Chapter 8:

Caloc snuck through the doorway into the Garden of Tranquillity. It was late, far past the Temple's curfew, and he had needed to stealth his way past several of the patrolling Temple Guards. The Gardens seemed different at night. Mysa no longer shone down on them. Instead, the four moons smiled down through the glass. The lake, before an icy blue sheet, was now an inky black. It would have been a creepy sight if not for the lanterns that marked the paths. He took off down one, grabbing a lantern from nearby. Creeping up one of the small dirt paths, he leapt over a clump of bushes and came to a clearing. With a grin, he hung the lantern up and grabbed another half dozen that were hidden in the bushes. Lighting them, he hung them on the long hanging branches nearby, then turned and reached for a shallow ditch in the ground, hidden beneath the foliage. In this depression lay four heavily greased logs, and used the Force to lift them onto their braces. Moving with unneeded haste, he checked they were securely in their struts. He was about to step onto the nearest of the slippery logs when a voice spoke from the darkness behind him.

"Hmmm. Again, here you are, young one.", the huddled form of Yoda stepped out of the bushes behind Caloc, leaning heavily on his cane. "Again, you practice in the night. And in the evening. And after lunch. When sleep, do you, Caloc of Menach?"

Startled at his sudden appearance, Caloc just stuttered for a few moments, before finally bowing his head respectfully. "Master Yoda!", he blurted out, "I didn't see you there."

Yoda tilted his head, appearing confused. "Hiding, I was, young one. A good thing it is, that see me, you did not.", the cane thudded against the bowing padawan's skull, "Stand up, boy, stand up! On ceremony, we are not."

Caloc straightened obediently, rubbing his head. Yoda moved to a log not far from the one's Caloc had set up moments before, sitting down on the hard, wooden surface. He studied the boy carefully, rubbing his chin. Finally, he spoke, "Why do you train so hard, young one?"

Frowning, Caloc gestured around him, "Is it not a good thing that I train?"

"Perhaps.", Yoda answered, "But finding balance is the Jedi way. Risky to do too much, or too little of one aspect, it is. So, why do you train?"

Caloc looked down, "I do not know, Master Yoda."

"Hmm. The answer I was looking for, that was not.", Yoda frowned, seeming disappointed, "A reason, you must have."

Caloc frowned, racking his brain. He had never anticipated needing to explain his habits to anyone. Then again, he had never expected to have a conversation with Master Yoda himself. The aged Master taught some of the youngling clans, but he didn't have much interaction with the padawans. That task usually fell to Master Windu and Master Plo Koon. The fact that Master Yoda had seen him here before was enough to make him nervous. When had he been seen? He looked at the wrinkled green form before him, eye narrowed slightly.

"Why do you train, young one?", Yoda repeated. He tapped one of the nearby rocks with his cane's pointed end, "To hone your skills, perhaps? But skilled, you are already. Perhaps for pride, you practice. But a Menachi, you are. Prideful, is your planet."

Yoda started tapping his cane in a small circle, pointing at five different rocks.

"I told you that I don't know.", Caloc said, "It must just come naturally."

"A studious scholar, you have never been.", Yoda retorted. The padawan frowned at him, but he continued unabated, "Perhaps respect. Hmm. Yes, respect, is why you train."

"How do you figure?", Caloc rolled his eyes.

"Humiliated, you feel.", Yoda grinned at him, "Your defeat during the Choosing, hmm? Perhaps you feel unworthy of being an apprentice."

Caloc looked down. When he spoke his voice was softer, "I never thought I would make a padawan position.", he admitted, "The defeat during the Choosing was… hard. I guess that I'm just trying to be worthy of Master Allie's choice."

Yoda smiled warmly, and Caloc found himself relaxing little. "Perfection is not a quality for you to achieve, young padawan. A Jedi is not perfect. A Jedi is disciplined. Find the balance, you must, between mind and body. You train your body so much that neglected the mind, you have."

"What do you mean?", Caloc asked.

Yoda looked at him silently for a moment, "I sense distress in you, young one. Something is building inside you. Despair, regret, possibly anger. Ask for help, you should."

Caloc pondered this for a moment, "If you can feel that, sure my Master would as well. Why did she choose me?"

"A puzzle to unravel, that is.", Yoda seemed to age ten years as he said that. Of course, it was hard to tell, but his eyes lost some of their inner gleam.

"Know of her Master, do you?", he didn't wait for the young man to answer, "Keltr Tress. A great Jedi. Offered a seat on the Council, he was. A mediator, a fight, and a friend. Yet killed, he was."

