A New Player in the Force

This wasn’t how this was meant to go.

That thought echoed around Tedra’s head as she scurried into the room. Around her were various crates, some opened, some not and some half-and-half. None, however, were going to be any use to her in this situation.

She felt the Force shift around her, drawing her attention to one corner. Having learnt to trust in the Force, she scrambled forward. The crates in this corner were all too small for her to hide in, but just behind them was a half-open vent of some form. Far too small for most to enter, but for Tedra, it would be doable if a little tight.

Ripples in the Force alerted her to the threat incoming and, trying not to dislodge the crates too much – and thus give up where she’d hidden – she slid behind them. Once given some cover, she closed her eyes and reached out through the Force until she sensed the vent’s cover. Slowly she willed it to pull back. As she heard the metal groan, she opened her eyes to see the gap into the vent was now wide enough that she could scamper through, which she did.

No sooner had she slipped into the vent and pulled the cover back into place then ripples of warnings within the Force turned into waves. The Rodians chasing her, the same ones that had been on her tail since she’d first run into them hours ago, were close.

Making sure to be silent and drawing the Force around her to hide within its eddies, she offered a silent prayer to not suffer the same fate as Aasuk had years before she’d been freed by Cam and sent to the Jedi. Her Togruta friend had managed to get free of his control collar – she never learnt how – and ran down an unused corridor of the station to hide. It hadn’t taken the Weequays hunting him long to track him down, however, instead of recapturing him, the Weequays threw a grenade down the corridor, using her friend as a message to the other slaves.

In the tight space of the vent, she could hear – and see on the surface mere centimetres from her face – the speed of her breathing. She’d been running nonstop for Force-knew how long, but she knew she needed to calm herself. If not because it was what Knight Eislard and her other instructors said, but because the sound of her breathing might alert the Rodians to her hiding hole.

Using the exercises that the Jedi had taught her and trusting herself to be able to do so under pressure, she slowed her breathing. Her fear slipped into the Force, as she’d been trained to do, letting her truly feel for the first time how effective the meditative techniques were. Her mind drifted into the Force, letting it move through and protect her.

“Where’d she go?” The scratchy voice of one Rodian – the one who’d first mentioned there was a bounty on young Jedi after another one spotted her – echoed into the vent from the room. It broke her concentration, but she stopped herself from vocally reacting. Growing up a slave taught her the value of knowing when to not react.

“No clue.” There was a moment’s silence before the second Rodian spoke again. “Right, split up. You three search in here. Spos, take some men down that corridor. I’ll head the other way with the rest.”

The sounds of footsteps spreading out echoes in the vent. Tedra reached out with the Force, sensing those nearby. The excitement radiating from them angered her, but she knew that she needed to stay in control, stay alert. Most of the Rodian had left but four, no five, stayed. As they spread out in the room, Tedra pulled the Force tightly around herself begging it to muffle any sound she made. As she slowly moved deeper into the vent, having sensed a path out through it, her mind played over how this had happened.

She’d been slipping out of the Temple for months now, and while she was sure Knight Eislard and the others knew what she was doing, they didn’t bother to stop her. Which was a relief. As much as she loved learning to use the Force, the constant boring lectures on the dangers of holding on to your emotions infuriated her. Holding onto the hope of freedom, and if not that, then the chance to strike back at the slavers was one of the few things that had kept Tedra and the other slaves going. At least until Cam had turned up.

She’d jumped at the chance to learn the same things her saviour knew, even potentially more as she’d discovered he’d joined the Jedi at an older age than her. But after less than a month at the Temple, she’d grown bored and a growing sense that she’d not gained her freedom, but instead just changed overlords festered in her mind. Several talks with Master Fay – one of Cam’s teachers – had dispelled that idea, but she'd grown restless in the Temple, thus why she’d started sneaking out not long after being made an Initiate.

While having Cam back in the Temple was great, she knew something had happened to him. She could sense that something had changed him, and while he and Master Fay danced around the topic, she saw moments in his eyes that reminded her of older slaves whose hope had been shattered. She’d tried to get him to open up to her, after all, she understood the galaxy was far from the rosy picture her Jedi instructors insisted it was, but Cam, to her annoyance, wouldn’t talk with her about it, though he did share some of his adventures.

Hearing Cam talk happily about the red-haired Mandalorian he’d been travelling with had hurt her. She didn’t quite understand why, but it had, and while she’d let go of that pain as her instructors had taught her, her dislike of this Mandalorian hadn’t faded. And she was sure this was the one she’d seen watching her when she’d slipped out of the temple over the last few months. Including last night when she’d slipped away.

As normal, she’d slipped onto the roof of one of the various cargo vessels that descended into the depth of the planet. The surface was too shiny, too clean, and too nice for her and she’d found the lower levels far more to her liking. However, just as the transport she’d been catching a lift upon had passed the twentieth level, the Force had called out a warning. A moment later one of the vessel’s engines exploded. She’d leapt from the vessel, planning to use another as a step-stone to a nearby ledge. Yet as her feet had touched down on the ledge, it had shifted, and she’d slid down the edge of the massive shaft that led into the depths of the planet.

She didn’t remember exactly what had happened, as her last clear memory was slamming onto the top of something orange, but when she’d woken, she’d been down so deep the entrance to the shaft was nothing more than a prick of light in the metal sky above. Nothing was broken, thank the Force, but most of her body hurt.

Hoping to find a way to either get back to the surface, or failing that contact the Temple, she’d instead run into this group of Rodians, and been running for her life since they found out she was a Jedi.

The sound of metal scraping on metal broke her chain of thought. The vent was too narrow to let her look back, but she knew it’d come from the room she was scurrying away from. Thankfully, she’d already turned the corner in the vent so even if one of the Rodians looked inside, they’d not be able to spot her.

A glance at her bracer made her curse silently. The commlink on it had broken during her fall and while she might be able to repair it with some time, that was one thing she didn’t have. According to the chronometer, she’d been gone from the Temple for almost a whole day, so she knew people would be looking for her. However, the odds that anyone would look…

She gasped in shock as she felt a powerful wave ripple through the Force. For a split second, she thought it was dire warning and tensed, but then she relaxed. Instinctively she knew who that was: Cam. He knew she was missing and was scouring the Force on the planet to find her. She knew he was powerful, she’d felt it every time she’d been near him since he’s returned to the Temple, but to be able to feel his presence in the Force when she was Force-knew how far from the Temple…

For the first time in hours, the faint hope in her that she’d escape this level unharmed – or at least, no more harmed than she currently was – grew. The embers that had existed before sparked into life and filled her with a renewed drive to keep going, to keep safe until help, until Cam, arrived.

And then, she thought with a smile that would’ve gotten her in trouble with Knight Eislard, those Rodians were going to get what they deserved. Something strange surged through her, giving her power and renewed strength, at the thought of Cam killing the Rodians.

It wasn’t the Force, yet it was. Though wondering what it was, she knew, was something best left for once she was safely away from this place. Preferably back in the Temple with Cam.

… …

… …

“I knew things down here were bad, but this…” My words trailed off as we looked around the low level – it didn’t have an official number on the landing platform, like the last few we’d passed, but we were easily over twenty-seven hundred down – we’d just arrived at. The Force indicated that this was the one Tedra was on, but I silently hoped – against both the Force and the Interface being accurate – it wasn’t, and she was hundreds of levels above us as this place…

“I’ve seen worse.” Bo’s comment, while not reassuring, wasn’t surprising. With me being stuck inside the Temple since we’d returned to Coruscant – and I knew that restriction was going to grow for this, but so long as Tedra came back safe and sound it’d be worth it – Bo had needed ways to blow off steam. Hell, she’d happily told me about every fight she’d gotten into while I’d been stuck in the Temple and frankly, I was getting jealous. If I could just spar it might be ok but being banned from that was sucking almost all the fun out of being in the Temple. To say nothing of not being able to abuse Training Superiority for XP. “You sure she’s down this far?”

“More or less,” I replied while grimacing at the smell that invaded my senses. While Tedra was still beyond the range of my minimap – which was something I might upgrade the next time I got a Perk Point – given her elevation was only a few degrees below ours, I felt safe saying that she was on this level or the one below.

I cursed in annoyance as my foot splashed into a puddle of what was clearly not water. No doubt once we’d found Tedra and were back in the Temple I’d have to wash my robes at least a dozen times just to get rid of the smell. That had me cursing once again that I didn’t have a hermetically-sealed suit of armour like Bo. Instead, I only had my vambraces, my dragon-skin cloak, and a pair of grenades that I’d taken from the Ne’tra Sartr beyond standard Jedi fare. I’d left my beskad on the off chance we ran into other Jedi before I got back to the Temple, but what I’d kill for was a helmet that could filter the revolting smell that swirled around us. Or I would’ve if I hadn't activated Breath Control to limit what I breathed in.

“Come on.” I sighed at enjoying semi-fresh and unpolluted air for the first time in about an hour, even as I cursed myself for not using the Force Power earlier on.

“Hey.” We’d only taken a few steps from the speeder that had brought us to this level before a slightly chubby human had stood up and slid into my way. “You paid the level entrance fee?” My eyes narrowed as I took in his dress. He was wearing some very light armour over his chest, but like the rest of his clothing it was worn, and nowhere did I see any sigil for Coruscant security. Behind him were nine males: four humans, three Twi’leks, a Zabrak and a Duros. All of their eyes were on us, though most were for Bo and not me.

“You’re the authorities for this shab-hole?” Even as I asked that. I sensed desire and excitement coming from the group as their eyes drifted over Bo. I used Observe on half of them, including the leader, which confirmed that not only were they having thoughts about her that I wanted to rip them apart for, but they were all members of a gang that, I assumed, ran this level.

“Yeah,” the man stepped closer, one hand on the pistol at his waist while his eyes lingered on Bo’s armoured chest. “Yough…” Whatever bullshit he was going to spew was cut off as I sent him flying into his cohorts with a flick of my fingers. He slammed into two of them, sending all three to the floor in a tumble, even as the rest shifted,

Before any could get a shot off though, three were knocked back, smoking craters on their faces indicating Bo had shot them dead. The other four were lifted off their feet and slammed into a wall with a crunching thud before slumping to the group in a broken heap.

A groan from the downed leader and the two men he’d hit had Bo aiming her blasters. “Leave the leader.” Even as bolts slammed into the two others, I lifted the leader into the air, drawing a new groan from him.

“I’m looking for a young Zabrak girl,” I explained as he floated helplessly toward me. “About ten cycles old with reddish-brown hair and possibly wearing robes like mine.”

The man’s eyes drifted around slowly, unable to focus on anything, suggesting he might have a mild concussion.” Y-you’re a Je-Jedi?” His voice lacked the bravado he’d shown earlier on.

“Given you’re floating in the air, I’d say you could get on that.” He blinked at my retort even as I felt Bo’s amusement in the Force.

“Wh-why should I help you?” He asked, recovering some of his confidence. “We own this level and you Jedi don’t care about anyone outside your shiny surface tower.”

I pulled him closer until he was within striking range. “For your sake, it had better stay that way.” I closed my fingers into a fist, and he started struggling. If he could, I had no doubt he’d reached for his throat as the Force slowly crushed his windpipe. After letting him squirm for a short while, I released the pressure. “Now, about the girl.” He gasped heavily as I spoke.

“Y-you can’t do anything to me! I know how your lot works!” He frantically called out with a raspy voice.

Even as I slammed him into the deck, taking pleasure in seeing him splash down in a puddle of crud, I growled and stepped forward. “Fine.” My hand extended toward him. “You will tell me where the girl is,” I commanded as I used Force Compulsion. I felt it slam into and then wash over his mind with ease. I knew Fay wouldn’t have been happy with how aggressive I was in my application of the Force, but this arsehole was pissing me off. Everything about his body language – and a quick reapplication of Observe – confirmed he knew something about Tedra, so I felt no need to be subtle.

His eyes glazed over for a moment before he replied. “I will tell you where the girl is.” He blinked though retained the glazed look. “I haven’t seen anyone matching that description, but I know the Blue Rakghouls are searching for a Zabrak elsewhere on the level.”

I bit off a string of curses at his lack of help and chose instead to slam him into the wall where the rest of his squad had hit.

“Cam,” Bo began as the body slumped to join the rest, but I was already striding forward. Tedra was on this level, and it appeared others were hunting her.

