Chapter 8

As they entered the planets atmosphere Mira sat at the helm of the Commenor's Dream preparing for a landing. Early on when this temple was created she staked out one of the best landing pads in the bay as her own and by now everyone knew to stay off it. She had received the landing codes and was gently lowering her ship into it's final position. Merak only left his room when the ship finally touched down. Mira sighed. She had completed another mission, her ship was safe once more and neither she nor Merak got injured. She made note of that, when Jedi's can return home it was a good mission, even though it had it's pitfalls. As the ship began to power down she looked at her friend sleeping beside her, it had been a very long time since she saw B.C. this close, the last thing she really remembered about her friend was that ship of hers flying past a burning star destroyer and being engulfed by the darkness of space. Now here she was all these years later, older and maybe wiser, but also still the same B.C. Orion in a way. She stood up and headed for the rear of the ship. Merak was waiting, bag in tow as she lowered the ramp. Merak quickly left the ship and walked right past the guards and others who were waiting. Rumor had spread quickly and most of the people waiting just wanted to get a glimpse of the bounty hunter they had only read about. Mira stood on the end of the ramp and looked at the various people, Skywalker was one of them. She nodded to him and then felt a hand on her shoulder. Instinct made her jump and turn around, she smiled when she saw it was B.C. who had woken up just in time.

"Bet it feels good for you to be home doesn't it, another mission well done." B.C. said with a bit of coldness in her tone of voice.

"Yeah, in a way it does. Are you ok?" Mira asked.

"If I said yes, you and I know it wouldn't be the truth." B.C. replied.

"What's the matter B.C. scared of some attention after being alone with droids for so long." Mira quipped.

"It's not that, You can escape your past, I tried and look where it got me." B.C. said with a sad tone. Her eyes glanced over the crowd, but she stayed to the shadows."

"B.C. I can tell you they are not here to arrest you, they are friends, and I for one won't let what happened in the past dictate what the future will hold. We can't change the past, only learn from it." Mira told her old friend.

"Ahem, everything alright in here?" came a voice from outside.

Mira turned to see Master Skywalker standing there. He wasn't dressed in his normal regalia for greeting guests, rather he was dressed in a simple black shirt and pants.

Mira bowed "Master Skywalker, sorry for the delay."

"It's alright Mira, and you must be the bounty hunter B.C. Orion." He said as he held his hand out.

"Master Skywalker. Yes I am. Though I am no longer the bounty hunter of old. I've given up that way of life."

"As I have heard. Now won't you please come out of the ship. We have things to discuss and another mission to go over. We are in need of your assistance." Skywalker stated.

B.C. only backed up further from the ramp and went a bit deeper in the shadows of the Commenor's Dream.

"B.C. What's the matter?" Asked Mira.

The old huntress clearly was trying to think of a way of explaining her apprehension to the two Jedi.

"How to put this delicately. I do not mean disrespect to either of you, but you must understand. Long ago, when the Jedi were teaching the old ways, long before the second war I went to a jedi temple to train and was turned away. On that day I swore I would never set foot in a temple as an equal. This temple is not a place for the likes of me. Darkness runs to deeply in my heart. I only have one home and that is with my droids on Tattooine."

"B.C. you are an equal, more so now then ever. You always have been and you've proven yourself over and over to be during the war. If you are worried about how others will react to having someone of your renown in our mist you needn't worry. As for your dark side and your past, you've been able to put that behind you and so can we. We can not change what is done, but we can build for a better future." Skywalker said, he had grown wise with his age. He then noticed B.C. had started to shake. " Are you feeling alright?"

"I made a vow, and one. I.. .can't..." B.C. tried to get the words out but it seemed like the shadows were consuming her. She had heard Skywalker ask, but as she tried to say something her vision blurred and she became weak. It seemed like minutes passed when only seconds had before the everything went black.

Mira sensing the urgency of the matter quickly rushed to her friends aid. She was able to catch B.C. before her friend completely collapsed. Skywalker quickly called for a medical unit which was brought into the ship. Mira helped lay B.C. onto a stretcher. B.C. was quickly taken out of the ship and to the medical bay. Mira and Skywalker walked out of the ship together. Behind them a large silver ball rolled out. Once everyone was clear Mira locked her ship up. The two Jedi and the silver ball went to the medical bay to see what was going on with B.C.

It didn't take long before a medical droid came forward to tell them the news.

"And what is the diagnosis?" Skywalker asked.

"Serious. We have to operate. Her body has gone into shock due to infection that we believe was dormant but became active when leaving the dry atmosphere of Tattooine . Her artificial limbs have become so corroded and damaged they no longer work correctly and have become a major strain on her body and causing irritation and pain. How long she has been like this we do not know, but it is very serious We will replace her artificial elements. We however no longer carry these older models of limbs due to their defective nature. We are trying to stabilize her now. Once that is complete we can continue with replacement."

"I see. Do it. We need her assistance. As for the limbs, try to stay as close to the old as possible, change is not easy, especially with one like B.C. Orion." Skywalker stated. " Keep us informed."

Mira shook her head, she should have sensed something more dire was up with B.C.

"I'm sorry Master Skywalker, she has always been a hard one to read."

"Training Mira, she's had a lot of training to keep her secrets hidden from the Jedi, don't beat yourself up over it. She will pull thru with no problems. If she lived on Tattooine this long, there's not much she can't do."

"Since it will be a while, is there any new information on the others?" Mira asked.

"Unfortunately no, we have however been able to narrow down where on the planet we lost contact. It's a city called Thespian. " Master Skywalker said as they walked out of the medical bay and to the briefing room. "I want you to tell me about how Merak handled the situation."

