As Sarah and her parents ate breakfast, the phone rang.

"I bet this is for you, Sarah," her father told her before he answered the call.

"Hello. I thought it might be you. Let me put her on. Sarah, it's for you."

"Hello?" Sarah asked. "I remember you! ... Thanks ... I'm eight now ... OK," she said before handing the phone back to her father.

"Yeah, you're right. The time sure flies. I bet if I blink my eyes, she'll be a teenager. I'll send you a message later. I have something to ask you," he said before saying good-bye and hanging up the phone.

"That was daddy's friend again. She wished me a happy birthday!" Sarah told her mother.

"That was very thoughtful of her," Ahsoka said.

"Alright, Sarah, let's finish breakfast so we can get going. We have a busy, but fun, day today," her father stated.

After morning meditation and a chance to discuss part of the Jedi code, Master Cal joined the initiates in the sparring chamber for today's velocity drills.

"Good morning, class. If you don't remember me, I'm Master Cal. Madame Andrews asked me to come back and review your footwork with you. Are you all seven..." he said before being interrupted.

"I'm eight today," Sarah informed him.

"Is that so? Well happy birthday, Initiate Sarah. OK, you're all seven or eight, but back to my question. Do any of you dance?"

Two of the students raised their hands, albeit reluctantly upon seeing they were in the minority.

"It's fine if you haven't. But for you two, if you think of the footwork as dancing, it just might come easier to you. Alright, everybody get a training saber and I'll work with you each of you before we pair up."

"Sarah, I'm eight, too. Remember? My birthday was back in June," Molly whispered as she grabbed a training saber.

Sarah looked at her training saber. The hilt was scratched up and she decided to look for a better one. "He just didn't know. But at least he wished me happy birthday," she replied.

"Ladies, are you going to discuss strategy all morning or join the class? We don't want to keep our guest waiting, do we?" Madame Andrews asked.

"Sorry," Sarah and Molly both replied in near-unison. They then rejoined the class.

"Master, we're getting a report of suspicious activity approximately seven miles [11¼ km] northwest of here," Knight Ashley stated.

"Transmit the coordinates to my datapad," he asked her. Upon loading the area map, he was surprised to see the location.

That's the site of an urban legend. There's nothing there but... he thought before his eyes widened.

"Ashley, contact the railroad company and inform them if you haven't already. And find a couple of Jedi to check this out—aside from me," he told her.

"Understood."

Darth Stinger isn't ruining Sarah's birthday again this year—not if I can help it, he thought as he returned to his office.

Master Cal had already worked with the boys on their footwork. Now, he worked with the girls in the class.

"Very good. Let's repeat this once more at full speed and then we'll have you try against an opponent," he said.

Sarah gritted her teeth and held her training saber in a slightly tighter grip. She did her best to repeat steps she just took. She and her classmates didn't have time to relax, though. Madame Andrews sent the boys to engage the girls in full speed velocities.

Sarah noticed David coming at her at full speed. She gripped her training saber tighter, but not too tightly. She recalled past lessons where Madame Andrews warned against that.

As sabers clashed, Sarah was taken aback by David's strong first strike. Still, she managed to stay on her feet in a low crouch. After a quick deep breath, she ran forward again, only to have David sidestep her. She narrowly missed crashing into the wall.

Remember your footwork, echoed through her thoughts.

David was ready to advance again. This time, Sarah was ready for a strong swipe. Fortunately, her decision to use both hands for a tighter grip paid off. Otherwise, David would have likely disarmed her. The two of them made a few more passes before Madame Andrews ordered the class to stop.

"Class, we're almost out of time, so return your training sabers to the bin. You did better, although some of you need to remember that footwork is as important as your attacks and parries. We'll work on that some more tomorrow. Master Cal, thanks for your help today," she said.

"Always a pleasure. Until next time, class, may the Force be with you, and good luck," he replied before leaving.

With that, the class followed behind Madame Andrews on their way to the dining hall.

At the dining hall, the Grand Master sat alone at a corner table. He hadn't received any updates concerning the report of suspicious activity. Was Darth Stinger causing trouble again? Was there a new threat? Did something go wrong? As he looked down at his tray and lunch, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"What's troubling you today?" Ahsoka asked as she sat down next to him.

"There was a report of suspicious activity, but I've yet to hear more about it," he replied.

"That doesn't mean something bad happened, does it? Maybe they're still investigating the area or making sure it's not some sort of ambush."

"That's possible. But I'm hoping it's nothing serious. I don't want to come home later again this year. Not after what happened last year."

"I'm sure it will work out and that you'll get to see Sarah in time for dinner. At least I think so, anyways."