“I’m fine.” I snapped back, only to stop as I felt my anger surge. Memories of what I’d endured under Vosa’s care once more slammed into my mind and if I hadn’t stopped, I’d have likely stumbled into a wall. I closed my eyes and sunk inward. I was in control of myself, not my rage. While my emotions could be focused, they obeyed me, not the other way around.

I pulled up thoughts of how I felt when using Alchaka, focusing on the calmness and patience I felt when my mind drifted into the Force. Tedra didn’t have the time for me to carry out the meditative technique now, so the memories of how it felt would have to be enough. And they were as I felt my anger settle, returning to the gentle waves on a pond that it’d been before we’d reached this level.

“Sorry. I’m just concerned about Tedra.” I said as I looked at Bo as she stood beside me. “And it seems I’ve still got anger issues to work through,” I added with a chuckle.

Bo placed a hand on my shoulder. “Well duh. Still, osi’kovide like these are good for blowing off steam if nothing else.” Even with the armour in the way, I knew she was thinking about how she’d done similar things to pass the time over the last few months. Hopefully without breaking any planetary laws in the process.

“Aye, though I think I might need to blow off more steam before we find Tedra.”

Bo chuckled. “Here’s hoping. This lot wasn't even worth the cost of gas.”

That made me chuckle. Bo looking for a fight was nothing new, she was a Mandalorian after all, but the more rational part of my mind hoped that there wouldn’t be too many more moments like this. While they’d be good for centering myself, I’d rather get Tedra back to the Temple before anyone was aware I’d slipped out.

… …

… …

I barely gave the Duros I’d just tossed off a ledge a second thought as I surveyed the open area Bo and I were in. Nearby, Bo was gunning the last of the group that thought ambushing a Jedi and a Mandalorian was a good idea, though my attention was instantly on something else.

Tedra had finally, after nearly six hours and, including this short interaction, five skirmishes of varying size, come into range of the minimap.

“That way, less than a klick.” I pointed down a side passage, away from where we’d planned to go but from where the dozen or so reinforcements for this ambush had come. Of course, said reinforcements were littering the floor, killed by a combination of blaster bolts, lightsaber cuts, or broken bodies as I slammed them into anything around us.

I took a step toward the passage only to stop as I heard Bo crouch. Turning back, I saw her searching the pockets of the two she’d just gunned down. While I wasn’t happy about her searching the bodies, mainly as I felt it generally slowed us down, Bo had pointed out that there was a chance we’d gain some intel from these morons, and that’d been proven true after our second skirmish.

However, discovering that Tedra was being actively hunted by the Blue Rakghouls gang hadn’t done much for my control. Which, given the various dismembered bodies and limbs lying around me, hadn’t been a good thing for the gang members we’d encountered. The group before this ambush had been a team of twelve that had been directly hunting Tedra and I’d taken great pleasure in turning them into my prey. Knowing that tempering my anger was a failure waiting to happen, I’d adapted Djem So into my attacks, and channelled my rage into the attacks when we’d encountered the hunting party. Fay would no doubt complain if she ever learnt about this, as would the High Council, but I was fine with it as it gave me a way to bleed off some of the simmering lake of rage within me. These animals were hunting a friend, so they deserved everything they got in retaliation.

However, my rage wasn’t as strong during this ambush, mainly as, with me worried about slipping back into a rage-induced berserker mode, I’d activated Player’s Mind after the hunting party were eliminated. Yes, it prevented me from drawing on my emotions to fight harder and faster, but the risk of losing control and suffering another incident was too great when Tedra’s life was on the line.

“Fine. Shebs’palone barely had anything worth taking.” Bo stood and slid a pile of credits into her pouch, which was likely another thing the Jedi wouldn’t like, but I didn’t see an issue with it. If these beings were foolish enough to attack a Jedi and Mandalorian – even when the odds were six to one in their favour- then they didn’t deserve to live. Hell, we’d likely done the gene pools of their species a favour by removing them.

Heading down the passage, I opened my mind and reached out through the Force, finding the bond I wanted with practised ease. [We’re near, Tedra. Stay safe.] I’d sent a few telepathic messages to her though this one, like the rest, didn’t bring a verbal response. Only a wave of relief and desperation that was stronger than any before it. As the Force helped push me forward faster than most could hope to manage, I looked at my minimap.

Tedra was moving almost perpendicular to us, however, what drew my attention – and made me glad Player’s Mind was active – was the group of about a dozen other beings that seemed to be following her. It didn’t take much to determine that they were another team from the Blue Rakghouls – who were quickly becoming a group that I planned to crush brutally in future – were closing in on her.

“She’s got company.” My words echoed in the empty corridor as I vaulted with ease over a pile of smashed crates. By the placement of the crates, it might’ve been Tedra’s work, but it could just have easily been another sign of how badly rundown this level was.

“Stealth or shock and awe?”

I chuckled at Bo’s response even as I noted she didn’t question my statement of Tedra’s location or situation. Before my capture – images flashed through my mind but Player’s Mind nullified any emotional reaction before it could incapacitate me – I’d sensed a great deal of hesitation from Bo regarding my orders, even if she never voiced it during a mission. Now, I didn’t sense any of that, just a resolve to find Tedra and get out of this shithole of a level. Now, things between us still needed to be sorted out, but I wasn’t willing to use Observe on her while we were outside the wire. That would just lead to distractions that could be deadly.

“By ear.” I shot back as while sliding around more debris, I pulled my hand to one side. The Force dragged a door in my path open at the same time the group chasing Tedra closed on her. A shout of pain from somewhere ahead of us and through the Force made me growl before my anger was brought under control by the Interface. “Brutal,” I called out, changing my mind.

There was no reply from Bo, and less than a minute later the voices drifted into range.

“Come out, come out, little Jedi. No need to draw this out any longer.” Laughter from multiple distant sources accompanied that. “We don’t want to hurt you too much. The bounty’s worth more for you alive.” The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed around us. “Ah, there you are.”

Tedra screamed as I rounded a corner and saw the opening to the area that she had to be in. Two Rodian were standing there, their blasters low and their backs to us. I pushed myself harder, accelerating as fast as I could with the Force.

My lightsaber roared to life, drawing their attention, but before they could turn enough to see Bo or me, I was upon them. The one on my right side lost the upper part of his skull as my lightsaber sliced clean through it while the second was slammed into the wall next to the door with a blast of force energy that ended in a sickening crack.

The chaos I was unleashing drew the attention of others in the room, not least Tedra whose relief and hope brightened up the force in this dank and darkly lit area. I moved forward, my lightsaber moving as fast as I was, and I slid to a stop no more than ten metres from Tedra and two Rodians standing over her.

“If you’re looking for a Jedi, then I think I will suffice.” I snarled as the remains of four more Rodians slumped to the floor: the deadly effectiveness of my lightsaber making clear I wasn’t in the mood to play nice. Tedra was backed up close to an exposed opening that led into some sort of shaft. Given the gases rising from the opening, whatever was in there was either very hot or very dangerous. Possibly even both.

Even as the two Rodians in front of me looked at me, I heard and saw bolts of yellow fly. Within seconds every Rodian in the room that I hadn’t killed or was in front of me fell under Bo’s brutally efficient fire.

One of the Rodians near Tedra grabbed her, making her scream. I stepped forward as the other approached, pulling a vibroblade from his waist. With Player’s Mind active I didn’t instantly dismiss the weapon as there was no way the Rodian didn’t know such a blade was no match for a lightsaber: not under normal conditions.

Even as I pondered what this Rodian had up their sleeve, I saw the other pull Tedra to them and lift a blaster toward her head. That was enough for me, and as Tedra tried to shuffle away from it, I moved. My blade thrust like lightning towards the rodian. And as it brought its blade up to parry, a twist of my wrist was enough to slide the tip of my blade around the offending blade. Yet, as my lightsaber brushed the Rodian’s forearm, it flickered out.

Realising the alien was wearing cortosis gauntlets and with its block turning into an attack as it saw my blade die, I adapted. The attack was well timed and accurate. Or it would’ve been if the Force wasn’t moving me so fast its eyes were likely struggling to track me. With contemptuous ease, I shifted my weight so that the blade missed me while tossing up my extinguished lightsaber.

As I closed on the overgrown bug, my hands gripped its wrists, then with the Force increasing my strength, I crushed the joints. Even as the beginnings of a cry of pain slipped from the Rodian’s lips, I was turning, my grip still secure. With no chance to react, the alien was lifted off its feet and then, as I completed a full rotation, slammed face first into a support beam with enough velocity that the head caved in and it's brain smeared across the post even as I casually caught my lightsaber in my left hand.

“Cam!” Tedra called out, seemingly more relieved to see me than disturbed by what I’d just done. As I looked her way, I saw the Rodian was affected as its eyes somehow looked as if they were going to grow larger than its very punchable head. He stepped back, pulling Tedra with it even as it held the blaster close to Tedra’s skull.

“S-stay b-back!” the Rodian stammered out as I took a step closer. This made it take another step back, only to stop as it reached the opening. If not for the Force, the gases and steam seeping out would’ve made it hard for me to fully see.

“Let her go and I might let you live.” While my emotions were kept in check by Player’s Mind, I knew some of it had seeped into my words as the Rodian pushed the blaster into Tedra’s skull. “Maybe.”

Part of me was disappointed that Tedra didn’t just use the Force to break free, but given she’d been running from these fucking arseholes for almost a day, and was undoubtedly tired and hungry, I was willing to cut her some slack. Didn’t mean I wasn’t going to explain her faults once we were back in the Temple.

“W-why sh-ould I trust you?” Its voice was barely held together, and fear was radiating from the alien so much that I was glad I was blocking off my emotions as, even with them suppressed, I found its reaction enjoyable.

“You don’t really have a choice.” I shot back as my free hand indicated the remains of his compatriot’s brain dripping off the wall. I took another step closer.

“DON’T!” It called out and it jammed the blaster into her skull. As Tedra whimpered my resolve to handle this subtlety ended.

My fingers on my free hand twirled before closing into a fist. At the same time, the Rodian’s eyes somehow widened further before its arm jerked back strangely. A moment later the blaster, and the hand holding it, started to compact.

“Aargh!” The alien grunted even as it struggled to process what was happening. I watched in enjoyment as its eyes shot from the bloody remains of its ruined hand, and the remains of the blaster within, to me. Finally, it understood it was outclassed.

Yet before I could finish it off, Tedra slipped free, turned, and thrust her arms forward. The Force reacted to her demands and the alien was lifted off its feet and sent sailing through the opening.

“AGH!” it screamed as it sailed into oblivion. Tedra turned back to me, relief at being saved, mixing with the shock of what she’d endured and just done on her face. I started to move toward her only to feel the Force react and warn me of danger.

Before I could understand what, Tedra’s eyes widened before she was suddenly jerked into the opening.

“GAH!”

“Tedra!” I moved forward, the Force surging through me, and reached for her. However, my hand found nothing but air as her scream of terror echoed in the gas. The heat of the steam tingled over my skin until I shifted the Force to block it out even as I stared helplessly into the thick pea-soup fog that filled the shaft into which Tedra had just fallen. Not wanting to lose her when I’d almost had her, and seeing no other option, I stepped through the opening even as I slid my lightsaber into my Inventory instead of the mag clip on belt. Without knowing one hundred per cent what was in the fog, I felt safer with my blade in my Inventory.

Hot, thick air slammed into my face as I fell, making it impossible to see. I closed my eyes, opened my mind and reached out through the Force. As shaft, the gas and everything else came into focus within the Force, I was drawn back to memories of my former life, and every single jump I’d done – both in training and combat.

Almost instantly after opening myself to the Force, I sensed Tedra no more than ten metres below me. Her screams echoed in the Force as if I was standing right next to her. Further below her, I sensed the Rodian, its fear and terror bringing a flash of joy to my heart; though that was quickly stymied by Player’s Mind, as was the rush of fury as I sensed a connection between it and Tedra.

She hadn’t fallen but been pulled by the fucking bug in an attempt to take her with it.

Glad my fury wasn’t going to cloud my judgement, nor let me dwell on the emotions of a few jumps that had gone wrong in my former life, I pulled my arms to my side and let myself accelerate as I fell.

