The battle was more challenging than Meranda thought it would be. Her vibro-blade clashed with her opponents. They were fighting defensively, and she was not. Her blade swang with furious power, the clang of metal on metal rang loud, then she saw it. An opening in her opponent's defenses, she lunged for it, only to get knocked onto her ass.

"That is enough, Bastila." Master Zhar ordered. Meranda then took the hand of the woman who just got done humbling her, dusting herself off the moment she was on her feet. "Meranda, do you know what you did wrong?"

"I fell for a bluff?"

"Yes, and no. You were letting yourself get too aggressive, blinded by you're furry. You let your enemy get the better of you."

"I am trying to fix that, you know."

"And here is how I will help you. Repeat the exercise, but this time Bastila will be on the offensive." Meranda rolled her eyes and got into a defensive pose.

...

Zaalbar, Mission, and Canderus charged her, but Meranda just held her ground. Her defensive style was being put to the test. Two opponents that used strength and one that used speed attacked her relentlessly. She had to focus on not walking into another attack while avoiding someone else's strike. One attacked like a street thug, one like a trained dullest, and the other like a savage. Only by channeling the Force to increase her speed was she able to keep up with her friends, they were all very skilled. But they were tiring, especially Mission, so she decided to end it.

"Ok, guys, that's enough for today."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Mission exclaimed. "Talk about a workout. I think I'm going to see if they have baths at the Temple. I need a hot soak after all that."

"Speak for yourself, kid. I was just starting to enjoy myself." Canderuse said, earning a stink eye from Mission.

"Ok, Carth, it's your turn." He took position as the others left the room, pointing both blasters at Meranda, and she took a defensive stance in kind.

"Sorry in advanced, despite being set on stun, this might sting a little."

"You say that like you're actually expecting to hit me, flyboy."

"You've asked for it!" He playfully bosted as he began to fire, holding nothing back. Meranda blocked bolt after bolt, skills that should have taken years to master, and she nearly perfected in a little over a month. Carth was no slouch either, and his reflexes were fast. If she were not using the Force to bolster her speed, she would have been limp on the floor. But she did have the Force, and she felt a little cocky. Focusing her personal bubble around her hand, she moved her blade to her side, and from Carth's perspective, stopped four bolts with her bare hand. "By the stars! How did-Oh right, Jedi."

"Yep, I'm a kriffin wizard. But let's take a break. I don't think I did it right because I can't feel my hand." Meranda then took out a med-pack and started testing her hand. "I um... I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"I already said I was sorry for being a jerk on Taris."

"No, it's... Kriff, how to say it?" She only looked up when she managed to restore feeling to her hand, finding that Carth was three steps closer than he was before.

"You can tell me, unless you've changed your mind."

"No, I... Carth, we've been on this rock for a month and a half. You've been helping me with training, tossing out a playful flirtation every once in a while, not that I mind. Hell, I've been giving them right back." Meranda was noticeably nervous, fidgeting, hoping that she was not just misreading everything. "Do you like me? Because... Well..."

"Stop." Carth said suddenly, taking her a bit by surprise. "I... I'm not in the position to consider a relationship right now." Meranda's heart felt like it withered inside of her chest, but she didn't hate Carth for what he said. Instead, she hated herself for putting her in a situation to hear him say it.

"Ok... I have to go medita-"

"Please wait. Let me explain first." Meranda did as he asked, using all her strength to look him in the eyes. "I told you about my homeworld, Telos. Four years ago, Saul let the Sith fleet there and demanded its surrender. The planet refused, and Saul proceeded to destroy everything on the surface. Millions died. I had... A wife and son on Telos. I thought they would be safe there. But my task force arrived too late to be of much help. We didn't have enough medical supplies, the colony was burning, and the dying were everywhere. I remember holding my wife and screaming for a medic... They didn't arrive in time."

"Oh, Carth..." The tears Meranda held back before now streamed freely down her cheeks. "I-I didn't know. Kriff, and I've been flirting with you while you were still maor-"

"Hey, now, don't beat yourself up over that. As you said, it's been mutual. And besides, how could you have known?" Carth then took her hand and held it gently. "Look... I can't say I don't have feelings for you. But like I said, I'm not really able to be with someone right now."

"I understand. We can keep things the way they are right now. And when, or if, we're both ready, then we can talk about it."

"Thank you, Meranda. You're a good friend, and I'm sorry we can't be mo-"

"No, don't apologize. You're not ready, and that's ok. You've done nothing wrong."

