Delusions of Grandeur

A few people have inquired of me as to how I came to get my name. It started as joke because as a youngling I had different ideas about certain things.

When we making our first lightsabers in class, I really didn't like any of the colored power crystals were had as Jedi to chose from. Green, blue, purple, maybe, if you were lucky yellow. I built mine but left the crystal out. I did however use a blue one to test it, to make sure it worked. It did.

But what to do about the power crystal, I wondered. I remember I sat there staring at it and thinking... I like red. But see, red sabers are trademark of the Sith and not something a Jedi uses.

I don't think we should be defined like that. It is only a color.

I hunted around where the Master's kept the stones, searching for a red crystal. Not a single one was could be found.

Anakin walked in on me while I was digging around, snuck right up on me and scared me to death. I wasn't supposed to be in here and he thought it would be cute to scare me. He wouldn't have been able to do that if I had not been so distracted. I nearly ripped his Padawan braid off his head.

"What are you doing?" he asked me and I told him. "Are you nuts?"

"No, I'm not," I replied. "I thought you of all people would support this."

"I do but why would you want to do this?"

I smiled. "Why not?"

"Well, you're not going to find one in here," Anakin said, with a sly look.

That got my attention. I stared at him. "Do you know where one is?"

Have you ever seen that look Anakin gets when he is about to do something naughty?



"Yeah, I do," he starts to say. "We could both get into a lot of trouble."

Have you ever seen the look I get when I'm about to do something naughty? *naughty grin*

"So what? Won't be the first or the last time," I shot back.

He crossed his arms. "It's where the stone is that make you change your mind."

"I doubt it," I said.

That sly look gets slyer. "It would be funny to see Master Yoda's face when you show him." A pause. "Okay, come on, I'll show you."

So off we went, sneaking through the Temple till we came to Master Obi-Wan's quarters. Anakin opens the door and waves me in after making sure Obi-Wan wasn't inside. He goes over to a footlocker and start rummaging around inside it.

With gusto, he pulls out two-charred pieces of a double lightsaber. "This was Darth Maul's. Remember him?" Unscrewing one the pieces, Anakin let a red crystal drop in his hand. "Tada!"

He tossed to me and slipped in to my saber and ignited it. Perfect and so me.

"You're still going to be toast, D.J. You did NOT get that from me," he said.

I gave him a confused look. "What did you just call me?"

"Dark Jedi. D.J. It suits you, I think."

That's how it started. After the ruckus I caused in class the next day when we presented our sabers to Master Yoda, the name stuck. Barriss added the 'K' later; at least I think it was her.

Anyway, I walked up to Yoda and handed him my saber. He looked it over, nodding. "Well done it is. Balance good, weight perfect." Then he flips the switch.

Everyone the room stepped back. It was hilarious, with all the ooohs and aaahs. I could sense Anakin trying ever so hard not to laugh. So was I.

Yoda nearly dropped my saber he was so shocked. Not easy to shock Yoda. "Get this where did you?"

"I found it."

He eyed me with that expression. "Your idea of a joke this is, Padawan Kriss?"

"No, Master. It is the color I chose," I told him. Well, it was!

"Have this you can not!" And off he went on the lecture on why. On and on and on, getting more and more irritated as he went. "Make anther you will! See this again I do not!"

I still have it and I use it too. Not when a Master is around, gets them very upset. As you can see from my picture I carry a blue one as well. As far as I know, Obi-Wan never noticed the missing crystal. Even to this day.

Like I said the name stuck, even more after I started my training as field photographer and later as I became press photographer for the Jedi Order.

Mostly because of things like this:



Anakin posed for this right after he was denied Mastership again. Poor Ani.