With the Force guiding me, and a decade of experience to call upon from my former life, I reached Tedra in seconds. “Cam!” Her voice barely carried to me over the roar of the gases around us even as I slid an arm around her waist. Quickly I found the cable the alien had fired at her and ripped it and a small patch of her robes off before tossing it away. My vambrace vibrated, meaning Bo was trying to reach me – had she jumped after us? – but my focus was on slowing our fall.

Levitation activated and our descent slowed to a crawl. However, even with the power having reached its maximum potential within the Interface, it wasn’t enough to stop us from falling. The gases around us slowed down, making it possible to hear Tedra’s whimpers of fear as she clung tightly to my chest.

Reaching out through the Force I searched for details on the shaft. How far did it go down and where were any exits located? The Force wasn’t being clear, but I could tell this shaft went down deep, perhaps to the very lowest level on Coruscant, and there were no openings, or even potential ones, coming up any time soon.

Fucking wonderful.

My vambrace vibrated again and moving it slowly to not disrupt my concentration – nor have Tedra do so by reaching to my movement – I shifted my free arm to my face. A gentle application of the Force had the channel open. “Where are you?” I all but shouted into the link, hoping Bo would understand and reply in kind.

“About a metre above you.” Her reply was loud, yet it was still a struggle to hear it over the sounds echoing around the shaft. I looked up and, while it wasn’t clear, managed to see the faint outline of a darker figure in the gas with red flames surrounding their lower half. “I had to make sure the gases wouldn’t ignite before following.”

“Thank you. For both checking and coming.” Yeah, she’d shown more sense than I had in the situation as while I knew the gas wasn’t poisonous – thanks to the Interface failing to say I was being poisoned – I’d still leapt without having a plan. In my old life, that shit got you killed, but in this galaxy that just seemed to be the Jedi way. A nasty habit I’d have to be mindful of in future. “Any idea how we can get out of here?”

The shadow shifted around, and I assumed Bo was using her armour’s scanners to check. At the same time, Tedra moved around, finding a more comfortable way to grip me painfully tight. The movement wasn’t enough to make me lose control of our slowed descent, but it did force me to pay more attention to controlling the Force around us.

“Hard to tell. The gases are shabyriir the sensors, but it looks like there’s some sort of ledge about twenty metres below and to your right.”

I reached out through the Force, confirming there was something there that should be able to take our weight; or at the very least, stop us from falling when combined with Levitation. “Got it.”

It didn’t take long to reach the ledge, which would barely be big enough for Tedra and me to share. After a few experimental pushes against it with my feet while Levitation was active, I eased Tedra onto it. A quick check of my belt confirmed both grenades were still there and, with Tedra’s eyes blocked by them being jammed against my stomach and Bo still above us, I subtly pulled my lightsaber from my Inventory and reattached it to my belt; making sure the fastening was as secure as it could be.

“H-how are we getting out?” Tedra shouted, though, against the roaring of the rising gases, it was barely louder than a whisper. I smiled in reassurance before reaching out with the Force. “Bo, any way out of here?”

Even as I asked that the Force was indicating the area on the other side of the shaft wall was safe. Or at least safer than remaining in the shaft.

“Sensors have an opening on the other side of the wall, but can’t tell if it's empty. Or much of anything other than it should have breathable air.”

Bo’s scan confirmed what the Force had told me. “Good enough for me.” Carefully, not wanting to slip and fall nor lose my lightsaber to the shaft, I unclipped the weapon and ignited the blade. Before cutting, I erected a Force barrier around Tedra, me and the ledge. One strong enough to block out the gases rising around us. There was a risk any cut would cause a backlash, which would be very dangerous and not something I wanted to chance.

With the barrier active, I sunk my blade into the wall, then as the metal melted from the heat of the plasma blade, I slowly sliced open a hole large enough for all three of us to walk through.

While I still didn’t know what was on the other side, it had to be better than staying in this shaft and hoping to find another way out.

… …

… …

Four hours later, and after several run-ins with Cthons – creatures I hadn’t seen since discovering the Sith shrine deep under the Jedi Temple not long after becoming a Padawan – later, I was growing royally pissed with Coruscant. The surface may look clean, shiny, and safe, but after spending half a day wandering the lower levels, it was abundantly clear the planet was none of those things, at least not for the overwhelming majority of the populace. Which had me considering if this was why there’d been no issue with the Republic transitioning into the Empire.

I was also glad that Player’s Mind was active as, not long after entering this tunnel system Force knew how far under the surface of the planet, I’d heard my torturer’s voice drift from a dark corner of a side tunnel we hadn’t taken. If not for Player’s Mind, I knew I’d have suffered another moment and while I knew now that wouldn’t have been an issue, the fact it could happen seemingly at random was an ongoing concern.

Yet, while I was glad that I had the special power to fall back on, it was infuriating – or would’ve been if the power didn’t nullify my emotions rapidly – that the only way I was getting through this ‘rescue’ was by relying on it.

I’d long since reached out through the Force to Fay to let her know we’d found Tedra. While she wasn’t happy that I had gone out to find her - suggesting she was near another Jedi - she was relieved I hadn’t gone alone and that Tedra was with us. Still, it could be hours until we either found a way upward or she found a suitable way down that would bring her close to our location.

From using the Force and examining the readings from Bo’s sensors, I knew we were in a tunnel system that seemed to go on for miles, yet there was no hint of how we could ascend or where to go to do that. Haran, if not for being able to use Force Sight – and teaching Tedra the basics of how to use the Force to see in the dark, which was a little awkward as how the Interface handled the Force was different from how other Force users interacted with it – we’d have been relying entirely on the lights from Bo’s armour for sight, and that could’ve become an issue. While her armour still had several days of power left, I’d rather not drain any more than needed on the chance we ended up staying down here for that long.

“I hate this shabuiryr planet.” Bo’s cursing had been a regular feature of our treks. This one was brought on by her boot sinking into a pool of what, I hoped, was just dirty water. The smell would’ve likely made us all retch if not for us having armour or the Force to block it out, but I knew that the first thing I was doing when I got back to the Temple was tossing my robes in an incinerator, then taking a shower for about a week.

“Me too.” Tedra’s tone while despondent was far more hopeful than it’s been just after we’d escaped the shaft. Most of that, I suspected, came from the fact Bo had reluctantly agreed to let Tedra carry one of her blaster pistols. She hadn’t been happy about it, but after our first run-in with Cthon, she’d been more accepting of the need for every member of our team to be armed.

Hell, she’d even given Tedra some pointers in a far gentler way than I’d expected after that run-in, and it had helped greatly since Tedra’s accuracy was impressive; even knowing she was drawing on the Force to help her. It had reached a point that after the third encounter, Bo had extended the same offer she’d given Anakin that if the Jedi thing – as she put it – didn’t work out, Tedra could join her clan.

Tedra had seemingly been confused by the offer, though she had said that so long as I was a Jedi she would be one as well. Bo had given me a glance at that as amusement radiated from her through our bond. I knew that once we were out of here, and my time in the Temple was through, she was going to tease the ever-loving fuck out of me about that. While I’d not enjoy it, simply getting out of here and into a shower would make it liveable. Hell, the idea of a shower was one of the things that were keeping me going which I’m sure was true for Bo as…

My foot slipped on something, but I managed to not lose my balance. Bo glanced back at me, but I waved her off. I didn’t need her to look my way, not when my mind had imagined what she’d look like coming out of a shower. While Player’s Mind had slammed the door on that burst of emotions, it still had me cursing once more the fact I had to endure being a teenager – and all the shite that brought – all over again.

We walked past two more intersections that led into darkness but didn’t take either. While there was nothing I could sense down either, the Force seemed to be guiding us forward with faint golden halos highlighting our current path that I could see with Force Sight. Of course, those same golden halos had drawn us into four groups of increasing sizes of Cthons so I was beginning to suspect the Force was finding ways that’d test us as a group.

Tedra stopped mid-step and sensing confusion from her, I turned and saw her frowning.

“Tedra?”

She blinked and shook her head, almost as if she forgot for a moment that I was there. “I, I think I sensed something… different.” I turned back to look where we were going, spotting Bo having stopped with her blaster scanning the darkness in front of us, and then reached out with Detection, Force Sight, and Sense Force.

“I’m not feeling anything.” Yet as I said that I realised that there was something strange going on. Just down the left tunnel of the intersection we were maybe a hundred metres from, there was an unusual section of… nothingness. The Force couldn’t sense anything in there; be it the walls, faint flickers of power in long-forgotten cables or from plant life that had overgrown the ground. “Ok, that’s odd.”

“What is it?”

I ignored Bo’s question and glared into the darkness, trying to work out what could cause such a strange emptiness in the Force. There were some records in the Archives of creatures and objects that could restrict or outright block a Jedi from sensing them through the Force. However, none of them should be down this far under the surface of Coruscant. “There’s nothing in the tunnel to our left. As in the Force isn’t sensing anything. Not even the walls.” As I explained that to Bo, I ignited my lightsaber. Bo’s posture shifted instantly. Her blaster and the vambrace on her free hand moved with her helmet scanning the darkness for whatever threat could be out there. “Tedra, stay behind me.”

I didn’t wait for a response before I moved to Bo’s side. Just before I reached her, my foot clipped against something hard. A minute ago, I’d have just ignored that as the remains of a durasteel plate from when these tunnels had been used, but now I was more alert. A glance down was followed by a closer look. While my eyes could see an oddly shaped grey block of what looked like duracrete, the Force couldn’t sense it, meaning it wasn’t. Worse was that, now that I knew what to look for, I sensed similar small patches of the duracrete-like substance leading into the darkness, angling toward the left tunnel at the intersection.

Once I reached Bo’s side, I tapped her shoulder. Since I wasn’t hooked into her battlenet, I fell back on training to let her know I was present. Without responding she moved forward, cautiously approaching the intersection. As she took up a position at the edge of the left tunnel, I drifted toward the right tunnel – ignoring the faint golden glow coming from it – to allow me to provide support with the Force or the grenades and grant me a clean line of attack if I needed to surge forward.

She slid out, her blaster sweeping into the tunnel, only for me to sense shock from her, followed by excitement. That was all I needed to know there was something there, yet before I could get a clear sight of what it was, Bo leapt back, and a blob came flying out of the tunnel. As it flew past me and slammed into the wall, I noted it was the same grey colour as the marking on the floor and was essentially invisible to the Force.

Blaster fire erupted from Bo in response, though that only elicited a roar that made me lift my hands to my ears as the walls vibrated. Slowly, once I’d adapted to the roar, I moved forward enough to see something, large, armoured and covered in a shell-like skin skitter in the tunnel, moving toward us. I had a bad feeling about whatever that was; one that only got worse once I Observed it.

Level: 75

Species: Taozin

Health: 99%

Age: 1053 years

Force Potential: None

Threat Potential: Extreme

This taozin is angered at being disturbed, but is also hungry.

...

I’d barely processed what Observe told me before another blob of grey goo shot out from the beast; this time, toward me. As I leaned back, avoiding it and silently cursing that of all creatures we could run into this deep under the surface of Coruscant was one that wasn’t detectable within the Force, I realised that here and now, taking it on wasn’t an option. Another globule of goo came at me and even as I avoided that, I brought up my lightsaber and let the tip hit the goo. I was relieved that the goo dissolved, as it meant the weapon wasn’t useless in this fight.

Massive mandibles, larger than me, illuminated by the lights on Bo’s helmet – which she’d turned on, I assumed, to get a better look at the beast – lunged forward. They would’ve grabbed and crushed Bo if not for her engaging her jetpack and flying up and back from the attack.

Even as that was happening, my mind was racing to pull up whatever I knew about taozins. Apart from the Archives being wrong that the beasts were extinct, the biggest things I could recall were that the beasts were both blind to sensing through the Force – something I already knew – and immune to directed Force attacks. Plus, being illustrated worryingly well by Bo’s ineffectual blaster fire, they were mostly impervious to directed energy attacks; be that from blasters or a lightsaber.

That had me making a note to thank Fay for making me read up on creatures that were in some way or another immune to the Force.

Wanting to buy Bo time to keep getting away, I flicked my wrist and hurled a boulder bigger than Tedra at the beast. That had the desired effect, though as it turned its large, soulless black eyes toward me, I had flashbacks to the Great Krayt Dragon. Before the taozin could do anything in retaliation, Bo opened fire again, redrawing its attention to her even as she swept around near the roof of the tunnel intersection.

