A/N: I can't think of anything important or funny to say, so…

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: As always, thanks so much for your support. There's plenty of (hopefully) cool stuff to come, it all depends on whether I can nail it or not.

Out of interest, what do you think of this story compared with its predecessor? I personally think this one is much better written (especially from a grammar standpoint) but I'm curious about what you think as a reader.

Guest: In SWTOR the player character has to undergo a series of trials before building their lightsaber. While Shaela may not have trained since childhood, neither did Luke. Given she strives to help others and faced off against a Sith and the lure of the Dark Side, I respectfully disagree with the idea that she hasn't done enough. Shaela isn't the chosen one like Anakin or the (second to) last hope like Luke was.

Chapter 22: Jedi

"Okay," Shaela muttered, eyes running over each of the components in front of her in turn. "Instincts… What are my instincts telling me?" She looked away from the workbench as she tried to focus. "The interior pieces must go inside before the outer casing is complete," she said slowly, "otherwise there would be no way to get them inside."

Turning back to the large number of parts, the quarian carefully moved each of them that looked as though they went inside, including the crystal, over to the side of the workbench Rassen had left vacant when he had reassembled his own lightsaber. That done, she picked up what she recognised to be the bottom of the hilt of the weapon, a flat disk of steel-coloured metal which fit easily into her palm.

"Right," she continued, feeling more confident in herself by thinking aloud than doing so silently. "Let's say the bottom of the internal mechanism sits on top of this." She gently traced a circular indentation in the middle of the disk with the forefinger of her free hand. "If that's the case, there must be a part which fits this groove." Scanning the side of the workbench she had moved some of the parts to, her eyes brightened when she saw a piece that looked as though it would fit. Picking it up gently, Shaela lowered it onto the disk, smiling to herself when it fit perfectly. So perfectly, in fact, that it didn't look as though it required welding or even needed to be screwed into place.

Shaela blinked in surprise. While it certainly fit exactly, why wouldn't she secure it? After all, the more tightly held together the lightsaber was the better, surely? Her eyes widened as an almost tingling sensation at the back of her mind told her there was no need, that it would be easier to repair the lightsaber if something went wrong with it if she left this part unsecured. Instead, she should make sure the rim of the disk was tightly attached to the section of hilt that was supposed to sit above it and contain the internal component. She frowned. How did she know that?

Instincts, it must be.

Gently placing the two attached pieces back onto the workbench, Shaela eagerly began looking for the next component. Finding it after only a few seconds, she began to carefully analyse how best to fit it to what she had already assembled, soon losing track of time as she went about her work.

With his eyes shut, Rassen took a deep breath, holding it in for several seconds before slowly releasing it. A moment later, he again inhaled deeply, once more ensuring he breathed out only after a substantial pause. Correct breathing was key to effective meditation, and meditation was excellent for clearing one's mind of doubt. In the case of him as a Force user, it also allowed him to focus more easily on the Force while doing so, allowing him to achieve a greater level of clarity than he could reach otherwise.

He was currently kneeling just outside the storage room, close enough to Shaela so he could help her check her lightsaber was ready to use as soon as she was done, but far enough way so he would not distract her with his presence. Meditation was also an excellent way to pass the time when waiting for something, and he had been at it for perhaps only ten minutes when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Hello, Commander," he said, allowing himself to smile as the footsteps abruptly stopped.

"How did you know it was me?" Shepard asked, his footsteps resuming for a moment and continuing to grow louder before they ceased again.

Rassen opened his eyes to find the other man standing only a couple of metres away. "Kasumi's normal footfalls are much less heavy than yours," he replied. "On top of that, she can be completely silent when she chooses to be. I would not put it past her to try and sneak up on me if she were to catch me meditating."

"Point taken," Shepard conceded with a shrug. "I was wondering if you were done building lightsabers with Shaela yet. Kasumi told me what she helped you make."

"Of course she did." Rassen slowly rose to his feet, shaking his limbs out to loosen them. "Building your own lightsaber is one of the trials necessary to become a Jedi. I can help her when it comes to checking she has assembled it properly, but most of the work must be done by her alone. It may take her a while. Even though the components just need to be attached to one another, there is little margin for error."