Her husband was set to reply when he heard music overhead.

"It sounds like Sarah and her class are having dessert now," he said before taking a sip from his glass of milk.

"How are things with Madison and her?" Ahsoka asked.

"From what I hear, aside from an occasional snarky comment or look, there haven't been any major incidents. That, too, concerns me."

"Aren't you happy she and Sarah aren't fighting?"

"I'm just worried it might be the calm before the storm."

"This mission must really be bothering you, honey. Any other time, you'd be the one reminding me to look at the positive perspective."

Her husband blinked his eyes. "I'd just feel better if I heard something, that's all."

Elsewhere, Sarah and their class had just received their cake and ice cream for Sarah's birthday. Sarah, noticing Madison looking at her suspiciously, went out of her way to give Madison a big grin, one that showed her sharp canine teeth more than usual.

"Master, Sarah is baring her teeth at me!" Madison told her teacher.

"No, she's not. She has to do that to eat. Be nice to your classmate," Madame Andrews replied a bit curtly.

Molly, overhearing the conversation, whispered to Sarah, "Are you going to be a vampire again this year?"

Sarah, not wanting anyone to hear her, simply nodded her head yes.

"I wish Madison could see you that way. I bet you could really scare her."

Sarah, imagining Madison being chased by a real vampire, giggled.

"Sorry for the delay in reporting, masters. But, I wanted to make sure we investigated the area thoroughly. We also did a walk-through of the area with the railroad's security personnel," Master James told the council.

"So you didn't find anything at all?" Master Cara asked.

"Nothing suspicious. We did see signs of trespass. But, we couldn't know for sure if it was someone trying to cause trouble. It could have been the footprints of urban explorers or homeless people spending the night under the bridge."

"So, this was an uneventful mission about which there was nothing to report? I hope it wasn't too much of a wasted experience," the Grand Master said.

"Not at all, Master. I used the time to make sure my padawan learned what she could about assisting our counterparts under their direction."

The Grand Master looked at his datapad once more to review the post-mission reports. "Padawan Jen?" he asked.

"Yes, Master?" she replied.

"You did a better job with your report this time around. It's a bit more descriptive, but it's not too wordy, either. You'll do better with more experience and your master's guidance."

"Thanks, Master," Jen replied as she bowed.

"If that's it, you're dismissed."

Master James and Jen left the chamber.

"I still think Darth Stinger is up to no good," Knight Rachel stated.

"Maybe she is. Maybe she got cold feet this time, or maybe this really was nothing. Either way, we'll stay vigilant," the Grand Master replied.

Later that night, Ahsoka brought out a small cake while her husband brought plates and the ice cream.

"Happy Birthday, Sarah," Ahsoka said.

Sarah looked at her cake curiously. "Why is there one candle?" she asked.

"Because eight would be too many. That's why we bought a set of number candles," her father replied.

Sarah looked again and saw that this candle was shaped like the number eight. Fortunately, it was much easier for her to blow out a single candle. Maybe her parents were right about not having too many candles.

Ahsoka was set to put a slice of cake on each plate that already held a scoop of orange sherbet. However, Sarah interrupted her.

"Can I help?" she asked.

Ahsoka nodded affirmatively. "Yes, you may," she replied.

Together, Sarah and Ahsoka sliced three pieces of cake with plenty left over for the next couple of days.

Once dessert was finished, Sarah started to open her presents.

With Sarah upstairs in bed, Ahsoka and her husband discussed the day in the front room.

"You didn't seem so stressed tonight," Ahsoka said.

"The mission turned out to be as uneventful as it could get. It's disappointing to send my Jedi on a wild goose chase, but at least nothing serious happened, either," he replied.

"At least you got to enjoy Sarah's birthday this year. And, I'm glad she enjoyed her presents. That reminds me. Lynn called. She says Molly wants to come over this weekend and give Sarah a present."

"We can invite them Saturday after lunch."

"That works. I'll be home by then."

"Say, did you ever teach Sarah about all those things in that article?"

Ahsoka thought for a minute. Her husband showed her an article from a parenting magazine that included a list of eight different topics that parents should discuss with their daughters before the age of eight.

"All but one," she replied.

"I bet I know which you didn't talk about."

Ahsoka's head-tail stripes darkened. "You have to remember, I didn't deal with that until after I came to Earth. It's not something I can talk about from experience."

"You may be right, Ahsoka. But, there's no way she'd want to discuss that topic with her father. If you don't know what to tell her, just say it's part of being a modest young woman."

"I can see if that works."

Ahsoka's husband leaned in for a quick kiss. "I've got a busy day tomorrow. If you're not coming upstairs with me, I'll see you in the morning," he said.