“Bo, that’s a taozin! We need to get out of here!” even as I shouted, one hand closed around a grenade. I doubted that would kill it, but hopefully, the explosion would give us time to get away.

“We can kill it!” Bo shot back after dodging to one side to avoid another globule of goo.

“It’s all but impervious to blasters and lightsabers!” I responded even as I depressed the grenade’s trigger. “We’ve got little room to manoeuvre, plus the mission is Tedra.” My arm slid back, drawing on memories from my old life and time training on Mandalore. “Also, grenade!”

I could feel Bo’s annoyance even as she flew low and toward me, letting the grenade sail over her, bounce off the top of the taozin then, as I’d used the Force to ensure it happened, detonated directly above the beast’s massive, armoured head.

Bo touched down and stumbled as the shockwave of the explosive reached us, sending dust and debris everywhere. A flick of my wrist moved most of the dust down the tunnel we’d come from, letting us see the entrance to the taozin’s lair had come down hard.

“Did that kill it?” Tedra’s meek question – which came from behind me as she’d shifted over before I’d throw the grenade – was answered by a horrible, twisted, high-pitched shriek. Even as the Force helped nullify some of the pain in my ears, I kept my hands still, readying myself for more combat. A moment later, the rubble started to shift.

Two long, dark mandibles crashed out of the chaos, followed by the black soulless eyes that locked onto me and promised a very slow and painful death if the taozin caught me. Even as I slipped one hand into Tedra’s I was using the light from Bo’s helmet to examine the beast. The head and hide were covered by plates that worked as armour like a beetle’s while in the gaps between them, the light diffused in the freakishly transparent body of the monster. I gulped as the remains of something vaguely humanoid was caught by the light as it floated around inside.

“Run!” I called as I turned, pulled Tedra with me, and set off the tunnel we’d shifted toward during the fight. Thankfully, the one that had been marked by the Force with a faint golden halo. Even with Player’s Mind active, I could feel fear spiking inside me, though the strange power instantly cut it off. While that kept me calm and able to think clearly, it did limit my body as fear made me think and move faster.

With the Force being unable to directly sense the movements of the taozin behind us, nor any globule of goo it shot in our direction, I was forced to improvise. I slipped my lightsaber onto my belt and then every piece of debris or junk that was at least as big as my head was sent flying back. I honestly wasn’t concerned if any were hitting the beast, or hurting it, being more mindful of creating blocks to any goo attacks it launched. To my left, Bo was flying backwards, her blaster firing almost continuously while she added in shots and flame from her vambrace. Tedra was struggling to keep up, her shorter legs and her fear meant I was often having to lift her along to prevent her from falling.

As I yanked Tedra one more time, almost lifting her into my chest, through the Force I saw a Y-intersection coming up; with a faint golden light illuminating the leftward passage. Even as I shifted toward that side, with Force Sight I noticed that the first support beam into that tunnel was damaged. Not enough that it would fall soon, but enough that, with the right concussive force, it would shatter and, I hoped, bring down the entire roof with it.

“Left!” I called even as I carried out some quick mental calculations. After being sure of the numbers, I opened the Inventory and pulled two explosive grenades from a stack of fifteen that I’d gained back on the ship during my mission posing as Palpatine’s nephew. With the Force, I activated their concurrent detonation mode and pushed them toward the beam. Before they’d even reached their target points, two more were close behind along with the one from my waist. As all five latched onto the beam at various points – and through the chaos of this run I was impressed I was able to use the Force like this under such a difficult situation – I pulled one final grenade from the Inventory.

“Bo!” I called out, hoping to get her attention. Waving the grenade in my hand so she saw it, I pushed it forward. “Twenty seconds!” Even as the last grenade flew towards the centre of the support beam, where it was weakest, Bo turned and accelerated down the left tunnel. Pushing a nagging concern that her sensors might’ve detected me throwing all six grenades out of my mind, I picked Tedra up and, pushing Force Speed and Bullet-Time to their maximum, took off after her.

It didn’t take me long to pass her, which was when the taozin gave off another roar, and while I wasn’t willing to risk a backward glance to confirm, I suspected the beast was trying to keep up with us.

I raced under the weakened beam with about ten seconds to spare, Bo a second further back, but neither of us slowed down. Even if what I had planned didn’t kill the taozin, this entire section of tunnel was going to come down hard and fast.

As my mental count closed on zero, I established a barrier behind us. Unlike at other times, I couldn’t devote my full attention to it, so there was a fair chance it wouldn’t stop all the debris that was about to come our way from reaching us, but it should stop most of it.

As I reached zero in my head, the tunnel behind us was engulfed in an explosion as the last grenade set off the others. I was sent flying and pulled the Force around me as my arms wrapped around Tedra as she screamed. We bounced several times along the ground with harsh pain erupting from my back. My right leg caught on something and twisted awkwardly before, thankfully, slipping clear.

As my tumble started to come under control, I ignored the pain in my leg as I slid to a stop. Slowly, even before the dust had settled, I extracted myself from Tedra’s death grip and then, painfully, stood. Pain from my leg was intense, but the Interface let me know it was only a bruised ankle I was dealing with and not a break, which was a relief. The Force had done enough to reinforce my body that the impact that would’ve broken my ankle in most cases, only left me with a nasty bruise that was easy to heal with the Force. The same was true of the various cuts and scrapes on the rest of my body, including a cut on the back of my head that, incredibly, hadn’t given me a concussion.

The faint roar of my lightsaber echoed in the dust-filled area as I reached forward with Force Sight and Detection to see if there was any movement from where we’d come from. The entire section of tunnel, and at a rough estimate about twenty more metres had come down, yet within the blocked passage, I could still sense the strange null space that indicated the taozin. A glance at my stat screen showed only a minor increase in XP, confirming, rather worryingly, that the beast wasn’t dead; just trapped.

Bo walked unsteadily toward me, and even as her blaster aimed at the cave-in, her free hand slapped my shoulder hard. “Shabyr jagkc’kovid! You almost killed us!” Her anger came through the helmet’s speaker so clearly, that I didn’t need the Force to confirm it.

“You’re welcome.” Even as I replied, I kept my focus on the rubble looking for any sign the taozin was trying to escape. Bo chuckled at my words before taking a cautious step toward the rubble.

“Is it dead?” I looked back at Tedra, seeing her shaking as the aftereffects of our run-in with the taozin caught up with her. I reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, sending feelings of comfort and safety to her through our weak Force bond.

“I hope so but it’d be better if we’re far away from here if it isn’t, and manages to get out of that any time soon.”

She blinked several times, and I felt her heart rate slowly drop. Eventually, she gave me a nod and I turned to walk away, only to pause as Bo was still looking at the rubble. “Bo?”

“Yeah, just checking something with my sensors.” I hid any concern that she might’ve detected me using more than one grenade as, even if she had, she wouldn’t bring it up until we were safe and – I hoped – alone.

Even as I used Nullify Pain on the wounds that I couldn’t heal easily with Force Heal, I gave the rubble one last look and offered a silent prayer to the Force that it was done messing with me. At least for today.

… …

… …

It took us just over five hours to not only find a passageway that led upward but eventually reach a point where we could be collected by Fay in a speeder. I knew we were no longer under the Senate district – somehow having moved over the equivalent of three surface districts during our travels. That meant that while I could sense her coming closer with another Jedi – likely Knight Eislard – this unexpectedly long adventure wasn’t quite over.

Thank the Force.

After the taozin, the Force had taken pity on us or at least decided we’d been tested enough for today, as we didn’t run into any other combat situations. While I and Tedra were glad for that, as time wore on with nothing to do but walk, Bo had grown agitated.

“Ahh…” I sighed contently as I was able to breathe in the air without needing the Force to filter out Force-knew what crud was in it. I knew it wasn’t that clean, but it was still nice to be able to inhale relatively clean air.

I turned my head at the hiss of Bo’s helmet and as she lifted it over her head, I saw her hair was matted to her skull. The armour offered temperature control to ensure the warrior didn’t become uncomfortable, but wearing it constantly for nearly a full day couldn’t stop sweat building up. “How long until Master Fay gets here?” Her face wrinkled as she ran on hand through her hair.

I closed my eyes to look at the minimap, thus not making it obvious I was doing so. Fay was outside its range, but I knew she was closing fast. “Not long. Maybe no more than a few minutes.” I replied as I opened my eyes to see Bo looking at me. “What?”

“Nothing.” Bo turned and looked over at Tedra who was sitting quietly off to the side, digging into a ration pack that I’d purchased once we’d reached the edges of civilization. I’d had to use Observe to ensure they were safe to eat, but once that was sure, I’d happily purchased a half-dozen for us. Bo’s were stored in her belt while Tedra was now eating my second pack. “How’s she doing?”

Looking at Tedra, I began to answer even as Bo stepped toward me. “About as well a..ugf!”

My words were cut off by Bo grabbing my head, then before I could ask what she was doing, she’d rammed her lips against mine. Even as I processed that she was kissing me, I tasted her sweat as her tongue slammed against my teeth, seeking a way inward. One of her armoured arms slid around my arm, pulling me against her even as my arms started to respond.

I leaned forward and let my tongue slip from my mouth, yet as our tongues touched, she pulled back, leaving me flailing around. As I stood there, mouth wide and tongue hanging out, she smirked and slipped her helmet on.

“W-what?” I mumbled out even as I took a step toward her, my body acting faster than my mind could process. She gave me a gentle shove. I stumbled back, once more caught off-guard.

By the time I’d stopped myself, Bo was airborne and rising into the shaft that led to the surface. I blinked as she flew upward, my mind processing what she’d just done, then realised I didn’t know why, thus I used Observe.

Rigel’s Grace

Model: B-5 Light Freighter

Condition: 76% (numerous minor issues)

Value: 14,000 credits

...

“Son of a Bitch!” Bo had moved behind a lowering freighter and Observe had worked on that. and not the now hidden female Mandalorian. I kept looking upward, hoping she’d come back into sight, but either she was actively trying to keep hidden, or the Force was helping her do so.

“What was that about?” I turned back to face Tedra, her face mirroring the confusion and anger emanating from her within the Force.

“I… I don’t know.” Even as I answered, my mind started replaying the kiss. That had certainly been more than a friendly ‘thank Force that’s over’ sort of kiss but hadn’t quite been an ‘I want you’ kiss.

Did… did that mean Bo had sorted out her feelings for me and decided to pursue something, or was this just a way for her to pay me back for my kissing her back in the Bando Gora base?

I blinked as I realised that, then I’d not know the truth until I either drew the answer from her verbally over the comms – unlikely – or was able to use Observe on her. Meaning I’d spend the next few months hopelessly wondering what, if anything, the kiss had meant.

“Fuck!” I snarled under my breath.

Like I didn’t have enough issues to deal with.

… …

… …

“And why, after being told implicitly to stay, when you sensed where Initiate Zill was, did you decide to disobey the orders of your master and this council and head off alone to locate her?”

Windu was leaning forward in his council seat, looking intently at me while eight other members of the council – some also present, while others were here via holocall – did the same. Yoda along with three other members was off at the Senate building and had left control of the council on this matter in the hands of Windu. Which had me fearing my punishment would become much, much worse once everything was said and done.

Bo had, without me knowing, sent a copy of our adventures to Fay, which had me concerned about how aggressive I’d been in dealing with the gang members hunting Tedra. However, either the worst parts had been cut out by Bo or the Council wasn’t concerned about them. Or, Force forbid, they were saving commenting on those moments until the end of the meeting.

Still, the recording had backed up Tedra and my recounting, especially our run-in with a supposedly extinct beast. While killing the taozin had been a hidden condition of the quest to save Tedra, I’d only discovered that once the mission was over. However, I now had a simple quest – Bestial Revenge – that revolved around killing the taozin either alone or as a member of a strike team.

Now though, I was at the part of the debriefing where I had to explain my actions.