"I see," Shepard nodded. "I was actually hoping you might be willing to spar with me for a bit. I'm still not entirely fit, but I don't know how out of practise I am exactly. It's been months since I fought anyone, but since I spent that time unconscious and floating in a tank, I'm willing to bet I've lost at least some of my edge." He shrugged. "It seems a good bet that the Mandalorians and batarians will board the ship at some point. Close quarters combat should be a priority."

Rassen couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "Agreed. Shaela only started a short while ago, so I believe I have time. Is there space anywhere for us to practise?"

"There is if we move the crates in the cargo hold."

The Jedi nodded before gesturing for Shepard to lead on. "Then let's go, Commander."

"Shepard."

Rassen blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Shepard," the darker-haired man repeated. "I don't go around calling you 'Master Voratt' or anything like that. You can call me the same thing as everyone else."

Rassen couldn't help smiling at that. "Very well, Shepard. I would like to be back here for when Shaela needs my help, so we better get moving."

It only took them a short while to stack each crate up against the walls of the cargo hold, leaving a rectangular area five metres or so wide and about ten long. Rolling his shoulders after he made sure there was no chance of any of the stacks overbalancing, Rassen turned to Shepard, who opened his mouth to speak, only to close it as a thought seemed to cross his mind.

"Give me a couple of minutes," the older man said, walking quickly towards the door. "I've just had an idea."

Frowning as Shepard left him alone, Rassen shrugged before deciding he might as well use the opportunity to warm up, jumping up and down and stretching his arms and legs before rotating his waist. True to his word, Shepard was back within only two minutes or so, causing him to stare in surprise as he realised the commander had donned the same suit of Mandalorian armour he had worn when they had first met, its blue and white plates a stark contrast to the cheap grey clothing the batarians and Mandalorians had given him.

Noticing his surprise, Shepard shrugged before explaining. "I obviously don't have my own armour here, and I'm not used to wearing a set as heavy as this one. I thought it would be a good idea to get some practise in it before having to rely on it in combat."

Unable to fault his logic, Rassen nodded approvingly, situating himself opposite Shepard so they stood the full length of the room apart. "Did you have any rules in mind?" he asked, settling down into a combat stance as he waited for the older man's reply.

Shepard assumed a similar position before edging closer and beginning to circle round to the left, signalling the start of the session. "Light contact," he said calmly. "The last thing we need is for one of us to seriously injure the other right now. No weapons for the moment, and the same goes for omni-tool abilities and your Force. Basically, just hand to hand combat."

Rassen nodded again, flinching as Shepard suddenly lunged forwards, aiming a jab at his chin. Ducking out of the way, he tossed a jab of his own back at the commander, who likewise dodged it easily. This was the part of close quarters combat even those who had only just begun to train in it were familiar with. They were testing one another, trying to see a weakness in the other's form. These first few moments could easily be crucial in a real fight.

As Shepard continued to circle to the left, Rassen began to move in the other direction, maintaining the distance between them as they scanned one another. As the seconds passed, Rassen found himself increasingly impressed. There was no flaw in Shepard's form, each step being perfectly placed and his arms never moving out of position despite his being in a kolto tank as recently as he had. Deciding to take the initiative, Rassen suddenly stopped moving away from the commander and darted towards him, jabbing for a second time before swiftly moving back. Shepard casually raised both of his arms up, blocking the attack easily before following him, moving faster than before.

A minute or so passed, the occasional jab being the only attack either of them threw at the other. Relaxing slightly, Rassen continued to look for any sign of weakness in Shepard's technique as the other man likewise did the same. Increasingly, he began to realise that despite how well he was moving, Shepard was beginning to tire already. The effects of his time in the kolto tank were slowly making themselves known as the commander began to move with slightly less energy than before, though he still kept his hands up as they remained circling one another. Another couple of minutes passed with Shepard continuing to slow, causing Rassen's mind to wander slightly as to whether Shaela had encountered any problems.

He almost didn't see what happened next, but he certainly felt it.

Rassen's head snapped back slightly as Shepard's fist collided with his chin, the impact producing a thudding noise and knocking him off-balance. Grunting in surprise and a small amount of pain, he moved his head back down just in time to see the other man's armoured fist catch him in the stomach, his chestplate absorbing most of the power behind the blow as he stumbled backwards.

