Val's ship was an early model HWK-290, and had probably been in service for longer than either its pilot or passenger had been alive. The cargo space was taken up entirely by a swoop bike that looked in far better condition than the ship, leaving barely enough room to squeeze by into the cockpit.

"Admiring Sylvia?" Val said as Jayce examined the bike.

"You named your bike?"

"'Course I did. My ship may not be the fastest in the sector, but that bike sure is." She strapped into the pilot's chair and Jayce took the copilot's. "I'm actually a racer, transportation is just a side gig. But that means," she gave a wide smile, "you get all the expertise and skill of a top-of-the-line racing pilot. We'll get to Dantooine in no time."

The hangar doors slid open onto the starfield of space. Jayce was actually feeling excited. Rather than sitting in a cramped window seat next to an oversized devaronian, he was heading out in a small ship that practically reeked of adventure. He was ready to get going.

What followed instead was a series of back-and-forths with the control tower, a nice long period of waiting for launch authorizations, and when they finally took off a slow taxi through the traffic lanes away from the space station.

Finally, they were clear.

"Hold on," Val said. "Here we go!" With a flash of starlines, they were in hyperspace.

Val eased her seat away from the controls and turned towards Jayce.

"So, what is it?" she asked. "Family back on Dantooine? A dying mother you just had to get back to? What made you shell out for a private pilot through wartorn space?"

Jayce realized he didn't have an answer to give. A cover story was probably the sort of thing he should have thought of.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't want to talk about it."

"A'ight," she said. "I got your money, I don't also need your story. Just would make the trip go quicker."

"You don't have a Dejarik board?"

"No. But I got a sabacc deck."

"Pass," Jayce said without hesitation. From the stories it seemed like every spacer cheated at sabacc, and Val didn't strike him as the honest type.

"Okay, boring trip it is."

The first leg of the trip passed mostly in silence, a few more words exchanged, but mostly Jayce was busy contemplating what he'd do when he got there. Suppose the Separatists on Dantooine were inclined to ask questions of new arrivals, what would he say? Nothing exactly convincing came to mind.

The tension rose as they approached the Muunilinst transit. Val double-checked all the systems, and triple checked the deflectors.

"All we have to do is cross through the system without getting in the way of the fighting. That's not so hard." Val didn't entirely seem to believe her own words.

The swirl of hyperspace vanished, and the normal starfield reappeared. The scanners immediately lit up with contacts. They came out of hyperspace almost right next to another craft, a strange-looking thing with wide wings. It shot off towards the tan and white planet over which two Republic cruisers traded fire with orbital gun platforms while fighters swarmed through the space between.

Val didn't wait to take in the sights. She jammed the throttle forward and the engines roared to full life. Even with the inertial dampeners Jayce was pressed back into his seat. It was nothing like the slow, ponderous acceleration of a starliner. Nor was it the agile gracefulness of a jedi starfighter. This was a clanker with oversized engines. It rattled and banged as it accelerated away.

"Don't mind us," Val whispered as she watched the combatants, "we're not part of this."

Jayce kept a close eye on the battle. Wings of V-19s blasted away against swarms of Geonosian starfighters, as the large cruisers bombarded the gun platforms. It was clear at a glance that the battle was coming to an end, and the Separatists were having the worst of it. There appeared to be only one functioning orbital platform left, debris from half a dozen more sparkled in orbit.

A burst of flame erupted from the final platform, then the whole thing went up as a jedi starfighter shot clear of the debris. Jayce recognized that style of piloting.

"Skywalker," he whispered.

"What?" Val asked.

"Nothing," he said a little too quickly.

The battle was soon down to the mop-up phase, though what Jayce assumed was golden boy Anakin Skywalker's starfighter seemed to be trading fire with the craft they'd seen earlier.

Alarms alerted them that a pair of fighters were closing towards them. The speakers crackled, then what was quickly becoming the most recognizable voice in the galaxy sounded over the comms.

"Identify yourself!" the clone pilot ordered.

"Do not fire!" Val shouted back. "Do not fire, we are non-combatants! Just passing through, trying to get home."

The V-19s took up positions behind their craft, in perfect shooting range. Clearly whatever was going on, they were suspicious of passers by at the moment.

"You're going to have to come with us," the clone replied. "Deviate from our path, and we will fire upon you."

Val flicked off the comms. "What the hell are they so interested in us for? You wanted or something?"

"No," Jayce said. "Republic's got nothing against me." Getting taken in by the Republic would be a frustrating delay, but not the end of the world. If that had been Skywalker, then Master Kenobi would be near as well, and he was a decent enough fellow.

"Hey, if this is about that other ship that attacked you guys, we've got nothing to do with them," she said, back on the comms. "Pure coincidence we arrived at the same time."

The clone pilots weren't having it. A blaster bolt flew past the starboard side of their ship.

"Okay, okay!" Val eased off the throttle and banked the ship along with the V-19s. "Jeesh, if this is how clones are, I feel for the galaxy with a million more of them running around."

They turned to follow the fighters in precisely the direction they didn't want to be going. Straight towards the battle. It was all but over, a clear Republic victory. But there were still an uncomfortable number of laser bolts streaking through space in that direction.

Hi, Master Kenobi, so good to see you! Jayce practiced in his mind. That sounded horrible.

Master Kenobi! with a deep bow attached. That was better. What came next, though? Master Na-Meh's instructions explicitly forbade him from telling anyone of his mission, including jedi.

Master Kenobi. Congratulations on your victory. What am I doing here? Well... funny story... you see... the Council banned me from the trials, and I stormed out of the temple in a huff, hopped on the nearest ship, and decided to go explore the galaxy. In the middle of a warzone. Yeah...