“Well, as the council is well aware from the recordings provided, I wasn’t alone.” It likely didn’t help my case that I was being snarky to them, but the way Windu just discounted Bo’s presence on the mission irked me; and not just because her kiss was still bouncing around my head a day later. “And as to why I went. Tedra is only in the Temple because of me.” I saw Piell’s brow rise in annoyance, but I continued before he could make any comment on my arrogance. “Along with Master Dooku, I was the one who found her, and without sounding arrogant, it was the Force that guided me to her, and it was me that convinced her to join the Order,” Piell grumbled, likely at me cutting off his planned comment which amused me. The short Jedi Master had never cared for me, so irritating him was almost as much fun as irritating Windu. “While I don’t have much attachment to her, she was, and is, still my responsibility. Not so much regarding her teaching, but in making sure she’s safe and comfortable at the Temple. As for why I went without telling anyone,” I gave Fay – who was standing at my right shoulder – an apologetic shrug. “While I know Master Fay would’ve believed me when I said I knew roughly where Tedra was, I also knew she’d pass the information onto the team tasked with locating her and then they’d likely dismiss my information,” I smirked as I focused on Windu. “Thus, I decided to do what I knew was right. To find her and bring her back, and then deal with the fallout once she was safe.”

I could’ve been more apologetic in my explanation, but I simply didn’t feel like it. Fay had told me no members of either the High Council or the Council of First Knowledge – the one responsible for the training and safety of Initiates among other things – had joined the search team. Fay had explained that while she didn’t agree with that, she understood their logic in that the fate of one Initiate was better handled by those who knew her best. This was what infuriated me as I was one of those people, but the councils didn’t ask for my help.

“Which is why we’re all here.” The remark had come from Saesee Tiin, and while I wanted to retort, I chose instead to keep my attention on Windu. The Council leader’s face gave nothing away as he stared at me, a vein on his head throbbing as he did so. When I compared that to what I knew now about his ability with Shatterpoint – my version of the power was only, after months of effort, at Adept:75 – I knew the throb in his forehead was him using the power intently as if searching for how a decision regarding an event or person would alter the future. Still, even with me believing he was using the power on me, I failed to sense any shift in the Force between or around us.

Windu chose that moment to lean forward, interlocking his fingers together before resting his chin on them. His eyes looked into mine as he searched for, I assumed, proof that I was being truthful.

“First off, I wish to make clear that I, and the council in general, am impressed with how you handled matters in the lower levels.” He began after what felt like an hour of him examining me but had only been five minutes of silent judging. “Far too often, Padawans struggle to reconcile what they might see on the lower levels of the planet with how the Temple and upper levels are. Many fail to understand that even on a world as important and powerful as Coruscant, there can exist hardships that are only meant to occur on the very edges of civilised space.” I held my tongue about commenting on why the Jedi wouldn’t do something about the issue if they knew it existed as I could already work out some of the reasons. Not enough Jedi to make a difference, not the focus of the Jedi, and a violation of some form of oath to the Senate were the three I felt would be the most likely to be given and while I already had counters for those, getting into an argument with the council over such things when awaiting judgement for my actions was a foolish thing to do.

“Second, while we are less than enthused with how you approached your encounters in the lower levels, specifically those with other sentients, on a personal level, I have no issue with it. Any being that would actively target a member of our Order, particularly an Initiate, deserves to be punished for such an action in the harshest possible terms.” I felt my brow rise at that. While I knew he was more martially inclined when it came to threats to the Jedi than most, I hadn’t expected him to all but grant his blessing with how violently I’d taken down the various gang members we’d run into. I’d have to remember that in the future if I faced a similar situation.

“Third, ignoring the shared disbelief of this council that a taozin not only still exists but lives on the lowest levels of this very planet,” Windu glanced at Rancisis, earning a nod about something from the snake-like Jedi. “We are impressed by your ability to not only recognize what it was but realise that you were in over your head and that the mission was to get Initiate Zill to safety displays growth in your decision-making and the understanding that sometimes withdrawing from combat is the correct course of action.” His lips twitched upward. “That said, your usage of explosives over an indirect application of the Force was atypical of a Jedi. Which certainly fits your character.”

I blinked as I realised Windu was seemingly cracking a joke at my expense. None of the Council laughed, though I caught the hologrammatic form of Plo Koon covering his breathing mask.

The twitch on Windu’s face morphed into a small smile, which might be the first time he’s ever smiled around me. “We can sense your surprise at our opinions, which does make sense. You are far from a normal Jedi, showing a tendency to rush head-on into situations that, while reminding many of us of our younger days, have the potential to be far more dangerous than most Padawans would encounter. I will also add that, if our roles were reversed, I would likely have taken similar actions to those you did; with the understanding that they would bring with them a punishment for violating the instructions of this council.”

Windu paused here and looked at each of the other council members who were present. Most didn’t seem to respond to his look, but Rancisis and Tiin both gave fractional nods. Windu then returned his attention to me. “In the end though, you have disobeyed the Council. As such, the time you are to remain within the walls of this temple is increased by two months, along with you having to continue educating the Initiates.” I fought to keep my shoulders from slumping as while two months wasn’t the worst, having to continue to teach Jedi ideals that I didn’t entirely agree with wasn’t something I was looking forward to. “However, once the initial time for you to remain within the temple has lapsed, we feel it would be beneficial, for both you and the Initiates, if you moved to assist Master Bondara in training the future of our Order in the most basic of lightsaber techniques.” I blinked in shock at hearing that which drew a snort of amusement from the man. “None here deny that you have an impressive ability with not only learning the various velocities of the lightsaber forms, but can easily and quickly help others improve their ability as well. To not harness that while you are within the temple would be a waste of resources.”

“On a personal level, I hope it might grant you some insight into what path you wish to commit to once your time training with Master Fay and Dooku has ended.” That came from Tiin, much to my shock. “The improvements in the styles of several of your fellow Padawans have been noticed by the temple’s lightsaber instructors and anything that helps prepare them for the dangers in the galaxy shouldn’t be discouraged.”

“I, um, yes, Master Tiin.” I looked back at Windu. “Thank you, Master Windu.” I lowered my head in acceptance as while there were a few things I was confused about regarding their decision; I didn’t want to deal with them directly; not when doing so would mean spending more time here but also might make them change their minds.

For the first time that I could remember, Windu laughed. It was a deep sound that seemed to reverberate within the walls of the chamber. “It’s refreshingly rare to hear a Padawan offer thanks to the council when we pass judgement on their actions.” Without taking my eyes off Windu, I saw and sensed the amusement from the other Jedi present and assumed those present by holocall also found it funny.

Windu turned his attention to the other members of the Council, and I turned to leave. “Padawan.” I paused and looked over at the hologram of Plo Koon. “Once I have returned to the temple, I wish to speak with you about this criminal gang, the Blue Rakghouls I believe you named them. While there are sadly many such gangs on the lower levels, few are bold enough to hunt Jedi; even Initiates. Such a thing requires further investigation.”

“Of course, Master Koon. I’ll be at your service once you’ve returned.” I smiled. “My Council-given assignments notwithstanding.” Plo laughed at that.

“Indeed. Now on you go. Your punishments await, and I will contact Master Fay once I have returned so that I and a team of Jedi Investigators can speak with you.”

I gave him a bow before walking toward the entrance to the High Council chamber. Fay was already waiting for me there. While she appeared her usual serene self, I could sense some unease coming from her. I didn’t ask about it as we walked through the antechamber, only doing so once we were alone in the descending elevator.

“Master?” My question was open-ended as just letting her know I knew something was off with her was enough.

“It’s nothing Cameron.” She looked out the elevator, taking in the gleaming lights of the capital of the Republic as night set upon it. “At least nothing unexpected.” A sigh escaped her lips before she shifted her gaze to me. “While I’m relieved that Initiate Zill is back safe inside the temple walls, something I felt assured of once I realised you had moved to find her,” a small smile came to her face, brightening it up immensely, “unlike Master Windu, I’m unsettled by your aggressive approach to finding her.”

“The Bando Gora?” I offered, instantly regretting it as sights, sounds, and feelings from my time under Vosa’s care shot through my mind. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. Since I’d brought the topic up, I knew this was going to happen. I considered using Player’s Mind, but after months of Jedi therapy, I felt I had some control over these incidents. It took me time, but eventually, I was able to push the memories back into my mind and bring my heart rate under control.

A hand came to rest on my shoulder, and I opened my eyes to see Fay looking at me carefully. “Yes, them.” She replied once I felt I was back in control.

I sighed and, unable to meet her eyes, looked out over the planet. “My thoughts did once or twice… turn,” I spoke slowly to allow myself to stay in control. “However, those weren’t when engaging hostiles. There, my only thought was getting through the roadblocks and getting to Tedra.” I turned my gaze back to my master. “The… moments came at seemingly random times, though I’ve since realised they were mainly at points where I was moving through unknown dark locations.”

Fay squeezed my shoulder slightly. “That is to be expected, and we will cover it more in our sessions with Healer Allie.” I nodded once in understanding. A part of me would rather not speak about my problems, but the more mature – and more significant – part knew that only led to problems further down the road. “For now, I wish to ask how you felt when you killed in pursuit of Tedra.”

I took a breath and let my mind drift back to those moments. “I won’t deny I was angry at them, especially after I learnt they were hunting her. But I didn’t enjoy killing them, Master. Nor do I regret ending their lives.”

Fay’s eyes stayed locked on mine for a long moment. “No, I didn’t suspect you would. While where they came from has to be considered, they chose to join a group that willingly hunted Jedi. That is something I cannot and will not accept. Their fates were determined by the Force the moment they made that choice. That said, it isn’t them I am concerned about but you.” She moved closer, stepping inside my personal space. “The role of a Jedi isn’t to act as judge, jury, and executioner. We follow the will of the Force; letting it guide us where we need to be. It won’t tell us how to handle a given situation, that is on us, but how we do so, has an effect. Both on us and upon the Force as it experiences mortal life through us.”

“What,” I paused and licked my lips, finding them strangely dry. “What if the will of the Force, or how we interpret it, disagrees with the rules of something like the Republic?”

Fay’s lips turned upward as if she was amused by my question. “The Force always comes first. The Republic, as influential and long-lived as it has been in its various forms, is only a fleeting thing in comparison to the Force. Normally the rules of the Republic align with the will of the Force, however in those moments where they don’t, trust in yourself and the Force over words decided upon by mortal beings.”

“Yes, Master.”

As the elevator pinged, letting us know we’d reached our level, Fay smiled at me. “Now come along. Tedra was released by the healers and if we hurry, we should be able to check in on her before her next lesson begins.”

“Yes, Master.”

… …

… …

I waited for the holocall to connect, then after a gentle ping, watched as the holographic shape of Dooku formed. “Master.” I didn’t bow, though I did lower my head in a gesture of respect.

“Padawan.” His reply was formal, as I’d expect of him with no hint of concern about me nor familiarity as the call, even if being routed through a reserved Jedi channel, wasn’t secure. “I have been informed of your recent excursion.” There was a moment’s silence where I waited to see if he was going to offer a comment. When none came, I knew he wanted me to explain my actions and what had happened in clear and concise terms. As I did that, I was once more reminded of a post-mission briefing from my old life; right down to reporting to someone with an aristocratic air.

Since I’d expected him to ask about this, as I spoke I sent a secured – with private encryption – data packet to him. After speaking, I fell silent and waited; watching his face for reactions as he reviewed certain parts of the recording Bo had provided to the Jedi to confirm what we’d encountered.

“Since Master Fay and the High Council have already offered their judgements on your actions, I will restrict myself from being overly elaborate in mine.” I felt my lips twitch at that. If Dooku did give his opinions, they’d likely be very detailed and contain multiple subtle comments on the failings of the High Council. “While I disagree with your choice to head out looking for Initiate Zill, I understand your logic. Taking Miss Kryze along wouldn’t have been my preferred choice, but I cannot deny her fighting style compliments yours fairly well.” That almost sounded like he approved of her being around me, but that was probably my mind drifting back to her kissing me and wondering where it could lead. “How you dealt with the various… threats you encountered, while lacking in grace, were efficient and effective. Any beings lacking the mental capacity to understand a Force user is more than a match for a hundred common thugs, are better off fed into the recycling systems.” I choked down my laughter. Dooku wasn’t a directly funny person, but moments like that always made me struggle to not laugh; something he never liked me doing. “Encountering a taozin and escaping as you did, while not with the common Jedi approach was successful. Overall, there is little I would complain about in your actions, though I will send a full report on ways to improve your approaches to each situation in a few days.”

