Analyzing "Jedi Apprentice #01 - The Rising Force"

[Mr. Oragahn]

But precog is an integral part of lightsabre combat according to many EU sources, and maybe that even filtered into the movie novelizations.
Only Jedi Masters bordering on the dark side, to defeat the Sith, were capable of winning against the Sith. Any Jedi, apparently siding with the light side, purely, would be limited in a way.

Of course, this works only that far, it ends abruptly in light of much movie content, notably the combat against Maul and Obi-Wan defeating Anakin. I mean, even if you know your pupil's technique, if he has precog and you don't, you're screwed. Probabilities can only take you that far.

[Praeothmin]

Their ability to block Blaster Bolts has never seemed to be diminished in any way.
They blocked everything in TPM, in AotC (except that 1 Jedi ;) ) and in RotS without any problems.

I think what most people call "Precog" is somewhat different from the ability to view the Future through the Force, or is the basic part of that ability, like Force-Choke is often thought to be an
improvement of Force TK.

[Mr. Oragahn]

More a variation. Some enjoy pressures on arterias or the heart.

I think precog is clearly established as seeing stuff in advance through the Force. I mean, how could it not be otherwise? Every magic thing goes through the Force in SW.

[l33telboi]

I think precog is clearly established as seeing stuff in advance through the Force. I mean, how could it not be otherwise? Every magic thing goes through the Force in SW.

That is how it's often described, and sometimes it's also described as the force telling the person what to do. There are quite clearly limits to it though.

[Praeothmin]

I think precog is clearly established as seeing stuff in advance through the Force. I mean, how could it not be otherwise? Every magic thing goes through the Force in SW.

Yes, but in the "Precog" sense, you only have limited advanced warning, and not a complete picture.

You won't be able to "know", for example, that a Mandalorian is going to be waiting for you in 10 minutes in the Cantina, and that he will shoot you as soon as you appear.
From what has been displayed in the movies, and even the EU, its more like the comic book version of the "Spidey-Sense" Spider-man had.
It warned him of danger that was directly oriented towrds him, but he had no clear description, and it only activated when the danger was about to strike.


This is nothing like Luke seeing Han and Leia in danger on Cloud city.
What was seen in that seen was a lot more like Farseeing, and it seemed to offer limited glimpses in the future.
This is what seems to be affected by the "Shroud" of the Dark Side.

[Mr. Oragahn]

I agree, it's very short timed, but this would have been enough against Fett's guns.
Still, it's possible that this master wasn't particularily apt at deflecting bolts.

[Praeothmin]

I agree, it's very short timed, but this would have been enough against Fett's guns.

That's exactly what I meant: the (let's call it "Battle Precog") ability to block Blaster bolts has never, ever, in any of the Prequel movies, been shown to be lacking.
Look at how long those Jedis in the arena lastest against all those droids.
Sure, the droids are as precise as Stormtroopers, but there were many droids shooting in an enclosed space.
Without the Blaster deflection ability, the Jedi would have died way faster then they did.

Still, it's possible that this master wasn't particularily apt at deflecting bolts.

If we had previously seen Jedi being really bad at deflection, I could agree with you, but watch all the movies again.
No Jedi has ever been killed by the first shots from a Blaster while he had his Lightsabre in hand.
That Jedi was the only one.
Should we then believe that out of all the Jedi out there, only one was bad enough not to be able to block Blaster bolts? :)

[Mr. Oragahn]

Maybe Dooku used Force stuff on the Jedi Master.

[Praeothmin]

We have many examples of Jedi having problems with "Precog" for unknown dangers: Luke and Boba's grappling hook in RotJ, Obi-Wan and Jango's grappling hook in AotC, Jango's victim in AotC (who seemed surprised by Jango), Obi-Wan's droid "ride" being shot while he was hanging on it in AotC, Darth Maul's incapacity to know what a struggling Obi-Wan was going to do, plus all the examples we've had in the EU.

