Zar spent the entire trip in the bacta tank, when he got out he felt like he could take on the whole empire by himself, but he knew better. Boba Fett could have killed him easily, it was only by Jabba's intervention that he and Sora got out of there alive. A certain Jedi had once said, "Sometimes the force is with you, sometimes you just get lucky."

"Jedi are supposed to make their own luck."

Zar knew he was going to have to train harder for the next trial, these had been nothing like the trials that Padawans used to take; he was starting to worry that for the Trial of the Spirit he would have to take on the Emperor himself. He would begin training as soon as he got back.

"Zar, I'm going to take Sora back to the others, I trust you will be fine until I return?"

"I just went into Jabba's Palace to steal one of his slaves and lived; I think I'll be fine."

"Do your best to prepare yourself Zar, your greatest test is yet to come."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

Zar spent the rest of the day training himself, he practiced with and without his lightsaber. He was hoping that next time he had to do something else insanely dangerous, at least he would be allowed to do it with his weapon. He didn't stop until he finally admitted he was too tired to carry on.

"One more mouth to feed…" thought Zar "Of course Kamilla won't think of it that way. One look and she'll be all about how cute Sora is."

The planet that Zar had been staying on for the duration of his training wasn't on any of the charts. One of the benefits of being on a deserted planet was that it was easy to see the stars at night.

"I wonder where they are… They've had over two months to find a new home for us… Hopefully this time is the last time…"

Zar had been told that during his training, there was to be nothing outside of it. But it wasn't that easy to keep Kita out of his dreams. He dreamt about her every night, but he always woke up before the best part. When he woke up in the morning, Chad still wasn't back.

"Whatever, I'll just train myself."

Zar continued training on his own for days, then days turned to weeks, and weeks turned into another month.

"It's okay… They haven't abandoned you… it's probably just a test… or maybe Gan has an orphan second cousin he never knew. Ha! Why am I always so funny when no one's around?"

Zar knew his master must not have returned yet for a reason. He would make the most of his time by preparing for whatever his next trial would be. He had passed the Trial of Skill, and he had survived his Trial of Courage by pure luck, that just left the Trials of Flesh and the Trial of the Spirit.

"I don't know what insane thing my master will have me do for the Trial of the Spirit… but he said my Trial of the Flesh would be being away from Kita this long… Why couldn't it be something easier?"

Time continued to pass and Zar's master still hadn't returned. He continued to train himself every day trying not to think about Kita. He spent all his time trying to learn new techniques and to perfect the ones he already knew. His skills with his lightsaber had improved, though he'd been unable to turn invisible like Kita he had learned to hide his presence in the force. But all his achievements were hollow, because he had no one to share them with.

"Is that what this is? Another part of my Trial of the Flesh?"

When a Jedi took the Trial of the Flesh the apprentice had to overcome great physical pain, hardship, or loss. It could also test the Jedi's mastery of detachment from physical pleasure and people. But the loss itself didn't qualify the a pass, it was what the Jedi learned from the experience. Zar had thought earlier that losing his arm like Anakin Skywalker would qualify him, but he hadn't learned anything from the experience, he just hated Vader and the Sith that much more.

"What haven't I learned… If Kita were here she could tell me… Kita…"

That night Zar didn't stop training until he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. When he finally fell asleep he started dreaming, he saw people he knew and people who were long dead, they all spoke to him.

"Death is a natural part of life."

"Death doesn't wait for you to be ready."

"Anything can happen."

"You can't live in fear."

"Learn to let go of everything you fear to lose."

"Accept the things you cannot change."

That's when he heard her. For the first time in months he heard her.

"Zar… Zar…"

"Kita?!"

"Your greatest test is at hand… trust in the force."

"Zar… Zar, wake up."

Zar awoke to see his master looking down at him. Zar was about to demand why he had been gone so long, but he stopped himself.

"Have you learned what I wanted you to learn?"

"Death is a natural part of life; this is something I cannot change… You saved Kita on Naboo, and I saved the two of you on Coruscant… but next time I might not be so lucky…"

"So what will you do?"

Zar thought long and hard before answering that question.

"… I will cherish every moment with her… and if or when I lose her… I will take comfort in knowing that one day we will both be together again in the force…"

Chad smiled.

"Very good Zar… Pack your things; it is time for your final test. If you succeed, I will take you home."

Zar's heart almost skipped a beat. Kita and the others had made a new home for them somewhere. He was one step away from seeing her again. He was one step away from becoming a full Jedi Knight.

"What is my final test, Master?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

Zar didn't waste any time getting all his things put away, he would have forgotten to eat his breakfast if his master hadn't reminded him. When they took off Chad had told Zar to meditate until they reached their destination. Zar hadn't sat down for thirty seconds before he heard Kita's words echo in his head.

"Your greatest test is at hand… trust in the force."

(To be continued)