The Jedi Temple is the largest building on Coruscant, larger even then
the great Senate Dome. Third and last of the Temples built to house the
Order since the end of the First Sith War it is just over a thousand years
old.

   A flat topped step pyramid crowned by five spires it was designed for as
many as a million inhabitants; Jedi Knights, Acolytes, Wards of the Temple
and other dependents. However the Jedi Order has dwindled dramatically over
the last millennium and today a mere ten thousand Knights with as many
Acolytes, Wards and dependents live in the upper reaches of the Temple,
leaving the thousands of lower levels untenanted and abandoned.

   Exploring these empty areas is a favorite pastime of the young Acolytes,
permitted by the Masters who have fond memories of their own childhood
exploits. It's good practice in basic Jedi skills and there's no danger,
even sections long abandoned still have power, light and other functions
kept in perfect working order by utility droids. And no Jedi, not even a
beginning Acolyte, can ever get lost.


   "Looks like we lost them." Ryma said, breathing evenly despite the long
Force run.

   "For the moment." her sister, Mayri, cautioned.

   "But do we want to?" the taller of their two male companions asked
suddenly. The others looked up at him in surprise and he shrugged. "We're
not going to get anywhere lurking out here."

   "Cath's right." Obi-Wan said decisively. "Let's go back to the Sanctuary
-" broke off spinning to face up-path, lightsabre humming to life.
"Krallocks!"

   "What?" Ryma said blankly.

   "Where'd that come from?" Mayri spluttered.

   "You're supposed to say, 'If we take the hanging paths nobody will see
us.'" Ryma reminded him.

   "How can we play if you keep changing things?" Mayri demanded stamping
her foot.

   Defensively. "You change things too."

   "Not in the middle!"

   "It'll be too easy if we go back now," Obi-Wan argued. "We find the High
Priest and it's all over."

   "He's got a point there." Cathan conceded. "Maybe we should complicate
things a little."

   "Yeah." Ryma agreed, chewing pensively on a braid and ignoring a barbed
look from her twin. "We could be driven into the tunnels -"

   "- And have to fight our way past the Stone Worms -" Cathan continued.

   "- And Cath gets wounded -" Mayri chimed in, catching the spirit.

   "Why is it always me who gets hurt?" he complained.

   "Because you're the biggest target." Obi-Wan grinned.

   Cathan snorted. He certainly was tall for their age, eleven, standing a
handspan higher than his friends. His dark coloring also contrasted with the
silver-gilt fairness of the two girls and Obi-Wan's blond hair and ice-blue
eyes.

   "Okay I get wounded," he conceded, "heroically shielding the girls from
the worm's venom."

   "Sure." said Mayri, now deep in the throes of invention. "And we carry
you to a cavern where we're found by Tazmiri refugees -"

   "Including the *real* High Priest who tells us the one we met is a phony
and a Kraith!" Ryma finished triumphantly.

   "Yeah!"

   "That's good!"

   "I like that!"

   The jungle planet of Tazmir II was being impersonated by a somewhat
overgrown tropical habitat on Level 8256-AA-14, long neglected except by the
R2 agri-droids who kept it in some semblance of order. The 'high paths' were
the network of catwalks above tree level and the tunnels were the
ventilation system. The Krallocks and Stone Worms and Tazmiri were entirely
imaginary. Maintenance droids aren't much good as extras, they don't
understand pretending and they get upset if you run a lightsabre through
them, even if it's just a low power practice sabre.

   This time the scenario was completed without further improvisations from
Obi-Wan, or anybody else. Then a time out for another story conference.

   "Okay," Ryma said, summing up, "now we know the High Priest is a Kraith
and holding the people captive with his spells. What do we do about it?"

   "Have a battle." Obi-Wan said promptly.

   Mayri rolled her eyes. "Not another battle!"

   "You got a better idea?"

   "Why don't we go back to our original plan?" Ryma asked. "Sneak back and
beard the Kraith in his den." added generously to Obi-Wan. "You can do the
duel."

   "Yeah, but what about all his followers?" he wanted to know.

   "We don't want to kill a lot of innocent people." Cathan said from the
floor, dropping his feigned healing trance. "They're not bad just
controlled."

   "Exactly." Obi-Wan said triumphantly. "So we recruit the refugees to keep
them out while we deal with the fake High Priest. They can set traps with
nets and pits and stuff like that so they won't really hurt anybody."

   "But if Obi-Wan duels with the High Priest, and the refugees deal with
his followers what's that leave for the rest of us to do?" Mayri demanded.

   There was a stymied silence as everybody hunted for ideas. Then:

   "Where's that wind coming from?" Ryma asked suddenly, pushing back the
tendrils of hair blowing across her face.

   "That way I think." Cathan said sitting up and pointing.