Straightening up to see Shepard closing in, Rassen feinted with another jab and lunged out with a kick, catching the commander by surprise and staggering him slightly, the other man's own armour protecting him much like the Jedi's had. Nodding approvingly, Shepard threw a punch in response, causing Rassen to raise both arms in a cross shape, blocking the attack before he was again hit on the chin. They broke apart and resumed circling a second later, Rassen noticing the commander was now moving with the same pace he had displayed at the start of the session.

"Not bad," Shepard acknowledged. "You let yourself get distracted, but you recovered well. I take it they taught you how to handle yourself in the temple you grew up in?"

Rassen frowned. "You know they—"

The air left his lungs as Shepard crashed into him with a surprising amount of strength, the older man placing a leg behind one of Rassen's own and slamming his shoulder into the Jedi's chest. There was a crashing noise, and then a groan of pain he recognised as coming from his own mouth as he found himself staring up at the grey metal of the room's ceiling. As Rassen attempted to get up, an armoured boot pushed down on his chest, preventing him from doing so firmly but not painfully.

Shepard's face appeared above him. "Like I said," the commander began, "not bad. On top of getting distracted, you tend to let your hands drift a little too low, which is why I was able to hit you in the face, if you hadn't guessed. Nice job with the kick, you're certainly fast and strong, but hand to hand isn't something you do too often is it?"

He withdrew his foot and offered Rassen a hand, which the Jedi took, allowing Shepard to pull him to his feet with seemingly no effort. "Not really," Rassen admitted, wincing as his back protested at what it had just gone through. "What happened to light contact only?"

"That was light."

"No, it was not."

"It was," Shepard grinned. "Sorry if I hurt you, but too little contact won't help either of us. When you're actually fighting someone and make a mistake, you pay for it. Everyone needs to be able to take a hit and keep on going afterwards, which you managed."

Rassen nodded slowly. "I will bear that in mind," he replied. "In the future, however, I would prefer that you be more honest about what constitutes 'light' for you, since your definition seems different to my own."

"No problem," the commander shrugged. "I would ask if you want to go again, but you better get back to Shaela before she finishes. I'd like to practise with you again later, though, as long as you're willing."

Rassen smirked despite his best efforts not to. "And why not spar with Kasumi?" he asked as innocently as he could. "You know her much better than you do me, and she can be extremely fast when she wants to be. Would she not make as good an opponent? After all, she is certainly tough as thieves go."

He watched carefully as Shepard's eyes narrowed, the other man giving away no other indication he was uncomfortable. "You're closer to the same size as a Mandalorian or batarian than she is," he said finally. "I'd like to get as close as possible to fighting the real thing before time runs out."

"Of course," Rassen nodded, still trying very hard to hide his smirk as it threatened to grow. "Thank you for your advice regarding my shortcomings, C—" he cut himself off. "Shepard. I will take you up on that offer. But like you said, I need to get back to Shaela, she should be almost done by now." Beginning to turn on his heel, he suddenly thought better of it, extending a hand to Shepard, who gripped it with one of his own before shaking it with a confused expression.

"Thank you," Rassen said again, "but considering we might all be dead in a few days, may I offer you some advice of my own?"

"Sure."

"Tell her," he said seriously, releasing Shepard's hand. "I did not tell Shaela how I felt about her until I realised she was trying to tell me how she felt, but you might not get as good an opportunity, considering how little time we have. Tell Kasumi how you feel before it might be too late."

For the first time since he had met him, Rassen witnessed Shepard dumbstruck. He had seen the commander angry when he had asked what the Jedi knew of loss. He had seen him deeply saddened when his fears of the cost of stopping the Reapers had been confirmed. And he had seen him filled with cold determination when he had stared down a small army of Mandalorians and batarians before firing upon them. Never, though, had Rassen seen Shepard lost for words in the short time he had known him.

"How do you know about that?" Shepard finally managed, staring at him in shock.

Rassen shrugged. "Even though she had lost a substantial amount of blood, she was still willing to race off on her own if necessary to find and rescue you. When we did find you, she requested a private moment despite how we could have been detected at any time. When you went to sleep, she decided to sleep in a chair next to your bed instead of a bed of her own. She may not have said it, but her feelings are obvious… even to someone who grew up in a temple in another galaxy. The same goes for you. Pushing her away from me when you thought I was a Mandalorian, how worried you were that you might have hurt her… You get the idea."