"Right." There was a brief moment of awkward silence before they simply walked off in different directions.

...

Meranda was in the middle of trying to meditate on the nature of the universe, when an unwelcomed presence was felt entering the courtyard.

"Hello, Canderous. Why are you bothering me?"

"Just finished a local job, thought the Jedi would give me a good price for this." Meranda opened her eyes to see the brute standing over her, holding a lightsaber of all things.

"And how did you acquire that?"

"A group of Mandalorians decided to raid a few farmsteads around the planet. Killed them for the price on their heads. Their leader used this. A trophy from an overconfident Padawan, if I had the guess."

"Not that you doing a good deed for the right price doesn't warm my heart. But doesn't the act of killing your own people, especially considering how few of you are left, bother you?" Canderous just scoffed and shook his head.

"You don't understand Mandalorian culture well, or you wouldn't need to have asked."

"Oh, trust me, I understand it perfectly well."

"Really?" He said condescendingly, crossing his arms as an amused grin formed on his scarred face. "Please do explain it to me then." Meranda took a deep breath before standing up. She locked her eyes on the Mando, staring him down like he was an upstart pup.

"Mandalorian society, if you could call it that, is a militaristic and tribal nomad civilization. You practice an external honor system, where grandiose deeds equate to your status and rank. You have no civilian population, every Mandalorian is involved in the fight, and you do not recognize the existence of non-combatants when fighting."

"Accurate, but you lack the true understanding of the warrior spirit."

"Warrior spirit? Mandalorians aren't warriors. They are savages and murderers. You define yourselves on your ability to take life, and that's it. You do not wage war with a purpose beyond killing for the sake of killing."

"HA!" The barbarian laughed. "Then you really don't understand! We fight to prove ourselves as individuals and as a culture. When we fight, we fight to prove that we can win. We do not kill just to kill. We pick our targets based on challenge or need, usually the former."

"Then explain what happened on the Cathar homeworld." Canderous lost all of his bluster the moment those words left her mouth. "What honor was there in driving unarmed civilians, children, into the sea and gunning them down?! Tell me, Mando!"

"Well..." It was clear that he had to think it over, try and grasp as some minor justification for the genocide. "The Cathar defeated us in the last war we fought with the Republic. So they had to be made an example out of."

"But that goes against everything you just told me your barbaric horde stood for!" Meranda yelled as she shoved Canderous. He fell into an aggressive stance, and one wrong move would lead to a fight. "If all you animals cared about was having a challenging battle, there would be no need for revenge on the Cathar! Because they gave you exactly what you asked for, a challenge, but like all so-called warrior cultures, you didn't really want to be challenged, you wanted victory! And because they had the gull to not politely lay down and die after struggling helplessly to satisfy your ego, you killed them all! Warrior cultures like yours don't want challenges or to grow threw experience. You just want an easy victory to make you feel like a big man. And the moment someone slaps you down like the punk you are, you resent them for treating you like you treated everyone else, and it disgusts me!"

"That's... You don't-"

"What, Canderous!? What am I missing!? What about anything I just said misrepresents the Mandalorian people!?" Canderous opened his mouth like he would say something, but nothing came out. Then he just huffed hard and stomped off. Meranda glared daggers at him until he was gone, then tried unsuccessfully to meditate for a few hours.

...

"Hey, Meranda, You got a minute?" Mission asked nervously. Meranda dropped what she was doing and sought to deal with whatever was troubling the teen.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, like... I don't really know how to ask about this. I never really had an older woman in my life, you know."

"Mission, you can ask me anything. Take your time." The young Twi'Lak took a deep breath before speaking another word. Seeming to try and get the courage to bring up whatever was bothering her.

"I... I've been having strange pain, like, down there." A realization came like a wrecking ball to Meranda. "Like, I know what's going on and all. I just, don't really know what to do about it. I probably shouldn't have come to you about this, but-"

"Mission, you don't have anything to be nervous about. You're a fourteen-year-old girl, it was going to start sooner or later. I have some things that I use when it's my time of the month in the medical bay. I can show you what to do, and we can resupply here at the Enclave."

"Thanks, you're a good friend. Times like this make me wish I still had a mom, you know." Meranda smiled as she led the girl to the med bay.

"Well, I might not be your mom, but as long as you're with us, I'll do my best to look out for you." She could hear Mission sniff a bit and could feel how moved she was through the Force. Of course, the kid was too proud to ever go along with the idea of ever being legally adopted, but as far as Meranda was concerned, Mission was her kid. And just maybe, the street rat felt the same.