earning the right to be in the Aurek group. And I had studied the university map, so finding the group's room was easy. It was a classic lecture hall, three rows of ten desks each. The hall was already filled with my classmates, talking, some even too loudly.
"And you got in too?" Jaiko from House Mecetti asked me. "I thought someone like you wouldn't be taken into our group. If only because of your ear length."
"Hmm?" I swept my gaze over his group. This time, among the standard four idiots, there was a short, black-haired girl, with hair reaching her shoulders. "Well, ear length isn't an indicator of intelligence and knowledge."
"That's not what I meant. I thought non-humans wouldn't be taken into our group."
"Stop your jokes," came a voice from behind Jaiko. The speaker was one of the aristocrats from Alderaan, if I remembered his personal file. House Leyros, Delon Leyros. The man was broad-shouldered, with a developed, muscular build and black hair. "Alderaan offers equal opportunities for everyone."
"Well, I don't know," said Renard Calypso, Jaiko's hanger-on, "personally, I wouldn't mind if, instead of him," he nodded at me, "some beautiful, sexy, and dumb Zeltron or Twi'lek had gotten in. One who knows her place," he added.
"It's too bad you don't know your place," I said calmly. "Looking for a 'beautiful, sexy, and dumb' Zeltron or Twi'lek? Go work as a cleaner in a brothel," I walked past the group and sat down at the very back desk, directly behind Bail.
"You think I should work as a cleaner in a brothel?!" Renard asked.
"Again — I didn't say that," I grinned at him.
"Why you…"
"Renard," Jaiko interrupted him. The redhead looked at the "pack leader" and calmed down. "And you should be careful, Sephi. You're insulting someone above you."
"If I stand on the desk, I'll be taller."
"You're either stupid or looking for trouble. Linda," he looked at the only girl in the group.
She got up from her desk and came a little closer to me.
"Please apologize to the young master and his friends. Or I'll have to beat you," she announced without ceremony. Well, well… I can clearly sense this girl's Force. She's Gifted. Weak, though.
So, what was I reading about the Tapani? They once had a thriving Order of Mekrosa. A kind of order of assassins that recruited from the Gifted. The order was destroyed long ago. Or rather, their core, consisting of the Gifted. Later, they supposedly started recruiting non-Gifted too. Although, they might have recruited the Gifted as well. Where am I going with this? This girl — she's clearly trained, she controls the Force. Which means — she was probably trained in such an Order. Or by someone else… Interesting.
"You'd beat me?" I asked her. "Don't talk nonsense. You won't do anything to me…"
"Linda…"
"So," a loud voice came from the lectern. "Everyone, sit down in your seats! It's time to get acquainted."
And this is one of the reasons we won't escalate the conflict into an acute phase right now. The homeroom teacher appeared. I recognized him. He was the lean old man who had been our examiner in galactic history.
"First year, Aurek group, major — public administration, right?" he asked us, then gave us all a scrutinizing look. "Could have been worse. Alright. Let's start with roll call. I'll get to know you. Yes… You remember me. I'm Norman Doltan, instructor in galactic political history. In my classes, you'll be analyzing the main political systems of the Galaxy's states, their features, advantages, and disadvantages. But right now, this isn't my class, but an introductory session for the group. I'm also your supervisor. And I want to explain a couple of rules. First — order above all. We're not in a military academy, of course," he stared at Jaiko. "But you must understand that insulting anyone, threatening to beat someone, provoking fights," he now stared at me, "is unbecoming of students of Alderaan University. At least — if you want to show your aristocratic arrogance, don't do it on these grounds. Rule two — exams are paramount. Results are paramount. Study and you'll pass your semester exams. Don't learn anything… You won't answer anything… And it doesn't matter who your father is, how many credits he has, what he owns. You'll be expelled from here like a cork from a bottle!" A serious statement. "Have I made myself clear?" he swept his gray eyes across the entire hall. "You can find the schedule as well as the University charter on our website. Questions? None. Then now I'll teach you how to log into your personal accounts, and also — I'll explain how to find the University's electronic library and download your textbooks from there. Let's begin…"