Chapter 11

Mara Jade Skywalker embraced her only son in a relieved hug as Luke mussed his brown hair. Despite the joyous reunion, however, the tone remained somber. Jake Microx stood, hands at his sides, facing those he had betrayed.

Luke Skywalker could sense the fear in Jake, but more prominent was his shame and anger. He was ashamed of his actions and angry with himself for betraying his heritage. One thing Luke could tell just by looking at Jake was that he longed to be forgiven, and that he would do anything to earn it. "Jake."

The repentant Jedi looked up at the mention of his name. "Jake," Luke said again, "although you put three members of my family in a situation where they could have lost their lives and threatened the security of this mission and all those involved in it, I forgive you."

Jake went bug-eyed and his jaw dropped. Even Kyp and Jaina glanced at Luke and raised their eyebrows. Mara didn't hesitate though, "As do I."

"I forgive you as well," Ben added.

When Kyp and Jaina did not speak, Luke turned to them and asked them directly, "Do you not think Jake is deserving of our forgiveness?"

"Well," Jaina began, "he did lead us to you in the end, and he seems genuinely sorry for what he did. Okay," she said as she turned to Jake, "I forgive you also."

Jake seemed on the verge of tears. "WHY?" he burst. "How can you forgive me after that nightmare I put you all through? HOW?!"

"We are not the Yuuzhan Vong, Jake." Luke stood and put his hands on Jakes shoulders. Jake was not a small man but Luke still stood a head taller than him. "I believe in second chances. I gave the Emperor's right-hand man, Darth Vader, a second chance and he took it. He had fallen in love with the dark side, but there was still good in him. In his last hour, Vader turned from his evil ways to save my life. Now if I gave a man like Vader a second chance, why should you not be granted the same privilege?"

"He was your father!"

"Ahh, but that's where you're wrong." Luke pointed out. "Darth Vader was not my father. He was the darkness that had taken over my father, Anakin Skywalker. I gave Vader an opportunity to release my father, which he took; in the end."

Luke turned from Jake and looked at Kyp, who still had not answered. Kyp caught the glance and nodded. "Jake, I am still not willing to forgive you for what you did, but I am more than ready to give you a second chance."

Luke smiled and turned back to Jake, who finally seemed to be recovering from the initial shock, "Th- tha- thank you Master Skywalker, and all of you as well," he said looking past Luke at the others. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

The nineteen Jedi students crowded into the two turbolifts and took them down to the workshop. The more technically apt students like Denz, Salah, Todan, and Jyo collected the parts that they needed to construct their lightsabers and went up to their respective rooms to build them; while the rest of the students remained in the workshop, each tinkering away at their own worktable.

Denz laid the pieces out in front of him on his desk, decided it didn't feel right, and dumped them on the floor instead. He flopped to the ground and sat cross-legged. Denz cracked his fingers and closed his eyes, letting himself get in tune with the Force. Without opening his eyes, Denz's hands began darting for pieces he sensed he needed them through the Force. Within minutes, he had the outer case completed. A smile of pure contentment formed on his face as he began constructing the chamber that would house the focusing crystal.

The construction of Salah Jem's lightsaber was a tad more tedious because she was not too skilled in the use of a multitool. Although mechanically able when it came to understanding machines, the only way she could construct them properly was to use the Force to turn screws or weld two pieces together. The red-haired girl sat on her bed, concentrating hard on making a crucial connection. Salah smiled in satisfaction and wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished inserting the power source in the end of the hilt. Next came connecting it to the power stud.

Jyo licked his lips as he maneuvered his multitool to connect a wire to the crystal chamber, careful not to damage the crystal in any way. As he reached for the power source, the sleeve of his Jedi robe caught on the chamber and knocked it off of the desk. Jyo almost yelled out loud as he caught it with the Force only centimeters from the floor. He grabbed it from its floating position and placed it back on the desk. Jyo exhaled deeply, realizing he had been holding his breath. He sat there for a second to give himself a chance to calm down and refocus on the task at hand.

Todan had finished his outer case and began to engrave little doodles on the outside. He also stuck a smiley-face sticker on the bottom of the hilt. Before he began the more delicate parts of his sword, Todan made sure he put on his lucky smiley-face earring. He nodded his head, satisfied that he was ready to continue, and got back to work.

Denz completed his lightsaber after two hours had passed. It had proven a far greater challenge than he had expected. Not to mention the fact that he had added one or two little extra things. He held the hilt in his hands. It was fairly simple in design. A rubber-like material was used for the grip, above which was the power stud. The two small knobs on the bottom were the only odd things on it. The purpose of these knobs was to allow adjustment to the length and width of the lightsaber blade, to a certain degree.