"I'm sorry to here that.", Caloc rolled his fingers around his braid, nervous, "May I ask what happened?"

Yoda let out a sigh and looked out over the lake, "Know what occurred, no one does. But begin of Malcost 7, the story does. Pirates plagued the shipping lanes, stealing from rich, poor and old alike. Hidden, was their base. A call came to our Council, and assigned, two Jedi were. Master Tress went, and took his former apprentice with him. Knighted recently, she was. Hard, was the battle on them both, and separated they were. A great fighter, Tress was. A duellist whom rivalled the skilled of Master Dooku. Not easy to defeat.", Yoda paused. His big eyes were full of grief, "Fell to the dark side, he almost did, once. Master his feelings, he felt he must. To take an apprentice would be reckless, said the Council. But choose to defy us, he did. A young Tholothian, he chose. Your Master."

"So, she kept him on the path of light?", Caloc interrupted, "Is that why she chose me?"

Yoda gave him a sad smile in reply. "No, young one. Adored by a young Master Allie, Tress was. Taught her to Master her skills, he did. But last, their relationship did not.

"Found him after the battle, she did, dead before she arrived. And the killing strike? A wound in his chest.", Yoda looked up at Caloc, "A wound from a lightsabre."

Closing his eyes, Caloc slammed his palm into his thigh. "That's why she didn't take this to the whole Council. She knew that the same person who killed her Master must be the same one who attacked the cargo ship we found. There aren't many outlaws with a lightsabre running around the galaxy."

"Speculation! Hope, she does.", Yoda scoffed, "Spent years in hunting, she did. Hunt for the killer, she did. Comb the battlefields and the shipping lanes, and even the minor disturbances that were felt by the Council. Hope, she's always had, to find him. But the hunt of revenge is never fruitful, young Menachi. As hunt for revenge she will now."

"So you won't let her near this case, right?", Caloc questioned.

"With or without us, she would go.", Yoda smiled, "But different, her hunt will be this time. Have you, she will."

"Woah, wait a second.", Caloc intercepted, "You want me to hunt a dangerous criminal, possibly with Jedi training, alongside my Master who is out for blood. How is that a good idea?"

"A bond between you, there is.", Yoda said. He snatched Caloc's lightsabre from his belt and studied it. "Strengthen a padawan, a Master does. Protect them and teach them. But as in all things, a balance, there is. Strengthen her, you will. There is despair inside you, Padawan Tiac. It makes you reckless. But a peace, there is also. Think, I do, that is the reason the Force brought you together. A buffer for your recklessness, she is. A buffer for her revenge, you are."

"You're going to send her out there, aren't you?", Caloc frowned, "Is that wise?"

Yoda levitated Caloc's lightsabre above his hand and ignited the blade, "One of our best, she is. Wise or not, the Force seems to will it so."

"But, do we know why they attacked that ship yet, Master?", Caloc asked, "Can we tell the other younglings?"

"Hmm. A secret, this attack must remain. Sent to interrogate the Trandoshan, Master's Koon and Gallia have been. In this Temple, the traitor may be. Be alert, young one. Listen to your Master. Her care for you, genuine it is." Yoda turned away and began to walk back towards the entrance to the gardens.

"Master Yoda?", Caloc called. "you never told me why Master Allie picked me? I know it wasn't because of my skill. I'm not a great swordsman, I struggle with meditation, and I have a lot to improve on my patience. You said it yourself, I'm reckless. I fight dirty. I do things no Jedi should ever do in battle. So why me?"

Yoda smiled and called over his shoulder, "A wild one you are, Caloc. Breaking the rules, pushing the limits of the lightsabre forms. Create strange new ways to fight, you do.", he stopped walking and looked back, "Much like her Master. A dangerous opponent you will become, even to another Jedi. Keep you on the right path, she feels she must. Guard you against the dark side." With those final words, Yoda left, leaving Caloc deep in thoughts.

Not far from the gardens, a small triangular prism sat, hidden in the vents above the Jedi sleeping quarters. Its base was about the size of a human hand, and golden smelt covered the outer edges of the glass pyramid. Unseen by any below, it began to glow with a blood red light, filling the vents of the Temple with an eerie whisper, looking for someone, for something to hold it. Below the vents, sleeping peacefully, lay the calm form of Lozzan Karen. And as the red glow shone above her, the Padawan tossed and turned in her sleep.