Nellith winced as the medical droid tightened the bolts on her hand. They always wound it too tight, and she found herself loosening them later because she was incapacitated with the pain of it. She almost preferred that hand being gone to all this trouble.

"It's alright, breathe, just breathe," Luke instructed her as she squeezed his own mechanical hand tightly. "It's almost over."

Nellith nodded and obeyed. She just had to get out of this chair, and out of the office, then she could use her multi-tool to actually adjust it correctly- with Luke's supervision this time. The whole reason she was here was because she'd accidentally done it too loose and the hand fell to the floor rather dramatically within seconds of her putting away the multi-tool.

"Finished," the droid said. "Please flex your fingers."

Nellith did so, biting her lip as she did so, her fingers feeling like needles were tearing at them from the inside. She did all of the ranges of motion that the droid requested. Having decided it was finished, Nellith was released from the chair and Luke guided her out of the facility.

"Thanks, Uncle Luke," Nellith said.

"It's no problem," Luke said. "I understand what it's like to adjust to having new body parts."

He flexed his own thin metal fingers. Nellith's own were covered by prosthetic skin, and then by a fingerless glove. She shoved her hand into the pocket of her skirt and followed Luke to the café down the sidewalk. She couldn't help but look at the city around her. Speeders zoomed by in the sky lanes, and neon signs flashed from every direction, music pouring out from all of the stores. Valerian had a heartbeat Nellith could feel even without the Force.

Her great-uncle sat across from her in the brightly-colored café booth. There was silence for a moment as Nellith reached for the jellybeans in the central dish. Her eyes lit up as she bit into the first of them.

"Are they good?" Luke asked.

Nellith nodded eagerly. The old man picked one up for himself and tried it.

"Too sweet for me," he said as his features twisted into a grimace. He sobered. "No more loosening your own bolts, at least, not when I'm not around to make sure you don't do something like that again."

"Fine," Nellith conceded. "It just feels so strange. I can't even feel the Force in my hand anymore- it feels like it's still gone."

"I remember feeling the same way," Luke said. He patted her flesh hand with his own. "You get used to it, after a while."

"How long?" Nellith demanded. "How long before I can actually feel like myself again? I feel like everything I knew is gone! Just when I was getting close to Knighthood, I lose my arm, my master, and now Mom and Dad are even making me give up being a Jedi!"

"Not for forever," Luke reminded her. "Just for a few weeks."

"It feels like forever," she groaned.

"And you might not feel like yourself again for a long time," he warned. "What happened on Korriban- no child should have to go through that. You were lucky to survive, and your mind isn't wired for that kind of situation. So things might feel strange for a while."

Nellith bit her bottom lip. She hadn't thought of it that way. She still couldn't believe it happened. It still didn't feel real. Any minute she expected Tenelle Arranda to walk through the door, disheveled but in one piece. Even thought Nellith knew she was the only one who could've made it out alive.

"Your mom and dad are just trying to protect you," Luke continued. "Especially your dad. He lost his way briefly with the Jedi, and he's always feared the same with you. He thinks that if you're not a Jedi Knight, you'll never go through what he did."

"But that makes no sense!" Nellith said.

"I know," Luke said. "I'm just relaying the message."

"He should know that I'm nothing like him," Nellith said.

"You don't bear the strongest resemblance to your father," Luke admitted. "But you are his daughter."

Nellith sighed. "I know they want me happier than they were. But can't they see that the Jedi way is what makes me happy?"

"It's because they both had periods in their life when they rejected our path," Luke said. "They want you to have an out if you feel the same way. I know you don't feel that way- but I want you to know the reason."

"Thanks, Uncle Luke," Nellith said, a small smile emerging on her face.

"No problem," he said, smiling back.

Ben and Kira stood waiting for their daughter as Luke's shuttle landed on the shores of Anch-To.

"Finally," Ben said.

"She's safer with him than anyone else," Kira reminded him.

"So?" Ben said. "She's still my daughter."

Kira rolled her eyes. "Mine too, and you don't see me acting like a nerf-herder about it."

"Not all of us are as relaxed as the great Kira Rey," Ben retorted.

"There's just no sense in worrying about her," Kira said. "It's over now. The Dark Jedi that killed Knight Arranda died on Korriban. There's nothing we can do now except show support."

"Have you been reading parenting manuals again?" Ben accused.

Kira shrugged defensively. "So what if I have?"

"You and I both know they're written by hacks who sound nice," Ben said.

"They're more useful than you give them credit for," Kira said.

"Mom! Dad!"

Their bickering was interrupted by their fourteen-year-old daughter, climbing up the stairs with her great-uncle by her side. They'd finally managed to make it to the top.

"Nell," Kira said, embracing her daughter.

"Let's see the hand," Ben said.

Nellith, who had adjudged the hand in the restaurant, removed her hand from her pocket and flexed it just as she had for the medicine droid.

"Very good," Kira approved.

"Now don't modify it again," Ben added.

"Thanks for doing this, Luke," Kira said.

"It's no problem," Luke said with a smile. "Just a little time with my great-niece."

"I'm really tired," Nellith said. "Mind if I go to bed?"

Ben and Kira exchanged a look. "Of course."

Nellith nodded and raced up the stairs and the cottage in which she'd been raised, and entered the passcode to her bedroom. She closed the door, the blinds, and her closet door, kicked off her shoes, and dived under the blankets. She held them close against herself, remembering the shadows from her dreams the previous night. She could even see the clawed hand reaching out for her.