Thank you, MistiWhitesun. Deja vu, huh? I fixed that sentence on the other site.

Whisps of pale light filtered onto the twisting path. The branches of the trees overhead were draped in a thick layer of long, transparent leaves. In some places they hung down close to the ground. Appearing from the mist, the indistinct forms resembled shadowy, greenish ghosts.

Jyota followed the familiar route easily. His mind focused eagerly on the reason for his travel. He dodged around the roots of a gnarled tree and grinned slightly when he emerged from the tangled forest at his destination. The clearing he stepped into was relatively small, but almost completely devoid of the life that overflowed almost every square centimeter of Yavin IV's surface. It was quiet, and truly peaceful to his mind. The cacophony of growth, death, and conflict that often irritated him ceased here.

However, he had not come to meditate. His smile widened as he caught sight of his Master. This meeting place always reminded him of the first time they had met.

The only place he felt at peace now was in the clearing. Jyota was in turmoil more often than not. He did not have any memory of his death, but he remembered the months of running and hiding, of knowing that more and more of the Jedi had been hunted down. And he remembered his outrage that a delinquent child who never should have been trained had destroyed the Order that Jyota idolized. He'd worked hard to be accepted as an apprentice, yet Skywalker had done nothing—and he repayed the Jedi by slaughtering them.

Jyota's own Master had fallen trying to defend him. That was all he remembered of the minutes before his death, but it was too much. It was Jyota's duty to watch out for him. The sense of failure was unbearable.

At first he had been utterly confused by the changed galaxy he entered after being brought out of stasis. As he began to realize the differences in the Jedi Order, anger began to take the place of disorientation and fear. The Jedi now apparently owed their existence as an organization to the offspring of Vader. That stuck in his throat. Jyota absolutely despised anything to do with that creature. To think that his son was now the head of the Jedi Order, and that the few alive and conscious members of the Council had acknowledged him as their leader. It made him sick.

The way these new Jedi behaved was unacceptable to him as well. They allowed themselves to form dangerous attachments, which was what had brought the Jedi down in the first place. He also could not stand their outspoken and disrespectful attitudes. The young ones were especially opinionated and would contradict or question what they were told by those more experienced than themselves.

The means of using the Force that were taught were often unusual and seemed suspicious to him. Sometimes the lessons involved techniques learned from Force using groups who weren't Jedi at all. The Dathomirians and the Jensaraii were accepted as equals of the Jedi, something Jyota found impossible to comprehend. The Jedi Code had been developed by countless generations of Jedi from the most civilized worlds of the galaxy. Surely teachings from elsewhere would be inferior at best, and at worst temptations to the Dark Side.

What bothered him most was that former Dark Side users were allowed to hold the title of Jedi. The only way to deal with a follower of the Dark Side was execution or inescapable imprisonment. If these people had any sense they would see that. The knowledge that some of the people he saw daily were psychopaths walking free grated on his nerves.

Jyota's master had not been brought back to life. He knew this instinctively, although it had not yet been officially confirmed. The Council had not assigned him to a new Master because of their uncertainty. Instead he was expected to take classes with a few other Padawans who had lost Masters, and an insufferable bunch of undisciplined students of the new Jedi.

The resentful Padawan had taken to disappearing to this silent place whenever possible. He thought of it as a spot for meditation, though he more often found himself brooding on the wrongs of the so-called Jedi he was forced to put up with.

One afternoon, he was shocked to discover that while it was still quiet, the clearing was not empty when he reached it. A man in Jedi robes was already there. He greeted Jyota.

"Hello. You are Jyota Doaki? I knew your Master, and he spoke of you often."

"Greetings, Master." Jyota looked at him questioningly, not knowing the Jedi's name. It was not anyone he recognized, and the hooded robe and shadows of the canopy above prevented him from seeing the man's face.

"I apologize, but it is probably best if I don't tell you my name. There are those who have joined with the New Order who would know me and want to speak with me. But I do not want anything to do with this false new Jedi Order, and would rather remain missing for the time being."

The words made Jyota feel at ease with this stranger. At last, he had found someone who understood how he felt about the way the Order was functioning. A Master of the true Jedi, one he could respect. He even seemed to have had some contact with Jyota's Master at one point. Jyota felt a flicker of hope.

"When did my Master speak to you?"

The man sighed. "I am sorry. It was before the Purges, and I have not seen him since." He studied Jyota for a minute. "He told me that you were strong and dedicated to the Code, and I see that you are."

Jyota struggled not to beam with pride.

"It is sad, the state the Order has fallen to," the unknown Jedi commented. "But I think with the help of young people like you, it will return to greatness."

"How? Look at the… people they allow. Sith, criminals, and reckless fools. Many who could never pass the usual requirements are trained in large classes, or even as Padawans. They are always going to hold us back."

"You can change it, Jyota. I see great potential for leadership in you. You are uncompromising, and many of the more uncertain among your peers will look to you for guidance if you begin to speak up against what you distrust."

"If I do, the members of the New Order won't trust me."

"Not if you are too blunt. It would be best to attack one issue at a time. The most important thing is to make them see that there are servants of the Dark Side in their midst. Once they are convinced of this and the offenders are removed for the safety of all, then their influence will no longer pollute the minds of our brethren. With this new clarity, they will come to understand our vision, our memory of how things should be."

That meeting had changed his life completely. He frequently met his Master at the clearing (he thought of the man as his Master, since he had filled the hole in Jyota's life where his old Master had once been.) Jyota learned many things from him, including how to inspire loyalty and make others believe the truth of his cause. To his amazement, the new skills had been very effective. Jyota Doaki was now the leader of a faction that comprised nearly half of the Order.

They had managed to almost completely discredit some of the former Dark Jedi. Kyp Durron was now off of the combined Council that had been created. Mara Jade was somewhat protected by her marriage to Luke Skywalker, but rumors about atrocities connected to the Emperor's Hand were slowly spreading. Those less well-known were also finding that public opinion had turned against them, and often only family and close friends would associate with them.

His Master called, "Hello, Padawan," as Jyota approached. The word "Padawan" was always tinged with amusement, which Jyota perceived as affection.

"Good morning, Master. The movement is doing well."

"Yes, so I have heard. If things continue to progress, it will not be long before you will be able to press for retrials of some of the Dark Jedi."

"Are you sure? It seems very soon."

"Oh, I am certain. Quite certain."