“Yes, Master.” I knew he’d do that and while I’d already reviewed events over in my head several times, it was always wise to get an outside perspective on matters. I was surprised he hadn’t offered a comment on me moving to help Tedra, but that might’ve been because he felt I saw her as an asset that I wasn’t willing to lose just yet.

“I will also be sending some recommendations to Masters Sifo-Dyas and Bondara regarding your training while I’m not present.” To many, it might’ve been a surprise he wasn’t sending them to Fay, but the growing rift between them on how to handle certain matters was obvious to me. “You handled yourself well and kept command of your companions decently. However, I feel training to use the Force under stressful situations would help you learn to better integrate more external applications of the Force into your combat style.”

“Yes, Master.” When I’d looked back on the various combat situations, it was clear that I relied heavily on my lightsaber and getting in close to fight. Since using the Force to boost myself was something that felt easier to do, and it fit my preferred way to fight, that made sense. Though I’d already spotted moments where using some Telekinesis or another Force power would’ve made a battle shorter. Then there was the taozin.

Against that, a Barrier would’ve been useless while my lightsaber would’ve struggled to do much damage. I’d used some debris around me as improvised weaponry before turning to grenades. While that’d worked out, when I’d examined the fight last night, I’d seen moments where using a Force power would’ve produced the desired results with less effort or risk in exposing my Inventory: something I still didn’t know if Bo had clicked to.

“How is… your project going?” I’d rather not ask about that bitch, but not doing so would suggest to him – and Fay as he would relay the information – that I was struggling to move on; or at least at a rate they’d deem sufficient for my healing. Once more, when bringing up Vosa or the Bando Gora, I had to close my eyes and take several deep breaths to recenter myself. And to not focus on the fact the next time I saw her, I planned to kick her arse from here to Tatooine and back before smacking her with a lightsaber to the face.

“It is going about as well as I’d expected. The patient,” I was glad he was avoiding her name, “is, unsurprisingly, not overly interested in doing much more than detailing how she wishes to hurt me. While the High Council and you would likely consider this proof she is beyond redemption, I feel she can still be of use for… future events.”

I nodded in reply as giving words to my thoughts or revenge wouldn’t do me any good. Plus, while I didn’t want to admit it, there was wisdom in Dooku’s words. That bitch would have contacts in the galactic underworld and while I had little interest in interacting with that element, to ignore it completely with the chaos to come was downright stupid.

“If there is nothing else you wish to discuss, I will end the call and speak to you again in a month.” Dooku’s words drew my thoughts – thankfully – away from that bitch.

We’d spoken each month since I’d arrived back in the Temple and every call had been short. Dooku wasn’t one for idle chit-chat and I had only a passing interest in what he was currently doing.

“Yes, Master.” The hologram vanished as the call ended after a simple nod as Dooku felt no need to waste time on common pleasantries.

With that, I stood and after taking a moment to put a cap on my feelings regarding Vosa and everything I’d endured – not because it was how I was dealing with the memories but because it allowed me to deal with other things without my emotions being constantly out of whack – I looked up at the chronometer. I had about twenty minutes until I was due in the classroom for my next lecture on the Jedi Code.

While I was even less enthused about teaching this class as I’d been months ago, given I only had a few more classes left before shifting to teaching lightsaber basics, I was willing to endure it. Yet, even though those classes were guaranteed to be more enjoyable – both for me and my students – I knew I’d be watched carefully by Master Bondara and others. It was an open secret in the Temple that I’d been captured by a Dark Side Cult, so many were on edge around me. Plus, from Windu’s words, I felt the Council hoped I’d be interested in becoming a Jedi Instructor once I was Knighted. Not only would it keep me – they likely hoped – out of trouble but would have me be under their direct supervision.

Which is why it’d never happen. Oh, I’d enjoy teaching others how to fight – with Anakin being the first person I planned to teach even if I was still uncertain about taking him as my Padawan – but staying in the Temple with what I knew was coming was akin to giving up and awaiting my death.

If I was going to fail – which I understood was possible with how powerful Sidious would become – then I was going down fighting while causing him as much chaos as possible.

… …

… …

“Stop!”

At my command, the two Initiates that were sparring with training lightsabers – Tedra and a Twi’lek boy named Dadr Iveq – stopped and depowered their blades. However, since this wasn’t the first time they’d sparred under my watch, they stayed in the circle but backed off a few steps.

I stepped into the sparring circle, moving toward Dadr first. I came up behind him and then slid my fingers over his on the hilt. “You’re gripping it too tightly.” My fingers gently pulled at his as I spoke. “A lightsaber is not a mining hammer, but a part of you. Like when you move, the joint – where you hold the hilt – should stay loose and flexible; able to respond easily to your mind’s commands.” I moved his arms around, letting him – I hoped – feel how the blade was moving in his new, looser grip. “Feel yourself within the blade, make it a part of you, and the movements will come more naturally without having to fight against yourself.”

Satisfied he at least had an inkling of what I was saying, I released my grip on his blade and stepped back before moving over to Tedra. “As for you, you shouldn’t be trying to simply smack his lightsaber away. While that works, against anyone with greater strength or skill it simply leaves you open to some rather basic counters as you over-commit.” Tedra nodded along with my words, drawing a sigh from me. “Tedra, you hear what I’m saying but you’re not thinking about them. Listen to what I’m implying and learn. While being stronger than an opponent has its uses, it isn’t the be-all and end-all of lightsaber combat. The ability to control your blade, adapt on the fly, and then apply power is more useful than going for strong attacks every time, and it helps you last longer in a fight. Your lightsaber is a precision tool, not a blunt object.”

“While not how I would’ve phrased it, Padawan Shan is correct.” I turned to see Anoon Bondara approach. Master Bondara was serving as Battlemaster temporarily while Master Drallig and Serra were off-planet, which made sense as until he took a Padawan himself about a year before I arrived, Master Bondara had been the Jedi Battlemaster. “You’re both advanced for your level of teaching, however, there are still numerous basic flaws that you need to overcome. As Padawan Shan has just pointed out.” As he finished, the adult Twi’lek smiled at me, finding some amusement in my assessment.

“Yes, Master Bondara.” Tedra and Dadr replied as one, with both bowing slightly as they spoke. That made Bondara’s smile grow.

“Good, now return to your starting positions and try again.” As the pair turned away, Bondara indicated for us to leave the sparring circle with a simple hand gesture. “When I was first informed of your assignment here, I must admit I was confused.” He began as we left the circle. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, you’re easily the most skilled of your generation, surpassing a good number of Knights as well, but allowing a Padawan with serious holes in their style to instruct Initiates is a highly unusual decision.” He paused and looked at the two Initiates. “Begin.” That had the pair moving toward each other again. “And then there were the rather poor reports of your performance in teaching basic Jedi tenants. However, after observing you teach in the circles for the last few weeks, and seeing how at ease you are – both in this place and with the Initiates – it’s clear the Council was wise to assign you here.”

I shrugged in response as Tedra, finally listening to me, guided Dadr’s mechanical attack away with something less than full strength. “I find peace when using my lightsaber; be that sparring or working my way through velocities.” Dadr reacted quickly to Tedra’s defensive stroke and came in again, this time his blade not seeming as stuck to his hands as before. “It seems to rub off when I give pointers to others.”

Bondara laughed softly. “I am not surprised you find peace with your blade. Most of the more martially inclined Jedi do, though few seem to have such a mechanical perfection to their actions.” While that wasn’t an insult, I knew it was a comment on the issue with my style that I’d realised a few years ago and had been working to overcome ever since. “Still, it is reassuring to find one so young who understands the tranquillity that comes when moving with your blade and allowing the Force to flow with you. Doubly so that such a student is willing to radiate that feeling when instructing others.”

I lowered my head in thanks for the praise. While I’d only been working under his command for a few weeks, I’d found him to be a firm but fair person. Both as an instructor and senior figure. Though with Initiates he generally preferred a gentle word over a pointed comment to get his meaning across. “It’s just a shame that you can’t seem to avoid getting into trouble that needs a lightsaber to solve.” I chuckled at that, with so many Jedi being standoffish, if not downright withdrawn around me, it was refreshing to be treated as just another member of the Order.

“As I’ve said many times before, to both my masters and others, I don’t go looking for trouble.”

Bondara laughed once more. “No, like any true servant of the Force, you end up just when and where it needs you to be. Which does, for many of us, mean finding ourselves in volatile situations.” That made me laugh.

“That’s one way to describe it, Master Bondara.” I looked back at the circle to see Dadr shift his stance. That made Tedra’s attack miss, leaving her open to a quick counter. While it didn’t land, it did grant Dadr the initiative. “Though I do hope that my next voyage outside the Temple will be slightly less… troublesome. Preferably without me having to run into creatures that are all but immune to the Force.”

Bondara laughed once again and clapped me solidly on the shoulder. “You say that now, but it’s in such moments when we’re under the greatest stress, that our true selves reveal themselves. And they help us understand more of the Force’s designs on an instinctual level.” he turned me gently, so we were looking at each other and not the ongoing training spar. “Over the last few years, you’ve faced far more than most Padawans and Knights would ever expect to.” The serious expression he wore slipped as a grin returned to his face. “Even with the Force to guide you, to many, it’s a miracle you’ve come through everything as relatively unscarred as you are.” I did consider commenting that most of my scars were now internal, but I understood he meant things could’ve been far, far worse. “Yet, even with everything you’re dealing with, when a friend was in danger, you didn’t hesitate to help them. Even disobeying the High Council in the process.” He leaned closer as his voice dropped lower. “Something any true Jedi would do; including many who now sit on said council.”

“I… Thank you, master.” Hearing such words from someone as high up and respected in the Order was both unexpected and reassuring. Far too often all I got from senior members of the Order were subtle glances or faint simmering of dislike and distrust regarding me and my choices. To have someone as well-connected and respected within the Order offer words of encouragement and praise was a breath of fresh air. Plus, it showed that while, in my opinion, and that of both my masters to varying degrees, the High Council and Order had strayed from the true ideals of the Jedi, there were still good and noble people within it. Ones that didn’t act as puppets of the Senate or High Council.

… …

… …

“Are you sure you don’t wish me to accompany you to the Senator’s office?”

I looked up at Fay and shook my head as we walked through the Senate Rotunda. Having Fay in the room would just make Palpatine less willing to attempt to ‘play nice’ with me. “No, Master. While I’d rather be anywhere but here,” that got a small twitch from her lips, “I doubt Senator Palpatine wishes to speak about anything planet-shattering with me. More than likely, as his message to you hinted at, he’s just heard some rumours about me and wishes to make sure I’m alright.” Well, as all right as I can be when I'm about to dance around a meeting with a Sith Lord without letting on how much I’m still dealing with while trying to determine how much of his spiel is intended to turn me against the Jedi Order.

While I’d have preferred to simply ignore his request, doing so now, when I’d never done so before – though he’d not tried to speak to me since before I’d headed to Mandalore – risked making him think I was pulling away from him. Right now, I felt it was better to keep the Sith Lord at arm’s length than outright ignoring him.

“Plus, I know you dislike being here even more than I do.”

That had the twitch on Fay’s lips turn into a smile. “That is true, though Master Dooku and I had thought you felt the same. Particularly regarding how adamantly you insisted that we not even consider bringing the Senator into our little coalition.”

“I still believe that Master. What we’re doing is not the concern of politicians, not when there might be an undue influence on people in this building from another group.” I refuse to say Sith out loud as with everyone believing them to be extinct – if they even think about them – I feel safer just not bringing them up in such a public place. “That said, ignoring a Senator that I have a friendship with might raise eyebrows within these walls.” And raise questions, though not the ones Fay likely believed would be asked.

“Very well,” Fay looked away from me for a moment. “While you are speaking with your friend,” the subtle stress she places on the last word makes it clear she doesn’t see Palpatine as anything of the sort, “I will seek out Master Yaddle. She is currently in the building and has asked me for help regarding a matter on the very edge of the Outer Rim.” She turned back to me. “Once you’ve finished your meeting, contact me and I’ll likely meet you here unless my conversation with Master Yaddle takes far longer than I expect.”

“Yes, master.” I lowered my head slightly as Fay took a step away. She only got a few steps before she stopped and turned back.