   "We must be near one of the intake ports." Ryma said intrigued. "Let's go
look."

   They had chosen an intersection of several ventilation shafts for their
'cavern'. The shaft Cathan had pointed out showed light at the end, they
climbed towards it Ryma first followed by Obi-Wan then Cathan and finally
Mayri. The slope was gentle, the shaft large enough for all but Cathan to
walked upright with both arms outstretched to steady themselves against the
smooth but not slippery sides.

   Reaching the opening Ryma leaned out, Obi-Wan caught her by the tails of
her tabard. "Hey, be careful!"

   "It's okay," she answered, "there's a shelf."

   And sure enough there was, about a meter below the intake port, recessed
into the slope of the Temple wall. It was six or seven meters deep and as
many wide, parapetless and obviously not intended for human use. The only
egress was five ventilation ports, of which theirs was the centermost.

   Climbing down onto the shelf the children advanced to the edge and looked
over. Were instantly captivated by the view.

   "Wow!"

   "Will you look at that."

   They'd been outside before of course, many times. The Temple had
innumerable terraces and balconies, not to mention the great plaza beneath
the five towers, but all were in the currently inhabited zone, far too high
up to see anything but a pattern of roofs and spires and canyon like-avenues
far below.

   This shelf was only a few tens of meters higher up than the surrounding
buildings, close enough for the children to see the people on the pedestrian
skyways, roof top plazas and parks.

   As Jedi Acolytes they had members of the most exotic alien species among
their Masters and fellow students. They had been taught the histories,
customs and manners of a thousand systems - but nobody had ever bothered to
teach them about the Argan district of Coruscant, where the Temple stood, or
anything about the ordinary Republic citizens who were their neighbors.

   For Cathan, Mayri, Ryma and Obi-Wan the late afternoon crowds, unwinding
after the day's work in the roof top shops and recreations centers, were far
stranger and more fascinating than the aliens who peopled their games.

   Cathan abruptly tore his attention away to explore the shelf on which
they stood. "I think we can get down there." he announced after a few
moments investigation. "There are some steps here to that shelf below us,
and from there we could just slide down the side of the Temple to the
skyway."

   "We can't leave the Temple!" Obi-Wan objected vehemently. "It's not
allowed."

   "Says who?" Ryma wanted to know.

   "What about piloting lessons?" Mayri demanded. "And visits to the
Chapterhouse and -"

   "That's different." he interrupted, "That's with a Master, with
permission."

   Cathan didn't join the argument, he seldom did. "I'm going," he told
them, "come on if you want to." He headed purposefully for the stair, the
girls right at his heels.

   Obi-Wan chewed his lip in indecision then hurried after, prefering being
wrong to being to be left out.

   The lower shelf was just a dozen or so meters above the causeway running
alongside the Temple. Obi-Wan grabbed Cathan's arm as he prepared to slide
off the edge.

   "Wait! how're we going to get back in?"

   "Use one of the doors, of course." Mayri said scornfully.

   These days traffic to and from the Temple was solely by air, probably
because only the uppermost levels were inhabited. But back in the old times,
when the Temple was still full, there had been four great doors at skyway
level, one in each face of the building. Though long shut they could be
triggered by a simple application of the Force well within the capacity of
any fourth year Acolyte.


   Fortunately there was nobody nearby when they landed with four thumps on
the skyway surface. A cluster of people were visible not to far away, rather
hesitantly they moved towards them.

   To their relief the colorfully dressed group was much to busy looking up
at the Temple and taking pictures with holocams to notice the four Acolytes.

   Puzzled Obi-Wan, Ryma, Cathan and Mayri peered up at the familiar bulk of
the Temple but saw nothing to justify the others' intense interest. The five
steps of the pyramid shone soft gold in the late afternoon sunlight,
accented by blue-black shadows cast by shelf or buttress. The five towers
weren't visible from this angle.

   Exchanging baffled looks and shrugs they continued along the causeway
until they came to a little kiosk shop. Racks out front displayed
innumerable holo cubes and prints of the Temple taken from every conceivable
angle and in every possible light. Still other holos showed Jedi Knights in
a variety of poses both with and without lightsabres and even portraits of
Master Yoda and the other Councillors.

   Just inside the door were rows of what looked like lightsabres. Obi-Wan
picked one up only to discover it was very light, no more than a casing
decorated with false controls. He put it down carefully went to join Ryma in
front of a display of Jedi figurines in bronze or ivory or polychrome.

   Nearby Cathan examined a rack of book padds and holodisks. A few seemed
to be serious histories of the Temple and the Order but most had luridly
colored covers and titles like 'Jedi Adventure Stories' or 'Master Bin-Oc
vs. the Pirates of Tigon'.