"It's… complicated," Shepard replied, still looking at the Jedi as though he had materialised out of nothingness. "There's a lot you don't know, Rassen."

"Anything you would like to share?" he asked gently.

"No offence, but no. I know I've already told you about what happened with the Reapers—"

"But you have not known me long enough to discuss something as deeply personal as this," Rassen finished. "Talk to Kasumi, Shepard. I may have only known her for a short while longer than I have known you, but I doubt she will be the one to begin any kind of conversation on the subject. If it makes it any easier, you have faced down machines billions of years old bent on galaxy-wide extermination. This should be easy, comparatively speaking."

Giving the other man an encouraging nod, Rassen turned and left him standing there in thought, unable to stop his own mind from racing as he began to make his way back to Shaela, the door to the cargo hold closing behind him. Why was he interfering? He had only shared a few conversations with Shepard, and not many more with Kasumi. Why was he so interested in trying to resolve the obvious tension between them?

Because their situation reminds you of what your own once was, Rassen.

Zaressh's voice, having been silent for so long, caused him to stumble and then crash into a nearby wall. Glancing behind him, Rassen noticed with relief that he had already left Shepard far enough behind that the other man hadn't heard the noise and so would not come to investigate. Shaking his head as though that would somehow mute the voice, he straightened up with difficulty before continuing the short trek to the storage room, managing to avoid stumbling for a second time as Zaressh spoke again.

Do you remember what happened soon after you and the quarian admitted your feelings for one another? Of course you do, you found yourselves separated, remember? A terrible tragedy, was it not? The situation being so similar, I do hope nothing unfortunate befalls your new friends… or your little alien lover.

Ignoring the voice as best he could, Rassen kept going.

Trembling slightly, Shaela lifted the black and steel-coloured cylinder to eye level, turning it carefully as she examined it for any sign she had got anything wrong. After a few moments, she was satisfied the lightsaber hilt was completely identical to Rassen's, though that was not what caused her to place it back on the workbench. No, it wasn't that she could see it was finished that was important; she could feel it was done as well.

The quarian began to pace excitedly around the room, too filled with anticipation to remain still. She was extremely tempted to activate the device right away, but she remembered Rassen's words. He needed to inspect the lightsaber first to ensure nothing was amiss.

Realising he was still waiting outside, Shaela hurried to the door, opening it as quickly as she could to reveal the Jedi Knight kneeling a few feet away with his back to her as he meditated. Coughing once to get his attention, the quarian couldn't help grinning as the human turned to face her, his blue eyes that were both so similar and yet so different to her silver ones widening slightly. Any thought of why he might be shocked at her arrival was quickly brushed aside as she waved for him to follow her.

"I think," she took a deep breath, her blocked nose annoying but easy to ignore given the circumstances. "I think I'm done, Rassen."

Wordlessly, but with a smile replacing his previous look of alarm, he followed her as she returned to the workbench at almost a run and scooped up the lightsaber before holding it out to him. Rassen took it and gently rotated the device with both of his hands, frowning as he surveyed it critically. Shaela felt her heart sink a little as the seconds mounted, beginning to fear she had done something wrong. She opened her mouth to ask if she had, only for the human to speak first.

"The crystal definitely has not been set properly," Rassen shrugged. "Other than that, though, you did a very good job, Shaela."

She was beaming now. "Thank you, Rassen. I wasn't sure where to start at first, but then I tried to think logically about what I was doing and used my instincts like you said." She looked at the cylinder he still held. "How, um, long will it take to fix the crystal problem?"

"Not too long," the human replied, already placing the lightsaber onto the workbench with one hand while reaching for a tool with the other. Shaela felt a stab of concern as he winced almost imperceptibly, Rassen not quite able to conceal the slight tightening of his jaw well enough to hide the fact he was in a small amount of pain.

"Rassen," she began slowly, noticing a brief pause in his movement at her tone just before his fingertips reached the tool he wanted, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the human replied, picking up what closely resembled a pair of pliers before bringing them into contact with the lightsaber. "Just a little sore, but it is nothing to be concerned about."

"Rassen…"

She felt more than a small amount of frustration as he let out a quiet sigh. "Shepard approached me while you were working," he explained. "He wanted to see how far from his best he is since he spent so long in a kolto tank. He suggested sparring, and I agreed on the condition I be back just before you finished."