We know Jedi are not invulnerable, and all the examples above show that they're not even omniscient.
Force powers are great, but great, non-Force using warriors can beat Force users, especially if they know about the Force and are prepared.

[l33telboi]

Right, I've finished the novel. I'm a bit disappointed in it. Actually a bit more then just disappointed. It's written more like fantasy in space, which I guess fits Star Wars in a way, but I always preferred stuff that had was more solidly grounded in sci-fi. And in all honesty – it’s pretty darn bad.

In any case, there were a few minor things of interest in the last few chapters, but nothing major. I'm thinking about doing something like a conclusions or summary section after this, just to condense the important parts and perhaps structure the whole thing a bit better, for future reference. But that will have to wait for later. Right now it's time to get on with the show.


Chapter 14

Qui-Gon’s injuries would have been severe to a common man, but the Jedi waited until others were attended to before requesting the medic droid to bandage him in his room. Clat’Ha refused to leave his side, no matter how he urged her to rest.

Obi-Wan reached Qui-Gon’s cabin just as the medic doid finished spraying a disinfectant bandage over Qui-Gon’s ghastly wound. Then he began to glue the wound closed. The pirate chieftain’s vibro-ax had slashed Qui-Gon across the back of his shoulders, down to the ribs. Obi-Wan felt dizzy just looking at the wound, but Qui-Gon sat quietly, letting the droid do his work.

“You’re lucky to be alive,’ the medic droid told qui-Gon. “But your wounds should heal in time. Are you sure you don’t want something to ease the pain?”

A little info on the injury Qui-Gon received from the vibro-ax. It's again implied that the endurance of a Jedi is higher then that of a normal person, but unfortunately there's nothing more solid for quantification purposes.

There’s also some insight into medical technology. Keep in mind that this is just what they had on board on a largish civilian freighter, nothing fancy. Still, it seems rather limited when compared to some of the other verses.


Chapter 15

Qui-Gon called on the Force, trying to coax the Hutt to stop this madness. But for hours now he’d been focusing on his wound, trying to speed its healing, ignoring his own pain. He was too weak to persuade the Hutt.

Jemba waved a hand, as if testing the air. “Ooh, is that your powerful Force I feel? Ha!” he spat. “Your Jedi tricks are so puny, they make me laugh. They cannot work on the great Jemba. And look at you, Jedi. You’d don’t have the sense to stay out of the way of a vibro-ax. Anyone can see you are too frail to fight. There is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Qui-Gon tries force persuasion again, but fails. Also a mention that he's been using the force to try to mend his wound.

“What, Jedi?” Jemba said contemptuously to Qui-Gon. “You send a child to fight me? Is this some insult?” Jemba looked to his right and left, and raised a huge fist. If he let it fall, Obi-Wan knew that it would be the signal foe his men to open fire. Obi-Wan would not be able to deflect more than a few blaster bolts.

So, as shown in the movies, the volume of fire presented against a Jedi is problematic. On a personal note, I've always wondered how a Jedi would fare against something like a fully automatic assault rifle or perhaps even something like a shotgun. Would they be able to deflect all the slugs?

Of course, as said earlier, this is Obi-Wan we're talking about. He's not the best indicator of Jedi abilities given he's not even a Padawan yet.


Chapter 17

“Yoda once told me that there are trillions of people in the galaxy, and only a few thousand Jedi Knights. He said we cannot try to right every wrong. All creatures must learn to stand for what is right, and not always rely upon the Jedi. Perhaps that is what the Arconans must do. I don’t know about the future. But today I choose not to fight.”

This was a bit strange. Mere trillions inhabiting the Star Wars galaxy? Sure we could be talking about tens or even hundreds of trillions, but I still find the figure surprisingly low.


Chapter 19

There was a flash just above his head. Splinters of rock stung his cheek.

For half a moment, he thought that a lightning bolt had nearly pierced him. But he realized that it was too small.

A blaster. Someone had shot at him!

