"Is it true what they say, Master Shan?"
Bastila glanced over her shoulder at the slender Twi'lek who had uttered the question. At just eleven, Okalla was the eldest of her youngling charges and a standout in her studies. She was also dangerously inquisitive.
"Is what true, Okalla?"
The girl hesitated, fingering the controls of her training remote as she summoned her courage, "Is it true what they say about you and Revan?"
At the invocation of the Jedi legend, the four younglings who had been sparring together nearby closed ranks around Bastila, hurling statements and bizarre half-truths at her in an excited volley.
"I heard Revan was a tall Correllian beauty," Sasha, a sturdy nine-year-old with large blue eyes, announced to no one in particular.
"Not true," an animated Rodian named Treek exclaimed. "Everyone knows Revan was covered in Sith tattoos from head to toe."
"No, I heard Revan had blonde hair, like me," May countered with a shy grin. The youngest of the group, May had been recently disappointed to learn that pink was not an acceptable color for a lightsaber. She had subsequently vowed to anyone who would listen that she would be the first to build and carry a pink lightsaber for the Jedi Order.
"Everyone knows that Revan was a man," Kendrew, the resident alpha male, pronounced with the certainty of an expert. When Treek had the audacity to nod solemnly in agreement, both Sasha and May dissolved into an ear-splitting chorus of dissent. Okalla did not appear to take sides, but she eyed Bastila curiously as she waited for her teacher to settle the debate once and for all.
"Tell us about how Revan united the Wookiees against Czerka using just her cunning and a broken old sword," Sasha pleaded, tugging on the fabric of Bastila's robes.
"I want to hear how he infiltrated the Sith academy on Korriban," Treek demanded, striking a victorious Shii-Cho finishing pose.
"No! Tell us about the time she bested a giant Firaxan shark on Manaan by singing it a beautiful lullaby," May chirped excitedly.
There was an awkward beat of silence as the other children regarded her outlandish claim.
"How could Revan sing a lullaby to a shark underwater?" Kendrew asked, his tone more than a little skeptical.
Okalla and Sasha raised their eyebrows in May's direction, causing the girl to take a half-step closer to Bastila. "She… used the Force, right, Master Shan?"
Bastila looked down at the innocent faces waiting to be regaled with tales of Revan's exploits. So much had been written and re-written about the destruction of the Star Forge that she herself, scarcely recognized most of what she heard repeated. It seemed a hopeless task to even decide which part of Revan's exalted legacy to dismantle first, but luckily, help was moving toward Bastila in the form of a handsome Jedi historian.
"Children, I'm sure bombarding Master Shan with idle gossip is not the most effective use of your training time," Mical called out as he approached.
Bastila smiled at him gratefully as he deftly placed himself between her and the onslaught of curious younglings. His presence had an immediate effect on the girls, who smiled up at him and bashfully inquired about his day. He was just about to respond to his adoring young fans, when his thunder was stolen by Atton Rand.
"Treek! Kendrew! The meditation chamber in the North Tower is not going to clean itself!"
The boys turned in the direction of the voice that hailed them and grinned. If the female youngling contingent admired Mical, the males stood in awe of the rakish Master Rand.
"How's that pink lightsaber coming along, May-May?" Atton called out as he approached the group. Bastila bit back a smile as the girl's brown eyes lit up like the night sky over Coruscant.
"Almost finished, Master Rand," she announced proudly.
From here, the discussion swiftly dissolved into the pros and cons of pink lightsabers, with the boys being decidedly against, May being a huge fan, and Sasha landing somewhere in the middle. For a moment, it appeared as though all thought of Revan had ceased, until a sound close to a sob broke from Okalla.
"You saved Revan from the Dark side and then Revan later saved you, right Master Shan?"
Startled, Mical chuckled nervously before placing a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Aren't you late for sparring practice, Okalla? Master Juhani will be wondering what happened to you."
He tried coaxing her in the direction of the North Tower, but the Twi'lek had dug in her heels and would not be moved.
