6.

Sala readied her training saber and watched the small remote as it floated near her. To her right, Luke leaned back against the wall, watching her. The two had spent the entire morning training in a room that once held various artifacts collected by the previous Jedi. Now, Luke had converted it to a training room.

The remote spun, and with an electronic hiss, it dove down and fired a stun bolt that caught Sala in the leg. She stumbled back, falling to one knee, but she managed to block the next bolt with her saber. The remote darted from side to side, firing bolt after bolt. Sala ducked and rolled to her side to dodge the blasts, stopping only when one struck her shoulder, sending her rolling into the wall.

Catching her breath, she looked up to see the drone floating over her. It fired several blasts at once, and she managed to deflect them away from her. However, her attempt sent the blasts into the walls, with one hitting a small statue and sending it tumbling off a platform, shattering when it hit the floor.

Luke turned to look at the shattered remains, and Sala stood, bracing herself.

"You've trained well with your reflexes, and your ability to sense your surroundings is excellent," Luke said. He turned to her, smiling. "But we must work on improving your aim."

"I'm sorry, Master," Sala said. "I'll pay to have it replaced."

"These are all just cheap decorations I bought to brighten things up," Luke said as he started cleaning up the pieces. Deactivating her saber, Sala helped him.

Tossing the remaining pieces in the trash compactor, Luke turned and led Sala out of the temple. "I think now would be a great time for a break. Let's take a little walk."

It was a typical morning on the planet, cool and sunny. Luke chose a walkway that took them away from most of the bustling crowds.

"I chose to keep the Jedi at the old temple so we could be part of the Republic. I wanted an alliance between the Jedi and the Senate, rather than our being separate organizations."

He stopped, looking to several buildings in the distance. "Sometimes it helps to have an outsider's view to help you gain insight."

"But if they aren't trained like Jedi, how can they tell us if we're making mistakes?" Sala asked.

"I learned a long time ago," Luke answered, "that using the Force doesn't put you above others. Everyone and everything is a student and everyone and everything is a teacher."

"Master Gesna and the rock," Sala said with a nod.

Luke smiled. "Ah, so you are paying attention, good."

As they continued walking, Luke pointed to a tall pillar in the distance, just past the senate building. "That's the Pillar of Peace. After the fall of Emperor Palpatine, members of races from all parts of the galaxy worked together to build it. Since then, people travel to it everyday to sign the pledge."

"The Pledge?" Sala asked.

"The Pledge that we would no longer enslave or assault each other, that no race or group is superior to an other. We made one promise; that we are all equal."

"I hope we continue to keep that promise," Sala said.

"So do I," Luke agreed.

As they passed a series of apartments, Sala thought for a moment. "Master, may I ask a question?"

"Please," Luke said.

"Are all Jedi trained in the same manner?"

"Of course not," Luke answered. "Different students, different Masters, different training methods. I care more that they reach the same goal."

"What goal is that?" Sala asked.

Luke answered, "Learning to use your abilities without harming yourself or others. I'm sure in the past, you've done things out of impulse, possibly acting through fear or anger."

"Well, maybe once or twice," Sala responded, her eyes falling to the pavement.

"We all have," Luke said honestly. "And you've seen the damage that causes. Imagine doing that while being able to manipulate your surroundings." He looked pale for a moment. "And losing your temper becomes a lot more dangerous. That is the real trap of the dark side, not controlling the Force, but using it when You are not in control."

He stopped and looked at her. "That's why I have every Jedi in training pushed so hard. It's not about controlling the Force. It's about controlling yourself, no matter how terrified or furious you feel."

They started walking back to the temple. "You will make lots of mistakes, Sala. I know from experience. Just be aware of them, learn from them, so you won't repeat them."

"Guess I have a lot of learning to get through," Sala observed.

"The first step to learning," Luke corrected her, "is knowing you'll never be through."

As the walked past a hanger, Sala began asking, "Master, do-"

She was cut off by an explosion from inside the hanger. Both spun around to see Han and Lando scrambling outside as black clouds of smoke followed. Han slammed a fist on the switch, and the door slammed shut. Both men fell back against the hanger wall, gasping for breath.

"Are you all right?" Sala asked, making both men jump.

"Yeah Sala, we're fine," Lando said. "We just had to take a little break."

"How are the repairs coming?" Luke asked.

"Oh right on schedule." Another explosion from inside immediately followed Han's answer. "Okay, maybe we're a day or two behind, but we're almost there."

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Lando added, right before alarms inside sounded. "You two just go about your training. We'll handle this."

As several rescue craft landed at the hanger and emergency personnel ran in to help, Luke and Sala returned to the temple, and Sala remembered her previous question.

"Master, do you have all Jedi go through the same test you put me through?"

Luke thought for a moment. "I try to do something similar with most new Jedi. I just want to see how you react, inside and out. It also helped me understand the best ways to have you trained."

"Well if I may ask," Sala said. "How did Jiias do when you first trained him?"

"Oh, Luke chuckled, "he failed miserably."