“While you are walking to the Senator’s office, perhaps you’ll give more thought to Representative Shokvo’s offer. While I am reluctant for you to accept it, I can see the benefits of agreeing to the contract. However, in the end, since the work is yours, the choice is also.” I smiled at her and then watched as she walked toward the side of the Rotunda.

As I walk forward, my sight drifts to the various large statues that line the entrance to the Senate building. They were all for former chancellors of the Republic – mainly from before the New Sith Wars – and included many Jedi Masters as a member of the Order almost entirely held the position during those wars.

Ignoring the help desk as I know my way to Palpatine’s office and ducking to one side to avoid what looks like a primary school excursion, I move toward the stairs. Not only will taking them mean I’d have more time to prepare for meeting the Sith Lord, but I can do as Fay suggested and think over the offer brought to me this morning.

Bulb Shokvo was a Neimoidian who was my manager with the publishing company handling the distribution of the Lord of the Rings trilogy throughout the Republic and beyond. Once he’d gotten over the fact the writer of the trilogy was a child, which had drawn laughter from both Fay and me, the meeting had gone remarkably well. Apart from discovering that my account now totalled a little north of six hundred and fifty million credits from the sales of holonovels – and that was with all the credits Fay and Dooku had removed to help the Lokella get on their feet and purchase vessels and other equipment for their defence – the company had been approached with several offers. Most weren’t worth much time to consider and had already been rejected by my publishers – things like appearing on various planets in the Republic – but one particular group of offers did need discussing.

Apparently, the publishers had been approached by various production companies about turning my ‘work’ into holo-movies. That had caught me a little off-guard as while I’d considered it might happen, I hadn’t expected to be offered so soon; nor that some of the companies – including Typhoondream Productions and the Corellian Creative Company, who were two of the biggest holo-movie/drama creators in the Republic – were actively competing for the rights. Even if I took the offer that had the lowest level of input from and reward for me should, according to Shokvo’s projections, net me north of a billion credits. The ones from the major studios – which would require my input to varying degrees at certain times, allow me the chance to be on-set during production and attend the premieres (either publicised as the author or not) – would take longer to reach the screen, but had the potential to earn me four to five times as much, at the outside. Though they’d take longer to make and thus longer for me to start earning royalties.

Even before the meeting had finished this morning, I knew I was going to take one of the offers, but I’d not given it much thought until Fay brought it back up in the Rotunda as my mind had been laser-focused on Palpatine. Basically, the offers for the holo-movie series came down to how quickly I wanted the money, how involved I could be and the like. I knew I wouldn’t be spending years on Coruscant, so it might well be hard to contact me for consultations, but that shouldn’t be an issue once the producers, directors and other staff learnt I was a Jedi; though I doubted I’d reveal my age to them until much further along in the production process.

As I finished the long climb up the stairs to the floor containing Palpatine’s office, I sent a message to Shokvo – who now had a direct method of contacting me, much to Fay’s chagrin – to begin negotiating with the major companies and let them know I was a Jedi. The money would take longer to get, but with the insanity to come I knew I’d need every credit I could get my hands on; legally acquired or not. A reply came from Shokvo just as I came into view of the waiting area outside the Senator’s office confirming that he’d get onto the companies and not to expect any further news until most of the details had been finalised; at least not unless they wanted to change the stories significantly.

It seemed there was some sort of meet and greet going on as several people were standing around talking, though the only one I recognized was Janus Greejatus. As the man spoke with a human female with some of the worst fashion sense I’d ever seen, I moved closer. His eyes narrowed almost imperceivably when he saw me approaching, only to relax and offer a seemingly genuine smile. A quick use of Observe confirmed the smile was genuine – and that he’s only gone up a single level while becoming even less of a threat since I’d last met him – as he was relieved to see it was me rather than another Jedi. Quickly he extracted himself from talking to the heinously dressed woman and moved toward me.

His hand extended as he spoke. “Padawan Shan, a pleasure to see you again.” As I shook his hand I wondered why his voice was far higher than needed. The noise around us didn’t require him to talk only a little below a shout to me. “The Senator is excited to speak to the breaker of the Bando Gora once again.”

I returned his smile even as I realised his game and slammed on Player’s Mind to avoid any issues with bringing up the Bondo Gora. “Thank you, though I’m not sure I deserve such a title. The reason the Bando Gora were defeated was my masters and some allies helping me escape from the clutches of their deranged leader.” I matched his volume even as those around us started to listen in. No way did I want to help Palpatine use my accomplishments to boost his reputation; or at least not so much that it looked like I was trying to actively sabotage him.

“Yes, and we are all glad you have recovered from your ordeal.” Janus broke the handshake and placed his hand on my shoulder. “However, from the reports given to the Senate, it was made clear that you were the one who defeated their leader in combat; and a fallen Jedi no less.” I heard someone gasp quietly behind me. “An impressive feat for any, to say nothing of one wounded from the Bando Gora’s attention. The Senator is most relieved that his nephew is making a full recovery.”

“That was for one mission only,” I blurt out quickly as having my name linked to Palpatine’s, while potentially useful now, will be a fucking chain around my neck with what’s to come. Doubly so if the rumour gets out that I’m somehow related to him. “And as for my imprisonment, their leader was using me as bait for her former master.” If this man decided to go further, then I’d have proof he knew more than he should.

“Ah. Well, it’s still impressive you were able to defeat their leader even after being in captivity for months.” He glanced around, likely seeing if everyone else was paying attention. Which I knew they were. “Still, I think I’ve taken up too much of your time and the Senator did say to bring in immediately unless he was meeting with the Supreme Chancellor.” I smile at his humour, then fall into step just behind him – disabling Player’s Mind as having it active around Palpatine might risk him thinking I was on to him as if the Jedi High Council could sense it, the Sith Lord certainly could – as he leads me through the waiting area and away from the inevitable whispers that are about to start regarding my connection to Palpatine. As we moved, I made note of anyone that looked important, which was, unsurprisingly, most of them, and used Observe judiciously. None of the names stood out but having them in my head will help if they ever came forward as one of Palpatine’s political inner circle.

As we walked down the corridor to Palpatine’s office, I saw various statues, paintings, and other expensive-looking ornaments lining the walls. Some appeared to be from Naboo, but all had Humans front and centre in their imagery. I used Observe on some of them – not wanting to completely deplete my PP before entering a room with a Sith Lord – but nothing came back as Dark-Side aligned. As Janus paused, I looked away from the displays and noted he was moving toward a side door and not the main office.

“Apologies for the interruption Senator,” he began as I followed him through an automatically opening door into what appeared to be a lounge area that connected to both the corridor and the office. “You asked me to bring Padawan Shan to you directly once he arrived.” I turned my attention to Palpatine as he sat on a sofa on one side of a large table. The sofa nearest me had three humans sitting on it, and all had their backs to me.

Palpatine’s eyes brightened as he saw me, and he broke off his conversation with whoever was in the room and stood. “Yes, yes. Thank you, Janus.” Janus bowed and walked backwards, cutting me off from the door as the Sith Lord that he worked for approached. Palpatine was smiling though there was concern in his eyes as he reached me. “Cameron, my boy. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” One hand gripped mine in a handshake while the other clasped my elbow, preventing me from escaping. “I’ve been worried sick since I heard about your ordeal.” There’d been a moment where I thought he might hug me, but thankfully he stopped by just gripping my elbow as getting a hug from a Sith Lord would’ve been very close to the craziest thing that’s happened to me since I’d been reborn in this galaxy.

Even as my mind started to analyse his movements, tone and word choices – a necessary evil of meeting one of the galaxy’s hidden Big Bads – I used Observe on him.

Sheev Palpatine [Darth Sidious]

Race: Human

Level: 48

Health: 100%

Age: 47

Force Potential: Very High

Threat Potential: Extreme

Reputation: Neutral [LOCKED]

Affiliation Loyalty: Himself (100%) Order of the Sith Lords (63%)

Emotional State: Contemplative/Intrigued/Calculating

While giving off an external image of concern regarding your recent incidents, internally he is curious to see how it has affected your Force presence and state of mind.

He hopes to use recent events to further gain your trust while moving you into his plans as a possible future apprentice.

Though he knows he must be careful about how he does this, as his master has also developed an interest in you.

...

While the details about his thinking weren’t unexpected, the fact he’s gone up a level in three years was. Assuming the requirements for him to increase levels were similar to mine, then he’d done enough to earn up to about half as much XP as I had over the last three years. Which was kriffing scary. As was learning that both he and Plagueis had designs on making me into a Sith. I’d suspected that would be the case, but confirmation, while useful, was terrifying.

“Senator.” I replied as we shook hands, putting aside my concerns about his growth in the last three years even as his smile slipped, letting the faux concern take over his face.

“I believe we’ve been over this, Cameron.” The words didn’t carry any venom even as we ended the shake at the same time.

I lowered my head in acquiescence. “Of course, uncle.” That brought the smile back and seemed to banish some of his apparent concern. Though in my mind I was once more forced to confront the insanity that, for the time being at least, I had to refer to a Sith Lord as my uncle.

A gentle cough from the other occupants of the room – specifically the oldest looking of the three going by the greying hair – seemed to break Palpatine out of his thoughts. “Ah, where are my manners...” He turned, his hand on my elbow allowing him to guide me gently, in a non-threatening manner, to his side as the three seated figures rose. There was something familiar about all of them, though it was strongest with the middle-aged of the trio (one older man and two younger). “Cameron, allow me to introduce you to another member of the Senate, Ramin Tarkin of the Seswenna sector and his cousins; Wilhuff and Gideon.” It took a lot of effort to not tense up too much at meeting the man responsible for the Empire’s plans of terror. I knew Palpatine would’ve felt me tense up a touch, but I had to hope that he’d think it was just at meeting another Senator as I’d reacted when he’d given the family name. “Ramin, this is the remarkable young man I’ve mentioned to you before; Jedi Padawan Cameron Shan.”

As Ramin moved around the sofa, his nephews just behind him, I took a moment to use Observe on them.

Ramin Tarkin

Race: Human

Level: 28

Health: 98% (Minor infection: healing)

Age: 46

Force Potential: Minimal

Threat Potential: Low

Reputation: Neutral

Affiliation Loyalty: Tarkin Family (95%), Militarist Faction (88%), Core Faction (71%)

Emotional State: Curious/Intrigued/Amused

Having heard of your exploits from Sheev Palpatine and read several reports that were sent to the Senate by the Jedi Order, Ramin is interested in getting to know you better.

While generally not a fan of the Jedi, he is impressed with what he’d read about you and how you approach matters.

He is also amused to see Sheev Palpatine show a genuine liking for someone younger than Ramin’s cousins or children.

...

Wilhuff Tarkin

Race: Human

Level: 22

Health: 100%

Age: 27

Force Potential: Minimal

Threat Potential: Low

Reputation: Neutral

Affiliation Loyalty: Tarkin Family (87%), Republic Outland Regions Security Force (54%)

Emotional State: Curious

Wilhuff, while generally dismissive of the Jedi due to how they do little to ensure the security of the Republic, is curious about you.

His cousin has spoken highly of Sheev Palpatine and Wilhuff can see potential in an alliance between his family and Palpatine. Since the Senator from Naboo holds you in high regard, that makes you a person of interest in Wilhuff’s mind.

...

Gideon Tarkin

Race: Human

Level: 18

Health: 100%

Age: 20

Force Potential: Low

Threat Potential: Minimal

Reputation: Disliked

Affiliation Loyalty: Tarkin Family (92%), Republic Outland Regions Security Force (67%)

Emotional State: Bored/Dismissive

Unlike his brother and cousin, Gideon has little interest in political games. He understands their purpose but prefers to lead soldiers into battle.

As you’re a member of the Jedi Order – a group he holds in poor regard for how little they do to help enforce security across the Outer Rim – he has little interest in dealing with you but will do so simply to keep up appearances.

...

While I wasn’t sure how useful most of that was going to be for the future, it did give me a starting point with the three members of the Tarkin family. Ramin seemed to be a candidate who would support Sheev when the Sith Lord moved to become Chancellor while the only thing I wanted from Wilhuff was to kill him. I didn’t have a quest for that currently – mainly as I was avoiding adding ‘hit quests’ to the current pile – but he was in a list of people that I wanted to remove before the Clone Wars got into full swing. Gideon, on the other hand, seemed the most likely one of the family for me to manipulate: if I wanted to go down that route.