Oh, hey, there, Anakin. Yeah, it's totally cool that even though you've broken every rule, disregarded orders, and you strut around like a pekka bird,you get your own command while I get kicked out. No hard feelings at all!

This meeting was going to go terribly.

Except it never happened. As the HWK-290 with its forced escorts approached the battle, a swarm of Geonosian starfighters attempted to flee. The direction the fighters chose was straight towards Val and Jayce.

"Um, guys? You see this?" Val squawked.

"Break off, get clear!" the clone pilot said.

That was all the permission Val needed. The HWK-290 swiveled around so fast Jayce was pressed against the bulkhead, then thrown back into his seat as the engines roared back to their raucous full power.

It wasn't enough, the Geonosians were coming in too fast. The clone pilots fired on the Geonosians, and the Geonosians fired back. Val pulled the stick to the left, and the ship banked hard. Blaster fire cut through space around them. The ship wove back and forth, narrowly avoiding collisions. The shields took several hits.

"Why don't you try spinning?" Jayce suggested as he clung to his seat. "I hear that's a good trick!"

"Shut up!"

The HWK-290 wasn't nearly as nimble as the fighter craft, but Val had it dancing as best it could. More lasers sprayed across their shield, a few made solid impacts against the hull. Jayce could smell burnt electronics.

"Come on, baby, you're fine!" Val's encouragement seemed to work. With a final twist the ship shot out from amongst the dogfight and continued at full speed away from the planet and the battle. A few minutes later they were well away from danger.

"Wow, those clones are real a-"

"They died protecting us," Jayce cut in. He had been watching the scopes as they fled.

"What?"

"Just letting you know, they were heavily outnumbered, but engaged those fighters to make sure we got away. They didn't."

Val shrugged, but she looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Well, they didn't have to get us involved in the first place."

Silence held as the planet shrank behind them. In a few minutes they were back in hyperspace.

"I take it you're not a fan of the Republic," Jayce said at last.

Val eyed him sidelong. "And you are?"

"It's not perfect, but it does a lot of good."

"What it does it get in people's way. That's what all governments do, and if the Separatists get their way and split off, they'll be just the same, you watch."

"So, what, no government at all?"

Val raised a finger in the air. "Now an idea."

"Then what happens when pirates decide they want your ship?" Jayce asked. "Or slavers decide they want your life?"

"Look, the Republic may act all high and mighty with its ideals of freedom and democracy, keep the criminals at bay, and all that," she said. "But in truth it's a system made by the rich and powerful, and it keeps them rich and powerful. Maybe if they couldn't hide behind the senate and actually had to face real consequences, they'd behave a bit better."

"Who's going to make them face consequences?" Jayce asked. "An angry mob?"

Val sighed and turned away. "It's bad business to talk politics with clients. I gotta go check we didn't take any serious damage." She unstrapped herself from her seat and maneuvered into the back.

Jayce settled in for the long haul. The mesmerizing swirl of hyperspace soon left his eyelids feeling heavy. He leaned the seat back and went to sleep.

"Just lift the cup," Master Windu said. The sun made an orange fire of the clouds outside the council chamber windows and cast long shadows across the circular room. Most of the seats were empty. There were more important things to attend to. "It's something many younglings can do easily. If you think you have a chance of passing the trials, lift the cup."

Padawan Jayce tried. He could feel the room, feel the energy pulsing through it. The cup sitting on the table beside Master Wndu was quiet, almost nonexistent to his sensation of the Force. And it would not budge. As much as he tried, it felt like the cup was anchored to the table.

He fought his growing frustration, it would only get in the way. Finally, with a great deal of effort, the cup rose slowly into the air. It was as if he was lifting a starship. It hovered uneasily for a moment, then fell back down, bounced off the table, and shattered on the floor.

Master Windu shook his head.

"Different, we all are," Master Yoda chimed in. "There is no shame in it. Talents you have. But talents perhaps best served outside the role of Knight."

Jayce's fists clenched. He took a deep breath and dared not reply.

"Frankly it was a mistake for you to be made a padawan in the first place," Master Windu said with his characteristic bluntness. "It only served to delay your inevitable reassignment."

Jayce's resolve broke. The weight of everything that had happened was crushing him. His master's refusal to take him to Geonosis. His master's death. And now this. No amount of recitation and meditation could stop his anger and frustration.

"You mean Master Tem made a mistake choosing me!" he spat. "And now that he's dead, you can step in and rectify it!"

"Careful, Padawan!" Mace growled.

"But I'm not a Padawan, am I?" Jayce spat. "That's what you're telling me, isn't it?" Jayce drew his lightsaber and savagely sliced free the braid that was the symbol of his former rank. He let the length of light hair drop to the ground. It was done. It was over.

The green light of his blade softly illuminated their faces. Windu's eyes narrowed. Yoda looked saddened. Na-Meh watched from her chair in silence.

"I was never given a choice," Jayce said in a slightly calmer tone. "I didn't choose to come here, you brought me here before I can remember. I didn't choose to be a Jedi, you told me that's what I would be! I didn't choose to become a padawan, I was chosen." He took a breath. "Well now I am making a choice."

He extinguished his saber and held it out in front of him. A part of him screamed against what he was doing, begged him to stop, telling him not to be stupid. But he pressed on.

"This choice."

Jayce dropped the saber. It clanged to the floor next to the braid of hair. Without another word, he turned and left.

He awoke to the jolt of exiting hyperspace. The tan and green planet of Dantooine was ahead of them. Val was back in the pilot seat.

"Well, we made it," she said.