B/N: Hello! Thank you to all the new folks that have clicked the follow button and continued thanks to those of you still coming along on this journey with me. This chapter gave me a lot of problems, not gonna lie about it. I've changed things, added things, took things out, pulled my hair out a bit, but I think I finally have it in a good place. I hope you enjoy. :) Please let me know as always.

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Random: Thank you for your review. I can't wait to see what season 2 has for us! I hope to see some lightsabers, too. :)

Naria: Hehe. I'm glad you liked it! As she told Gideon, they may have been hiding all those years but they weren't spent idly.

Coyote: Thank you so much!

TOWG: Thank you. :) Yeah, she kept those eyes closed since she knew what it means to him ... but I'm sure she was tempted. Lol!

joey: Oh I am and here is the next chapter! I hope you like it.

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It all belongs to Lucas and Favreau and Filoni. They're the geniuses. Alés is all I can take credit for.

Once they were back in the safety of the Crest Alés took the Child from Din as he climbed up the ladder to the cockpit seemingly without touching a single rung in his haste. She followed a bit more carefully and settled into the seat at his right. After a quick area scan told them that Gideon's ship was no where to be found he got them off the ground and heading back towards space. She could sense the tension flowing from him though there was more underneath that she couldn't quite figure out.

"What's on your mind?"

"I think you are right in trying to avoid Coruscant as long as possible. I want to try finding information elsewhere first," he told her as they exited the planet's atmosphere.

"I assume you have somewhere in mind?"

He nodded. "Where I found him."

"You think there would be information there?"

"It was a military or research facility," was his short reply. She refrained from more questions watching as he put coordinates into the navicomputer and made the jump to lightspeed.

"Gideon is rather … formidable," she finally said, keeping her voice light though her heart rate hadn't quite returned to normal.

There was what sounded like an amused snort from under the helmet. "That is one way of putting it. He was - " His words came to a halt as he turned towards her then quickly reached for her left arm. "You're hurt."

She glanced down and was surprised to see a rather large blood stain on her sleeve. He carefully pushed the fabric up revealing a short but deep cut right below her elbow.

"When did this happen? During the fight with Gideon?"

"No. He wasn't able to get any hits on me." Lifting her arm up so she could see the injury closer she frowned. "Besides, this isn't what a lightsaber would leave on the skin. It would have cauterized it so there wouldn't have been this much blood."

"Something must have hit you in one of the cannon blasts."

"There were certainly enough chunks of rock flying around."

Alés could sense the frown on his face. "Medkit is down in the hold. Come on."

Scooping the kid up she followed him back down the ladder and seated herself while he pulled out what was needed to fix her up. The Child toddled over to her side with the injured arm and seemed to peer at it intently for a moment. Just as Din was returning to her, Medkit in hand, the little guy was reaching towards her arm.

"Not this time," Din murmured then picked him up and placed him in his cubicle. She frowned in confusion.

"What was that about?"

"I've seen him heal people."

"Truly?" A nod as he pushed her sleeve up. "Why would you tell him not to help me? It would save you some time."

"Using his powers really wears him out … and I would prefer to handle this myself."

"Why?"

He focused on cleaning the area around the cut rather than answering. She hissed a bit as the antiseptic spray bit into the torn skin but it didn't deter her from her question. The strange feeling she'd sensed in him in the cockpit was still simmering.

"Din?"

"You were injured protecting me and the kid. You wouldn't have even been in that mess except for your offer to help me."

Alés wanted to assure him that in no way did she hold him responsible for the attack or her injury but she could tell this was not something he was going to budge on. It was certainly a kind gesture and not something she would have expected from a Mandalorian, though she would be the first to admit her knowledge of their culture was slim. What she did know was that they held honor in the highest regard and she supposed his was telling him it was his duty to care for her at the moment. While she would have very much liked to have seen what the Child could do she refrained from saying anything else on the subject.

His hands were warm on her skin as he applied a bacta patch to her arm. It was a slightly strange sensation but she found she liked it. Though his fingertips were callused his touch was gentle. His whole manner towards her was gentle and she wasn't exactly sure when it had morphed from the cautiousness he'd displayed when they'd first met. Perhaps he was becoming more used to her presence – she certainly was more accustomed to having him around – and some trust had grown. She knew she felt like he could be trusted now. It was nice to think they might be able to become friends at some point.

"That should heal fairly quickly," he said securing a bandage on her arm.

"Thank you. I can feel it working already."

Alés expected him to sit back but he stayed still. His hand remained on the bandage for a second then slid down to cover where her own rested on her thigh. She peered at him curiously and wished she could see his eyes.