Ramin’s face had lit up during the introductions – something that made sense when the details Observe revealed were added in – and moved quickly, though not too quickly, around the sofa. His face, now that I had a name to fit it, had similar features to Wilhuff, though they lacked the coldness that came to typify the more famous member of his family. “Ah, a pleasure indeed.” He said as his hand sought mine out. “Sheev here has spoken of you often to myself and others; singing your praises openly to such a degree that we often wondered just who this young Jedi he was so proud of was. After reading the reports regarding the fall of the Bando Gora organisation,” I felt my heart quicken once more at having them mentioned, “I grew even more curious about you.”

I smiled as we shook hands. “As I told Sen… my uncle’s assistant outside, I wasn’t of great help in taking down the Bando Gora given I was their captive for several months.” There was nothing from Palpatine in the Force when I said that – as I’d expected – but I knew he would be listening to every mention I gave of my time there with great interest. Along with seeing and sensing how I reacted to having to discuss the subject. “It was a result of my masters and allies rescuing me that resulted in the Bando Gora being dismantled.” Which I wasn’t entirely sure was true. There would be operations that would’ve survived the destruction of the main base and the capture of their leader.

Ramin’s brow rose as I once more corrected the facts surrounding events. He glanced at Palpatine, who gave a subtle nod, then turned back to me grinning. “Sheev said you wouldn’t claim the credit.” He laughed and patted my arm. “Still, it was because of you that Komari Vosa was captured,” I fought to keep the whispers of her voice from my mind. “Your uncle,” he laughed at that, “and I are on an oversight committee that was informed of her capture.” While I felt I’d managed to keep my concern about her being brought up under control, I’d failed when learning that Palpatine knew of her capture without having to spy on the Order.

“I wasn’t aware such things were revealed to the Senate.” I’d considered not asking about that, but not doing so might seem odd to Palpatine. Force, did I hate politics even if I knew it was needed.

“Normally it wouldn’t be,” I turned to look at Palpatine as he explained, “however, Miss Vosa was the leader of a growing threat to Republic interests in the Mid and Outer Rim. As such, the Jedi High Council deemed it worthy to inform us of it.”

“Shame they don’t do that about other things.” Ramin’s words made it clear that he wasn’t happy about how secretive the Jedi were, which would be an easy avenue for Palpatine to exploit. Meaning, if he wasn’t already on it for being related to Wilhuff Tarkin, the man had just joined a growing list of people to remove if possible before the Clone Wars began.

“Cameron, did you know that the Tarkin family practices a rite of passage similar to the Mandalorian trial you completed several years ago?” I blinked at Palpatine, which made him smile. “They, and other families on Eriadu, have their children survive in the wild for several days to prove they are ready to become adults.”

I felt my brow rise as I looked at Ramin, who nodded. “That’s true, though I’ve never heard of a Jedi joining the Mandalorian clans.”

“I don’t know how many have done so in history, but a friend of mine completed her verd’goten – the name of the trial – the year before I did.” I paused and glanced at Palpatine. “Though I wasn’t aware my status as a member of the Mandalorians was public knowledge.”

Palpatine’s laugh was a soft one, reminding me of a grandfather humouring his grandson. “You may not realise it, but your name is already being whispered in the halls of this building and elsewhere. The descendent of Revan reborn coming to prominence as the gears of this mighty Republic begin to creak under the weight of avarice and threats,” I slapped myself mentally to not comment that he and other Sith were responsible for a lot of that, “is an event many have started speaking about. Then hearing you spent time with the very people your ancestor famously fought to defend the Republic from,” he paused and laughed. “Is it so strange that your name is quickly earning its place alongside that of Masters Windu and Yoda with people in important positions?”

“Or that some wish to attach their names to yours?” That came from Ramin as he gave Palpatine a sideways glance. It was clear that Ramin was aware of what Palpatine was doing in using my name, and while I was far from thrilled about it, if the roles were reversed, I'd have likely done the same.

“If I may be so bold,” my head snapped round as Wilhuff, his voice frighteningly similar to what I remembered from A New Hope though lacking some of the gravitas it’d gain with age, spoke. “What exactly was it that you killed?”

“I’m surprised that hasn’t been revealed along with me spending time with the Mandalorians.” Palpatine shrugged as I looked at him.

“I’ve heard rumours from the Mandalorian Representative to the Senate, but they won’t go into details about what exactly you killed.” He shrugged and then started to move toward the sofas. “Apparently, telling outsiders isn’t something they are inclined to do.” He smiled as he picked up his cup. “Though given what I know of your skill and courage, I have no doubt it was a kill worthy of their songs.”

I stared at him as he sipped his drink – some sort of wine I suspected – and wondered what his ploy here was. He had to know about my kill as Plagueis knew and keeping it hidden from outsiders wasn’t something the Mandalorians would do. At least not to the point of actively avoiding the topic like he was implying. Still, seeing no reason to not indulge his plans to have me grow closer to the Tarkins – it would make removing them later easier if they trusted me enough to let me get close – decided to play along. “I certainly think it was, uncle. My cloak here was made from the beast’s skin.” I rolled my shoulders, drawing everyone’s attention to the dark leather. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard of the Greater Krayt Dragon?”

In a wonderful bit of acting, Palpatine’s cup slipped from his grasp and fell, shattering on the floor as all four men looked at me. “My word.” He muttered at the same time the youngest Tarkin, Gideon, responded.

“Karking hell!” I chuckled at the comment as Gideon blinked. “How?”

I bit off the urge to laugh at the reaction of the four men, even if one was such a good fake that if I didn’t know it was a lie I’d have bought it, and instead allowed a large smile to spread on my face. “With nothing but a beskar knife.” The reactions from all of them grew more incredulous and even I was taken in by Palpatine’s acting.

“Th-that is a story I must hear.” Ramin managed to get out before he placed a hand on my shoulder and gently pulled me toward the sofas. “Come sit with us, young warrior, and regale us with the tale of your hunt.”

… …

… …

As I stepped onto the Ne’tra Sartr my thoughts were on one thing. Or more importantly, one person. It had been several months since Bo had rather passionately kissed me and since then, whenever I’d tried to bring the topic up when we spoke, she’d either closed the channel without replying or changed the topic as if I’d never spoken. At first that had irritated me, but with time to think on it, I’d begun to suspect she’d been doing it to pay me back for how she’d had to process me kissing her in the Bando Gora base. The instant I saw her, walking through the central area of the ship, I ended any doubt by getting her attention with a whistle and then using Observe.

Bo-Katan Kryze

Race: Human

Level: 22

Health: 100%

Age: 16

Force Potential: Low

Threat Potential: Medium

Reputation: Trusted/Desired

Affiliation Loyalty: Clan Kryze (81%) Duke Adonai (71%) Clan Shan (48%)

Emotional: Relieved/Interested/Curious

Bo-Katan is glad to be finally leaving Coruscant. While the planet had brought some excitement, it’s too fake and crowded for her liking.

She’s curious about learning where you’ll be heading next, though that pales in comparison to seeing if your interest in her matches hers in you.

...

While that didn’t settle why she’d avoided the topic, it did make clear she expected something to happen between us. And while I’d promised myself that I’d not get involved with anyone until I was seventeen, I’d come to realise how silly that idea was. Yes, starting anything with Bo without having had the chance to speak with Serra – who still hadn’t returned from whatever mission the Council had sent her and Master Drallig on – and clearing the air there was a risk. But the more I thought about Bo, and considered how comfortable we were with each other, the more I felt I wanted to see where things might head. Having the Interface confirm that she desired me, which was a new feature that either kicked in because of her age, mine or both, was another hint that I needed to stop procrastinating about relationships and begin to enjoy my life.

FINALLY!

I ignored the snide message from TPTB, and put aside thoughts of where things might head with Bo as she left the common area and I walked toward my quarters. Instead, I thought about how I wanted to spend the time as we travelled.

While I’d not had much time to myself over the last half-year in the Temple, I’d managed to get to the minimum requirements for the Just Don’t Get Caught quest, which meant that was no longer hanging over me the way the You Can’t Hurt me quest was. Still, if worst came to worst, I had enough banked Skill Points that if I was still massively short of the requirements by the time the quest was due to expire, I could just drop them in that and complete the quest.

I’d gotten Shatterpoint to Professional:1, which was as far as I could go without spending a Perk Point I didn’t currently have, but the power had been a massive disappointment. I could look intently at an object with the Force, be it anything from a door to the Ne’tra Sartr and spot flaws and weaknesses in them. While that might be useful in some cases, in most I could circumvent having to spend minutes searching for a weakness with another more developed power. Or even a more brute-force approach to removing an obstacle. And because I’d spent so much time dragging that power up to where I could, I’d not managed to get any other Power – bar Restore Stamina, which had been only a handful of levels short of maxing before my capture – maxed out. Though that was also because I’d all but reached the point where subtle Force Powers had been maxed and using the less subtle ones would, in most cases, result in unwanted attention and discussions with senior members of the Order if I’d been caught.

Plus, there was the fact I needed to focus heavily on recovering from my ordeal, which I had as I felt I could now discuss the Bando Gora and Vosa without needing to take a moment to centre myself. I knew I’d still have moments of weakness – as was the case with any PTSD case – but Healer Allie felt I was more than ready to once more venture out into the galaxy and let the Force guide my path. Her words, not mine.

Still, my Teaching skill had shot up while those skills I could train without too much effort (such as Athletics, Swimming, and most of my social and technical skills) had improved. Though none had been at a point where I could generate a training quest to earn some easy XP from them.

After placing the few belongings I’d brought with me from the Temple in my quarters, I returned and moved through the common area toward a small brief room near the cockpit. While we still had about an hour before we’d depart, Fay wanted to talk very briefly about where we’d be heading.

“Master.” I offered as I entered the room to see her and Bo waiting for me. I slid into a seat of my own, close but not too close to Bo. I might not want to string her along, but until we discussed things properly, nothing prevented me from subtly teasing her about our shared feelings.

“So where are we heading?” The question came from Bo after she’d given me a hard, sideward look. Clearly, she expected me to act awkward around her as I shouldn’t know how she was feeling, but no one ever said the war of the sexes was a fair battle.

“For a while now, the High Council has been hearing rumours of semi-organic ships floating around the edges of galactic society. They suspect such vessels would have a strong connection to the Force and have tasked several Jedi, along with elements of the Antarian Rangers, that’s a group that works with the Jedi from time to time on the fringes of Republic space,” she offered that and the confused look Bo gave, “with searching for the world these ships might come from.” As she spoke, I sensed amusement and excitement radiating from her. The amusement was aimed at me and Bo while the excitement seemed to do with our mission. “I’ve heard rumours from some old friends out on the very edges of known space of a world that, apart from being seemingly alive, is claimed to be a nexus within the Force. While it’s unlikely that these rumours are true, they are worth investigating.”

“How long’s it going to take to get there?”

Fay smiled at me. “According to your droid, about a week to reach the closest known hyperspace route. From there, we’ll likely have to purchase maps for how to reach the planet. If it’s as isolated as my friends say, then it could take another week, perhaps two, to reach the planet.” I whistled softly at that. Most places in the galaxy didn’t take long to get to. Even going to and from the Lokella system only took a week and a bit from here, and that was because the routes near the system were sparsely used. If it would take weeks to travel the last few legs – when we’d probably only be travelling within a sector – it was an indication of just how remote this planet was.

As I considered this planet, I felt… not a disturbance in the Force, but more of a gentle ripple. It was faint, almost as if coming to me from a great distance. Yet, as I tried to reach out for it, I felt as if I sensed… anticipation. Which was odd.

I lifted my head, wanting to speak with Fay only to see she and Bo had left the room. Apparently, while I’d been trying to pin down what I’d sensed in the Force the pair had left.

Deciding to do the same, I walked into the corridor. I turned as I spotted Bo in the common area and moved to speak with her, thinking it would be helpful to get everything out in the open before we left. However, after glancing my way, she slipped into the training room we’d created over a year ago – really just a converted cargo hold – and locked the door.

I chuckled gently and shook my head. If that’s how she wanted to play, then so be it. We had a few weeks before we reached wherever it was that we were heading, so I had time to play with.

Plus, two could play at this game.

… …

… …