Qui-Gon craned his neck, and tried to look down. He spotted them immediately in the rocks below. It was difficult for a Hutt to hide. It was Grelb, Jemba’s errand boy. He slithered along, flanked by several Whiphids. They raised heavy blaster rifles and fired again. The Hutt laughed merrily.

Alright, sniper vs. Jedi threads have been popping up every now and then, and according to this, force-precog isn't some end all Jedi ability that lets them dodge everything and see every attack before it happens.

He did not fall even a dozen meters. His leap carried him straight to a draigon!

He hit the beast’s neck with a thud. The creature was wet and slimy. Qui-Gon almost slipped off, but clung to its scaly hide with the tips of his fingers. The sore muscles in his shoulder throbbed and burned. He managed to swing his legs up and over, so that he was riding squarely on the draigon’s back.

The creature roared in terror. It had been flying up to eat the Jedi. Now it shook its neck, trying to throw him off. It shrieked again and again, then wheeled in panic and flapped its wings, dropping toward the sea.

Qui-Gon clutched his precious bag of dactyl in one hand and leaned close to the draigon’s neck. Using all of the power that he could muster, he whispered to the draigon.. “Friend help me. Take me to the caves. Hurry!”

The draigons that were hunting Whiphids heard the desperate shriek of Qui-Gon’s mount. They looked up and saw the man on its back. Now the draigons rose in a flock to give chase.

His mount flapped its wings and sped toward the caves. Qui-Gon wasn’t sure he could control the beast for long, for its small mind was cruel, and it was driven by ravenous hunger.

Qui-Gon uses the force to control draigons, which oddly enough seem very similar to miniature dragons.


Chapter 22

The battle was like none Obi-Wan had ever imagined. He felt no fear. He had accepted his death. The odds were just too great against him. Now he only fought to protect the Arconans. He felt no anger. He did not hate the hungry beasts that dropped endlessly from the blackened skies.

The Force was his ally.

He could feel it moving him, moving through him, and through the draigons. He leaped and somersaulted. He spun and slashed through muzzles and claws. The battle became a dance of sheer survival.

As he danced, Obi-Wan changed. He felt subtle promptings he’d never felt before. He saw attacks before they came. He sensed the flail of a tail before it happened. The muscles of the draigons seemed incredible defined, so that he could read tiny flickers of movements that revealed which way a draigon would turn. Dead draigons piled on the ground around him. He gave himself entirely to the dance.

After several long minutes, he began backing toward the mouth of the cave. He had an idea. If he could kill the draigons at the very mouth of the cave, the bodies would block the entrance. If enough entrances were blocked, they might have a chance.

Obi-wan seems to be 'in the zone' and his fighting seems greatly improved from previous showings.

Grelb huddled beneath his rock. Draigons lay at Obi-Wan Kenobi’s feet. The boy stood with the mouth of the cave yawning wide behind him.

The Hutt chuckled softly. He saw his chance and squeezed the trigger of his blaster.

The bolt shot out – but the Grelb’s surprise, young Obi-Wan must have sensed it coming, for he dodged to the side. The bolt barely missed him.

Obi-Wan stood panting. He’d felt the Force, had dodged as the blaster bolt came from nowhere and sizzled past his head. Perhaps no one felt as surprised as Jemba the Hutt.

And Obi-Wan does what Qui-Gon wasn't able to a minute ago. He dodges a sniper shot. This definitely presents a curious question. Was Qui-Gon not able to avoid the shots earlier because of his wounds? Or is it Obi-Wan who did something out of the ordinary, due to him 'being in the zone', for lack of a better term.


Chapter 23

Together, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon jinn fought side by side. The Forced pulsed between them. They knew without speaking where the other would move, when the other would strike. When Qui-Gon moved forward, Obi-Wan sprang back to protect his flank. When Obi-Wan leaped to the right, Qui-Gon made sure he was covered from the left.

Again, their fighting seems much improved from earlier, though sadly, like most of this novel, there's nothing quantifiable to come along with the statement.