   Mayri found herself faced with shelves of dolls dressed in Jedi robes,
mugs, stylus holders and the like decorated with pictures of Jedi Knights,
lightsabres, or quotations from the Teachings. The walls of the little booth
were thickly hung with similarly decorated carry-alls, and wall banners and
even Jedi robes in a variety of sizes.

   Thoroughly bemused the children went back outside to look with new
comprehension on the people staring at and taking pictures of the Temple.

   "That was very weird." said Ryma, meaning the souvenir shop

   "We're a tourist attraction." said Cathan.


  The souvenir stand turned out to be the first of a row of similar kiosks and 
booths selling a variety of Temple and Jedi connected goods.
  Towels and bedcovers in one, dolls and models in another, and so on.

   Cathan's longer stride had put him in the lead. The sight of a tall, brown 
robed figure brooding in front of the next to last booth stopped him in his 
tracks causing a three way collision of acolytes in his wake.

   Cautiously they moved closer, and realized in was just a mannequin draped 
in Jedi robes. All four breathed sighs of relief.  

   Obi-Wan's head turned towards the shop behind it. "That sounded like 
Master Yoda."

   "You're hearing things." sharply from Mayri .

   "No, I heard him too." Ryma insisted.

   They peeked inside. This booth sold holo and vid-disks. Racks of them were 
ranged around the walls while a number of monitors all displayed the same scene; 
the Jedi Council in full session, Master Yoda apparently arguing with the tall 
human Jedi in the speaker's circle. 

   A closer look showed it wasn't Yoda at all but a Lannik actor in green make-up. 
Certainly no real Jedi would have talked back to Master Yoda the way the Human 
onscreen did!

   After losing the argument with the Council the Jedi hero went down to the 
Temple's prison level and, after an exciting lightsabre battle with two 
apprentices stationed as guards, released a beautiful woman being held there. 
The two of them then stole a transport, taking out several more Jedi guards 
in  the process, and fled into space. 

   Arriving at a system with a triple sun they joined a rag-tag fleet of tugs, 
freighters and personal transports then led it into battle against a 
squadron of sleek black battle ships.

   The improvised defence force was quickly decimated, thanks in no small part 
to the incredibly reckless tactics of their Jedi leader. A blast damaged his 
ship and fatally wounded the woman who died in the Jedi's arms while the 
control center burned around them.

   Then, just when all seemed lost, who should arrive but Master Yoda himself 
at the head of a Jedi task force which promptly destroyed the enemy ships 
while Yoda himself comforted the grieving Jedi.

   "Let's get out of here!" Ryma muttered as the credits began to roll.

   "Yeah." Obi-Wan agreed, eyes slightly glazed.

   "So that's who Master Bin-Oc is." Cathan said once they were safely outside.

   "It was all wrong!" Obi-Wan exploded, "They got *everything* wrong!"

   "Yeah," Mayri agreed. "Since when do we have a prison level?"

   "Or keep spaceships in the Temple." her sister added.

   "No Jedi would do the things that 'Master Bin-Oc' did." Obi-Wan insisted. 
"And his battle tactics were stupid. I'd do better."

   "Even Cathan'd do better." said Ryma.

   The taller boy gave her a look. "Thanks." 

   "Sorry, you know what I mean."

   He grinned suddenly. "Can you imagine what Yoda'd really do to a Jedi Knight 
who pulled a stunt like that?"

   Obi-Wan snorted. "Nobody like that Bin-Oc would get past Padawan."

   "If that far." Mayri agreed.

   "Why would anybody watch something so wrong?" Ryma wondered.

   "Maybe they don't know it's wrong." Mayri suggested. "Maybe they think Jedi 
are really like that."

   "I hope not." said Cathan.

   Obi-Wan looked troubled.


   Just past the holo booth they found a pedestrian overpass leading to 
a neighboring roof plaza. By now late afternoon was beginning to shade into 
dusk. The path beneath their feet glowed with a pale, pearlescent luminence
and the potted trees lining the walk twinkled with colored lights.

   They took the first turn leading to a shopping plaza. The path formed a 
ring seperating a circuit of brightly lit, glass walled shops from an oval 
space of grass and trees studded with silica fillament tables of people talking 
and eating beneath the lantern hung trees. 

   There were more people browsing in the shops, no two dressed alike, all in 
brilliant colors in startling combinations. There were plenty of other kids 
in the crowd and nobody gave the acolytes in their plain white and beige a 
second glance.

   The four of them kept close together moving slowly around the circuit looking 
at window displays featuring items unfamiliar, unecessary and sometimes 
completely incomprehensible to their eyes.

   And the noise was astonishing, almost painful to ears accustomed to
the silence and soft voices of the Temple. Every other person on the path 
seemed to be talking and laughing for all he or she was worth and at the tops 
of their voices too. Muzack from the stores competed with each other and the 
live orchestra playing in the outdoor cafe. 