Mira sighed, she knew he would ask, she was just hoping it would be latter then so soon. She had yet to make her report.

"A more private place is in order sir." She said.

Mira followed Skywalker as the two of them walked into a small meeting room. Mira closed the door as Skywalker turned on the light. Mira sighed and let her guard down a bit. Though she wouldn't admit it, this last mission was more draining then she thought. It took more control then she was ready for to keep from hurting the young knight. Skylwalker took a seat and Mira took one across from him.

"So, I know you want him to be knocked down to the rank of padawan, care to explain?"

"Master Skywalker, I won't lie to you. He does need a lot more training, not only in lightsaber combat, but also in management of his emotions. He is arrogant and lets this be his downfall more often then not. If it wasn't for my own training in controlling my own emotions, he wouldn't have made it back."

"I see. Well you do know that Merak was abandoned by his three previous masters. Each found him extremely difficult to manage and train. He may have his downside Mira, but he also hasn't been given a fair chance. You for one know what it's like to loose a master, I'm afraid he's becoming disillusioned with the Jedi and I don't' wish him to go down the path of the dark side if he doesn't need to."

"Sir he did jeopardize the mission, he also almost killed us both. He needs to learn to think things thru and not be so.. so.."

"Hot headed, stubborn, rash, impulsive." Skywalker said finishing her sentence

"Yes. I tried to give him his chance and in my opinion he failed at it." Mira sighed.

"I don't think he did, I think he learned a lot from you. This would have been a difficult mission for any young Knight. Your not an easy one to get along with Mira, in fact that's the reason I haven't assigned you a padawan. I know how you dislike having to train anyone. Or is it something else?"

"If your implying master that I am afraid of taking on a padawan your mistaken. Fear leads to anger, Anger to hate, hate.."

Skywalker raised his had to stop her. " I know, you forget Mira who my master was. and No I'm just saying maybe it's time you give second chances. People will surprise you when you least expect it, if given another chance.

"Maybe, but before that happens that boy needs to go thru the training one more time, I know being a knight is a big honor, and all, but obtain that honor falsely is not our way either. I understand one needs training, practice and encouragement to obtain one's potential. I do hope that you will understand that Merak just needs more time before he heads out again." Mira stated.

"That's all I wanted to know. I will get his side of what happened later and let you know of my decision." Skywalker said.

"Thank you sir." Mira replied as she stood up from the table, nodded to Skywalker before heading out in the hallway. As she stood there for a moment she pondered what Skywalker had said. She hadn't realized at the time Merak had not one but three Masters leave him. It made sense now as to why the kid was so behind in his training.

An hour later Mira found herself in her room in the middle of a meditation session trying to clear her head and think of her next cause of action.

Meanwhile Merak was in one of the training areas, his lightsaber was activated and he was going thru the motions. His mind was still going over what Mira had said to him. Though he wouldn't let it be known, emotional control was not a strong point of his. Spinning around he continued with the small session, gripping his saber tightly more in anger then anything. In the shadows a figure watched.

"How dare she, I'm as good as anyone here. It was my first mission, we all make mistakes. Heck I bet she's even made a few big ones. We completed the mission didn't we. Brought that hunter back here, and for what. Why didn't I put the clues together. Why didn't I. I was blind. She didn't even give me a chance to explain." Merak mumbled.

The figure shook his head and walked out of the shadows.

" You have so much anger, but is it because of another Jedi, or lack of respect for yourself. Anger leads to the dark side, you know that right."

Merak spun around at the sound of the voice. He quickly deactivated his saber and bowed.

"Master Skywalker, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you were watching." He said hastily.

"It's alright Merak. Your still young. I spoke with Mira earlier about your mission to Tattooine."

Merak's shoulders dropped. He knew Mira had given him a bad review.

"It was my first mission sir, I really did try to do my best." Merak stated. His voice was sad and he was waiting to hear the news he was sure Skywalker had come to say.

"I know Merak. And I also know we all make mistakes. We just have to learn from them and move on. Now Mira says you need help with your saber skills."

"She does? I don't see anything wrong with my skills. I did hold my own against the droid on Tattooine." Merak replied back in a sarcastic tone.

"Well that's not what was written in her report to me. From what she said you ended up on your back and she had to take care of the droid, you were just barely scraping by and if she hadn't taken out the droid, you wouldn't be here."

"Well she didn't give me a chance!" Merak angrily spat.

"Merak, Mira is a hard one to get to know. She's brash and cold and doesn't warm up easily to anyone. Mira's been with me thru the great war. She's been in more scrapes then you can count. She's had to rely on her skills to survive and she wasn't always on the side of the order. She's not an easy one to get to like, because she tells it like she is. Sometimes she can be harsh, but that's her way. I respect what she has to say because she doesn't sugar coat it. It's also one of the reason many on the council don't prefer to have her around. It's another reason she hasn't' taken on a padawan. But it's her viewpoint on things that got us where we are today."

"And your telling me this why?" Merak asked.

"Because she suggested I knock you back to padawan for more training, but I won't do that. You have a way to go before you find your place as a knight. I do suggest however you practice with the other knights. So I hear you say your good with a saber. Care to take on a master?"

"Sir, I don't know what to say, I was almost sure you would take Mira's side of the story."

"Merak, I know how it is to be misjudged. It took a friend of mine to convince my master to even take me on. You just need a chance to show yourself. Now how about that duel?"

Merak smiled and activated his saber. Luke did the same and the two of them went at it. Luke taking it slowly remembering what Mira had said about Merak's skills. Now he would see for himself because one couldn't lie about their skills when they were using them. Merak on the other hand was trying to show off and failing at it. Instead of being on the offensive against the master Jedi he was more defensive.