"I need to become stronger," Okalla wailed, wrenching away from Mical's grasp to stand toe to toe with Bastila.
"You walked both paths, Master Shan. Which will make me stronger?"
From behind her, Atton cleared his throat nervously, and the awkward silence grew heavy in the air as seven pairs of eyes waited for an answer.
"The Dark side will offer you more raw power and it will do so rather quickly, Okalla."
Mical shot Bastila a concerned look, but the pretty brunette chose not to heed it.
"So, the Dark side is more powerful?"
At this point, someone (she was fairly certain it was May) burst into tears, but Bastila did not break eye contact with her Twi'lek charge.
"Perhaps," she submitted, "but that power comes with a price. The Dark side is a power born of hate and suffering, of exclusion and fear. When I walked in Darkness, Okalla, I was utterly alone."
Out of the corner of her eye, she was gratified to see Kendrew reach out and pat May's head affectionately, abruptly halting the girl's tears. Sasha smiled cautiously at Treek, who in turn, smiled back.
"The Light connects us to all living things in the Galaxy, children. It grants me Master Mical's intelligence, Master Juhani's athleticism, and Master Rand's…"
"Overpowering good looks?" The somewhat reformed Scoundrel offered helpfully.
Bastila nodded, "to say nothing of your sense of humor."
Kneeling in front of the slender green girl whose lekku twitched with frustration, Bastila spoke again:
"You feel weak. Alone."
A sob escaped Okalla as she nodded.
"But you are not alone. You are blessed with Kendrew's bravery, Sasha's gift of sight, Treek's strength, May's compassion…"
May further illustrated this point by throwing her arms around Okalla and hugging her fiercely. The others moved closer and murmured their own words of encouragement.
"And they have you, Okalla. The Dark Side of the Force couldn't possibly hope to compete with the five of you together," she said with an encouraging smile.
The Twi'lek's lashes were wet with tears. She sniffled once and shook her head at Bastila.
"I'm sorry. You must think I'm wicked."
"It was a valid question," Bastila answered in her most reassuring manner.
Hearing this, Sasha and May scooped up Okalla's hands and led her gently in the direction of the North Tower where Master Juhani would be waiting. The boys followed suit, lagging behind at a distance deemed safe enough to allow them to tease May about her penchant for pink.
Watching them, Bastila was aware of both the balmy Dantooine breeze and the relief she felt at not having to answer most of their questions.
She was at a loss to discover how so many different versions of Revan's story had come into being. Perhaps the masses felt connected to Revan's redemption and they could not help but make the Jedi master over in their own image, or perhaps she was simply not giving the power of idle gossip enough credit. Either way, to divulge that truth - to define it - would be like taking Revan away yet again and Bastila wasn't quite ready to do that.
She glanced fleetingly at the two gentlemen standing next to her.
After the destruction of Malachor V and the subsequent disappearance of the Exile, Mical began rebuilding the Jedi like a man possessed. He painstakingly restored the priceless Jedi teachings that were thought to be lost, and he began recruiting the next generation of Jedi who would one day take their place in the Galaxy. If Urela Toral harbored any guilt about what Kreia had done at the enclave on Dantooine, Mical was going to clear her conscience by scrubbing her tarnished reputation with every weapon at his disposal.
But, Atton was not interested in either Urela's reputation or her conscience. When the Exile disappeared, he had followed every lead, credible or not, beyond the outer rim to search for her. For a year he'd scoured remote planets, stomaching the daily disappointment until he could take it no longer. Ten months ago he had returned to the enclave angry, empty-handed and determined to destroy himself... or Mical if the opportunity presented itself.
Fortunately, it never did.
"She's not alone either," Bastilla said finally, looking up at the stars.
Mical colored slightly and looked at Atton, who was already following Bastila's gaze toward the heavens.
Their entire relationship was built on a hasty promise held together solely by the love and admiration the three of them had for two people who had left them behind. It was a tenuous connection to be sure, but Bastila was certain of one thing: she was not alone.