   The black cave of the games arcade, by contrast, seemed almost familiar with 
its flashing lights and holo-displays. Somewhat reminiscent of the training 
simulator room where Jedi acolytes studied strategy and tactics. It was also 
much quieter dispite electronic noises and bursts of music from the games and 
mumbles, curses and occasional crows of delight from the intent gamers.

   There was a bank of 'free' games near the entrance, meant to suck people in 
by offering prizes of game tokens if you won. Needless to say there were few 
winners, the management had naturally chosen its most difficult games for this 
spot. Which meant they were just hard enough to offer *some* challenge to 
a Jedi acolyte. 

      Obi-Wan was immediately drawn to a fleet operations game. Strategy and tactics was his favorite class and the problem reminded him of
  his last exercise. He was required to defeat a numerically superior enemy armada with a standard sector fleet; one battle cruiser, two
  destroyers and about thirty smaller vessels ranging from corvettes and gunships to supply transports and tugs.

     The machine was far less sophisticated then the training simulators in the Temple and didn't seem to have anything like the amount of
  information he was used to. He felt a little like he was working with one hand tied behind his back and blindfolded.

     Cathan was having similar problems with his personal combat game. His simulated alter-ego had a far more limited choice of moves and
  tactics than he was used to, still some of the simul-weapons were interesting. 

     Mayri's more cerebral choice, a game of political intrigue, also included some unexpected limitations. Designed for normal people not Jedi
  the game made no allowances for truthsense or mindtricks. Which made it that much more challenging.

     Ryma also went with a strategy/tactics scenario but hers was planet bound, a small group of guerillas pitted against a powerful occupying
  force. The enemy was annoyingly amorphous and the whole scenario had none of the depth and detail of a Temple training exercise. Still the
  targets were fairly obvious - it was just a question of getting them.

     Obi-Wan's first engagement with the enemy was only moderately successful, his losses were much too high, leading him to reconsider his
  strategy.

     Mayri was now thoroughly engrossed.The complicated factional infighting was exactly the kind of problem Jedi in the field often had to deal
  with. Even without her Force powers her training in practical politics and diplomacy gave her a distinct advantage.

     Cathan had worked his way up to eleven opponents. By now he'd accustomed himself to the limitations of his game-self and had identified
  the most effective weapons in its arsenal. 

     Ryma was pleased. She'd managed to imobilize her enemy inside their defense perimeter. The game apparently expected her to try to
  penetrate the base, but she had no intention of doing anything so foolish. The trick was to make them come out after her...

     Obi-Wan's final fleet engagement, his third, effectively destroyed the invaders at the price of twenty percent casualties. Still higher than he'd
  have liked.

     Cathan disposed of the last of twenty assailants.

     Mayri secured the crown for her candidate, having eliminated or won over the various opposing parties.

     On Ryma's screen the occupation force blasted into space having been driven right off the planet.

      Suddenly all four machines exploded into dazzling light displays, electronic fanfares and hosannas and spat out streams of glittering,
  gemlike tokens. 

      Alarmed Mayri backed away, wondering if she'd somehow broken it, and collided with a solid object behind her. Whirling she saw it was a
  person, one of a considerable crowd made up of youngsters somewhat older than themselves, all grinning and applauding.

      "Wow, never seen anything like that!"

      "All four of the killer games at once!"
    
      "Where'd you kids come from anyway?"

      The acolytes clumped together, appalled at having attracted so much attention and quite incapable of responding with anything other than
  wide eyed stares.

      A heavyset older man wearing a strained smile pushed his way through the crowd. It didn't take any great Force sensitivity to realize he
  wasn't pleased at all. "Four big winner, eh?" he asked with forced joviality. "Care to try some of the paying games or maybe you'd just like to
  cash in your tokens?"

      It was crystal clear he'd much prefer they did neither. Mayri glanced quickly at her companions, realized they weren't going to answer and
  stepped quickly into the breech. "We've got to go home now. I  guess we'll just save them for next time."
      
     Apparently that was the right thing to say. The proprietor seemed much relieved. He bagged the brightly colored, gemlike baubles for them
  and they left, unfortunately accompanied by several of their audience asking friendly but embarrassing questions like what their names were
  and where they lived.

     "Look how late it is!" Cathan exclaimed, getting his wits back. "C'mon we'd better run."

     "'Scuse us."

      "Bye!" 

      They darted away, cutting through the garden restaurant to lose anybody who tried to follow. It was fully dark now. The dimlit bulk of the
  Temple rose above the neighboring rooftops, crowned by a blaze of light illuminating the plaza and five sleander spires. They made for it in
  silent but unanimous agreement, feeling a need for the security of home after their adventures.