"Can – could – all Jedi do what you just did?"

"Yes and much more."

"Can you? Do more?"

"Possibly … if the situation calls for it. Back there certainly called for it. That was the first time I've used my saber in years."

"And Gideon had the Darksaber." There was anger in his voice.

"Do you have any idea how he got it?"

He shook his head. "The last I knew it was in the hands of Bo Katan. Of course that was before the Empire wiped out so many of us."

His hand was still covering hers and, not wanting to break that contact, she twisted her hand until they were palm to palm and squeezed.

"It is a heavy burden to carry, being spared when so many died, but the Force must have a plan for you, Din, or you would have perished with the rest. At least you are not alone. You have said there are a few coverts still hidden on various planets. Your way of life has not been completely wiped away." She nodded, blankly staring at wall, as she thought about how the Jedi and their ways were gone. Din himself was an example of how well the Emperor had been able to erase the very knowledge of there having been Jedi in the galaxy. "Yes. At least you have that."

To her surprise he squeezed her hand in a comforting way, pulling her attention back to him. "Surely you are not the only Jedi left alive. The Kid there is proof of that."

"He is Force sensitive, yes, but he is no Jedi. One goes through years of training in order to gain that title. If there are other survivors out there they have concealed themselves and their Force signatures well as neither I nor my Master have ever been able to sense any of them."

"You can do that? Sense people around the galaxy?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Master Brasi once told me that he felt when the Jedi were slaughtered, that it was like thousands of lights blinking out in the galaxy, thousands of pin pricks stabbing him all at once." She focused her gaze on his T-visor. "I hope there are still some out there and they will be able to help the little one. I cannot train him to be a Jedi."

"But until we do he can watch you, learn from you, begin to understand this power he has."

"No," she replied with a shake of her head. "I am not the right person to attempt such a thing."

"Why is that?"

"My knowledge, my skills, are not what a Master needs in order to train another."

"From what I saw on Jedha you are quite skilled. I have never witnessed such a power before. If what you say is true and the other Jedi were even more powerful than you then I am glad I never had to face one." Alés ducked her head a bit at the compliment but he reached up and gently, with a finger under her chin, lifted it back up. "Show me what you can do."

"You already have."

"I'd like to see it again, especially that blade of yours. Can you lift anything? Even things bigger than my helmet?"

She pressed her lips together. "Why?"

"It is hard to take everything in when you're in the midst of a fight. I am curious about what the Kid might be able to do one day … and I am curious about you."

There was an earnestness in his voice that weakened her resolve. Her abilities were not for showing off … but if Din wanted a small demonstration that badly …

She couldn't keep the grin off her face a moment later when an undignified yelp came from under his helmet as his feet rose from the floor. He kept a tight grip on her hand as he was lifted into the air.

"Alés! What – are you doing this?"

"You wanted to know if I could lift anything heavier than your helmet," she replied with a shrug.

He was now hovering well off the floor, his grip on her the only thing keeping him from going all the way to the ceiling. "Okay. You can put me down now."

With a chuckle she complied. When his feet were again on solid ground he let go of her hand.

"How do you do that?"

"The Force surrounds everything, penetrates everything. If you can listen to it you can also use it."

"And your saber?"

"It becomes like an extension of your body. Again, being able to listen to the Force helps us in our use of it. Without that it is merely a sword you're swinging around hoping to hit or deflect something. With the Force there is no guesswork, no wondering if you are going to be able to block a swing from another lightsaber or deflect a blaster bolt; you already know your blade will be exactly where it needs to be." Anticipating his next request she pulled her saber out and, after flicking her hand to dim the lights in the cargo hold, she thumbed it on. The white blade bathed the space in a warm glow. After giving it a few twirls (she couldn't help but show off a little) she began going through the positions and motions that made up the different forms of saber combat, naming and explaining each one to him as she went along.

He stood still against the wall opposite. Though Alés couldn't see it his eyes never left her. Until she'd ignited her saber facing Gideon he'd never seen one and now he couldn't take his eyes off her movements. Her ability to move things without touching them had been impressive – and he hoped he would never suffer the brunt of it like those Stormtroopers did – but there was something mesmerizing about watching her with the lightsaber. She was graceful, like he would imagine a dancer would be, but the power behind her swings was evident even against an invisible opponent. The glow lit up her face as the blade swung, dipped, slashed, and twirled, making her eyes shine and he could see the concentration in them. The skill of the Mandalorians in battle was well known and he took pride in that but as he stood there he realized the Jedi might have been their equals.

Din was immensely glad she was on his side.