While she felt a small amount of happiness that Rassen had made a point of being available when she needed him, the sensation was far outweighed by her concern. "You actually agreed to fight Commander Shepard?" she gasped. "Rassen, he could have seriously hurt you!"

"It was only sparring, Shaela. While it is true Shepard was a bit… rougher than I was expecting, it was a good experience. We have agreed to do it again soon so he can return to the same level he was in hand-to-hand combat before his injuries. It will be good for me as well. I can certainly learn a lot from him in that regard."

Calming down slightly, Shaela ran her eyes over the human as he removed the bottom of the lightsaber and then got to work on one of its sides. "It's strange to think of you needing training," she admitted.

Rassen smiled ruefully, gaze leaving his work to focus on her. "I have lost a number of fights in my time… including a few since we met, if you remember."

"True," Shaela acknowledged, interest growing as she wondered what exactly she had missed. "What happened, then?"

She had to stifle a laugh as Rassen suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "At first," he muttered reluctantly, "we each tried to look for a weakness we could exploit. Then he hit me a couple of times."

"That's it?" she asked incredulously.

"No," Rassen shook his head. "I managed to kick him before the session ended."

"Oh. Well, at least you got the last—"

"And then he charged me, took my legs out, and pinned me to the floor."

Shaela felt her shoulders tremble as she forced herself to take deep, calming breaths. Rassen was clearly a little sore about losing so easily. Laughing at him wouldn't help matters. She should be supportive, tell him he would be ready next time.

Then she remembered she was sick and he hadn't held back from laughing at her just after they had woken up.

"Stop that," Rassen snapped, but he was unable to keep the corner of his mouth from twitching as she burst out giggling, both hands over her mouthpiece. That he seemed to find it funny on some level as well only made her laugh harder, the quarian unable to contain herself as her sounds of mirth grew, Shaela now laughing hysterically as she sank to her knees. Looking up as her eyes began to fill with tears and her vision swam, she somehow managed to laugh even harder as she saw Rassen's struggle to contain his own amusement intensify.

At some point, she became vaguely aware of the human resuming his work on the lightsaber, barely noticing she was still laughing so hard. Her laughter abruptly stopped, however, as Rassen replaced his current tool with a new one, the gentle sound of metal bumping against metal reaching her ears as he began reattaching the pieces he had removed. The new tool was then replaced itself by another, the sounds of metal on metal continuing for a few moments before ceasing.

Standing up shakily, Shaela swallowed nervously as the human offered her the reassembled but still deactivated weapon with one hand. "That should have fixed it," he explained gently. "If not I can try again, but the best way to check now is to try it out."

Wordlessly, she reached out with a trembling hand, carefully lifting the lightsaber out of Rassen's own before placing her other hand below the first, not trusting herself not to drop it. Glancing back at him only to receive a reassuring nod, Shaela took a deep breath, thumb brushing the surface of the activation switch midway up the device's side. Swallowing again, she gently pressed the button.

With what was by now a very familiar hissing noise, a blade of emerald light sprang forth, humming in a way that was both intimidating and comforting, the noise shifting slightly in response to her movements. Throat dry, Shaela could almost feel the bright green glow as it reflected off the nearly opaque material of her mask, combining with the light blue to make her visor seem almost turquoise as carefully manoeuvred the lightsaber from side to side, marvelling at it. She looked back at Rassen as he spoke quietly but firmly from where he stood next to her, clearly reluctant to ruin her sense of wonder but unable to keep silent.

"Lightsabers can be almost as dangerous to the user as the people around them during the early days of training. While the ability to use one is in part something most any Force user with any real potential possesses, it still takes practise to become familiar with it. Given the blade is weightless, it can feel off-putting to hold one, since a sword or staff has its weight distributed across a much larger area."

Shaela nodded in understanding. "We don't have much time," she replied. "If we want to avoid me cutting one of my own arms off, we need to start practising as soon as possible, right?"

Rassen nodded back, albeit reluctantly. "Practising with proper lightsabers is risky, but we have little alternative. I do not have a training lightsaber I could replicate, which while poor substitutes for the real thing, are far less dangerous. We will just have to be as careful as possible."

"I understand," she muttered softly. "When do we begin?"

The human gave her a small smile, which she instantly returned. "Immediately," he replied.