Denz gripped the yet-to-be-tested lightsaber in his right hand. The urge to ignite the blade was overwhelming, but he mustered all of his self-restraint, not wanting to blow it after having come this far.

He exited his room after making sure his "secret project" was safely tucked away, and slipping his now dry boots back on. The hallway outside was empty and deathly quiet. Denz moved quickly through the door to the lounge. At the door to the outside sat Lowbacca. He looked up from the book he was reading and urged Denz to come to him. As Denz approached, Lowbacca held out his hair-covered hand. Not sure what he wanted, Denz raised an eyebrow in a questioning look. Lowbacca shook his head and pointed to Denz's lightsaber in his hand.

"OH!" Denz exclaimed as he handed it to the anxious Wookiee.

Lowbacca took it and brought the hilt close to his face. He looked in the business end of the lightsaber, sniffed it twice, nodded in satisfaction, and handed it back to Denz who was mystified by this performance.

"There is supposedly a residual smell left when a lightsaber is ignited," M-TD said as he crossed the room and startled Denz who had not heard him enter. "I say 'supposedly' because no analysis has ever picked up any kind of scent that differed from before one was ignited. Master Lowbacca claims that his sense of smell is acute enough to …"

Lowbacca interrupted the droid's ongoing chatter with a moan.

"Well I know you didn't use those exact words; you aren't nearly articulate enough, but in essence …"

The Wookiee Jedi cut him off again with a sharp bark.

Before M-TD could retort, Denz cleared his throat to get their attention.

Not giving M-TD a chance to insult him further in front of Denz, Lowbacca quickly handed him a pack of rations and a canteen. The Wookiee then gently, but firmly shoved Denz out the door! He began to laugh as he heard M-TD continue to rant on the other side of the door. Denz slid his lightsaber up the right arm of his Jedi robe and attached it to a forearm clip he had designed; he then stuck his arms through the straps on the pack, tightened the straps so that it hugged his back, and set off at a steady pace towards the forest Tahiri had indicated two hours earlier. He wondered how the other young Jedi were doing, and hoped that they would all finish in time. Denz put these thoughts aside as he reached out with the Force, expanding his range. Besides the mass of signatures back in the Jome, the only outstanding Force signal he was picking up was deep in the forest, shining like a beacon, leading his way. Ready or not, Tahiri, here I come.

Half an hour later, Todan stepped out of his room with his lightsaber attached to a small pack on his back. In addition to this, he now sported small, circular shades balanced precariously on the edge of his nose, a white t-shirt, and cargo pants. He lumbered out into the lounge, taking his time and whistling Duel of Fates. He approached Lowbacca, who also performed the sniff test on Todan's hilt. When he handed the young Jedi the pack of rations, Todan removed the energy bars from the pack and loaded his pockets with them. He then took the canteen and slung it over his shoulder. Giving Lowbacca and M-TD the "Peace" sign, Todan exited the Jome and began trekking toward the Forest.

After he had left, M-TD said, "That boy is quite … odd."

Lowbacca nodded and growled an agreement.

Not ten minutes after Todan started on his way did Salah Jem, her red hair tied back in a bun, exit her room and walked quickly toward the door to the lounge. Just as she was passing Jyo's room, the door swished open, Jyo rushed out, and ran right into her. They fell down in a heap.

"Hey!" Salah exclaimed. "Watch where you're going!"

Jyo blushed with embarrassment as he climbed to his feet and offered to help her up.

"Thanks," she said with a hint of sarcasm as she grabbed his offered hand and was hoisted her to her feet. She brushed herself off and continued toward the lounge without another word.

Jyo followed in embarrassed silence.

Lowbacca grinned wide when he saw not one, but two Jedi students step into the lounge. He examined both of their lightsabers at once. After which, they clipped them back to their belts, Jyo's on his side, and Salah's behind her back. The still grinning Wookiee then handed them food and water for their journey.

Jyo noticed that the normally talkative, silver protocol droid, M-TD had been unusually silent. He took a closer look and realized that the droid's photoreceptors were off, meaning he was in shutdown mode. Once the two young Jedi had stepped outside, Lowbacca flipped a switch on the back of M-TD, awakening him.

"Oh! What did I miss?" The droid queried.

The playful Wookiee chuffed at the trick he had pulled on the protocol droid.

"I say! I don't see what's so funny!"

Outside, Jyo and Salah jogged side by side toward the forest. They saw someone ahead of them, and caught up to Todan after a couple minutes. He flashed them the "Peace" sign, while nibbling on a ration bar, and did not increase his pace. They waved as they went past and entered the forest a full five minutes before him. Now the fun would begin!