Yoda had been very disappointed, but the truth was Jack just didn't have what it takes to be a Jedi Knight. Strong with the force? Check. Good at combat? Not at all. Jack didn't have the head for it. Oh, he could block blaster blolts all day long, but skill with a lightsaber didn't mean he was good at making decisions under pressure, because he wasn't. Could he see the future? Better than any other padawan on Coruscant, but knowing that there was danger coming didn't make him know how to handle it. Jack could sense what others were feeling, but using that to get through a tricky negotiation, to lead people from conflict to peace, he screwed that up everytime he tried. He was the padawan with the most potential and the least actual.
Jack was a failure. And the Jedi had a place for failures. It's called the Agricorps. Jedi who were never chosen to be apprenticed by a knight were sent off to the Jedi Service Corps. There was the explorers, which was almost as good as being a knight. Charting courses through hyperspace into the unknown regions or wild space. It was exciting and important work. It wasn't the kind of work Knights did, settling conflicts and maintaining the peace, but explorers worked on their own, and they may have to fight pirates or make first contact. There was the healing corps, for those who excelled in healing and had a mind for science. There was the diplomatic corps, who did boring work with settling things like tariffs between sectors and stuff like that. Last and least was the Agricorps. They helped grass grow. Seriously. They helped grass grow. Well, not grass, usually crops, and animal management. Livestock. Seriously. Oh, the masters assured Jack that it was very rewarding work and that the Agricorps was responsible for feeding the galaxy. Galaxy can't run without food you know.
It was a load of crap. Jack laughed at that thought. Crap. Farming. Manure.
The thing was, the service corps were for Jedi who had never been chosen as a padawan. Jack had been chosen. He'd just failed. Three times. He'd been chosen by three different masters. None of them had considered him ready to face the trials to become a full fledged knight. He had fouled every solo mission he'd been sent on. And frankly, Jack was done with it.
Jack wasn't going to live a life of a Jedi, a life of poverty and discipline, to work on farms. At eighteen years old he had an education few other sentients in the galaxy would ever get. He could fly nearly any spacecraft from the tiniest shuttles to the largest capital ships. He was conversant in most weapon systems. He could fix nearly anything. He could always find work, even if he didn't use the force.
A life of poverty and discipline was the last thing he wanted. He was eighteen years old. He was in great shape. He had been living in a quasi-religious order since he was a small child. It was time to party.
So Jack left the Jedi order. He had to surrender his lightsaber. That was stupid. He built the thing, he could build another. If he even wanted to. And the masters had reminded him to never use the force for personal gain. Jack assured them he wouldn't.
About ten minutes later Jack was at the track, using the force for personal gain. Credits. Lots of credits. Being able to see the future, even slightly, made gambling a great source of personal income. It wasn't a fortune, but he walked away with enough money to do some traveling.
Jack was leaving Coruscant. He was getting as far away from the Jedi as possible. He was going to lose himself somewhere in the galaxy. He was looking for a party.
Jack was a failure. And the Jedi had a place for failures. It's called the Agricorps. Jedi who were never chosen to be apprenticed by a knight were sent off to the Jedi Service Corps. There was the explorers, which was almost as good as being a knight. Charting courses through hyperspace into the unknown regions or wild space. It was exciting and important work. It wasn't the kind of work Knights did, settling conflicts and maintaining the peace, but explorers worked on their own, and they may have to fight pirates or make first contact. There was the healing corps, for those who excelled in healing and had a mind for science. There was the diplomatic corps, who did boring work with settling things like tariffs between sectors and stuff like that. Last and least was the Agricorps. They helped grass grow. Seriously. They helped grass grow. Well, not grass, usually crops, and animal management. Livestock. Seriously. Oh, the masters assured Jack that it was very rewarding work and that the Agricorps was responsible for feeding the galaxy. Galaxy can't run without food you know.
It was a load of crap. Jack laughed at that thought. Crap. Farming. Manure.
The thing was, the service corps were for Jedi who had never been chosen as a padawan. Jack had been chosen. He'd just failed. Three times. He'd been chosen by three different masters. None of them had considered him ready to face the trials to become a full fledged knight. He had fouled every solo mission he'd been sent on. And frankly, Jack was done with it.
Jack wasn't going to live a life of a Jedi, a life of poverty and discipline, to work on farms. At eighteen years old he had an education few other sentients in the galaxy would ever get. He could fly nearly any spacecraft from the tiniest shuttles to the largest capital ships. He was conversant in most weapon systems. He could fix nearly anything. He could always find work, even if he didn't use the force.
A life of poverty and discipline was the last thing he wanted. He was eighteen years old. He was in great shape. He had been living in a quasi-religious order since he was a small child. It was time to party.
So Jack left the Jedi order. He had to surrender his lightsaber. That was stupid. He built the thing, he could build another. If he even wanted to. And the masters had reminded him to never use the force for personal gain. Jack assured them he wouldn't.
About ten minutes later Jack was at the track, using the force for personal gain. Credits. Lots of credits. Being able to see the future, even slightly, made gambling a great source of personal income. It wasn't a fortune, but he walked away with enough money to do some traveling.
Jack was leaving Coruscant. He was getting as far away from the Jedi as possible. He was going to lose himself somewhere in the galaxy. He was looking for a party.
