Author's Note: Hey there wonderful readers! Just recently as I was thinking more about the Shaniverse and the future stories all be writing (as I'm always thinking of ideas every day), I manage to stupidly pull myself into a dilemma, which has me both unsure and a little annoyed. :P Silly me.

So I'll just decide to ask you guys how you'd want it! Thinking about this current story, it is currently the longest with just over 400K words, and there is still a lot more planned for the 'Legacy of Jarik Shan' series. I've been a little cautious about making the story too long, and whether or not it currently is, and since Twilight of the Apprentice is fast approaching, I've been debating with myself whether I should end Volume Four with that, or just keep going until I fully complete it?

I still have much to get through on this story, as the most major things I still have to do are seasons 3-4 of Rebels, Rogue One, and HTTYD 2, which takes place in the year 1 ABY of the Shaniverse chronology. And that's only the huge/main plot points, as the Legacy of Jarik Shan series is planned to end after Return of the Jedi, so there's still a lot to go through (the original trilogy itself is not included, that's in the Galactic Civil War side story, as this one focuses on Jarik, not Luke).

So my question for you is, should I continue with 'A Jedi in Exile' and have it stretch all the way to the ending? Or should I stop it at Twilight of the Apprentice and have a Fifth Volume? If the choice turns out to be the latter, then that fifth and final story would be named 'Rebirth.' If you have a preference, you can PM me your answer or leave it in a review, and please do so as soon as possible, so I can do so! Thank you all so much for your continued supported of this story and the Shaniverse, and I'm so happy to have been able to get this far and please all of you with my stories!

Now onto the chapter already! :D


The Ghost; Atollon

3rd person POV...

Hera climbed down the ladder and into the cargo hold to stand by Sabine. Together they watched Kanan and Ezra practice their lightsaber combat, with their lightsabers in training mode.

"Keep your blade up! It's easier to drop it than it is to raise it!" Kanan instructs.

He pushes Ezra back with his lightsaber, and when he tries to retaliate with his own lunge he shoves an arm out and uses the Force to throw him against the wall. He then rushes forward and slashes at Ezra's head, and he barely dodges before rolling to the side and popping up, shooting his blaster mode. Kanan deflects the stun blasts with an expression of exasperation.

"You know that's my move," he remarks.

"I steal from the best," Ezra shoots back, reactivating his lightsaber.

Hera smiles in interest as the two stare each other down, tensed up. Ezra then lunges forwards and slides along the ground, lashing out at Kanan. He jumps over the strike and deflects it, and Ezra quickly runs up the wall, jumping in a backflip when Kanan whips around to slice at him. Landing behind him, he holds his lightsaber up to Kanan's neck with a triumphant grin.

"Gotcha!" he exclaims.

"And I got you," Kanan replies.

Ezra frowns before noticing Kanan's lightsaber pointed directly for his torso behind his back, a killing blow if Kanan wished to impale him in the lightsaber's lethal setting. He turns off his lightsaber with a frustrated groan.

"Ugh! Tied again?!" he complains.

"There's no such thing as a tie," Kanan disagrees. "You lose, or you die."

"Yeah, and you win by killing an Inquisitor!" Ezra argues in reply.

"No, you win by surviving," he says firmly.

"You two are getting pretty good!" Sabine comments.

"Getting good? Are you saying we weren't good before?" he demands.

"I think she just meant you're even better now," Hera corrects.

"Alright, but it's not Jarik good," Ezra pouts.

"Jarik was considered a dueling prodigy in the Temple Ezra. Don't expect yourself to reach his level," Kanan says.

Sabine rolls her eyes with an irritated scoff, causing Hera to glance at her with a small frown of concern. She still hadn't told the rest of the crew why Mandalorian's had such a hate of Jarik and his lineage, and Hera wasn't sure when she would.

"Alright well, I guess I can take the 'even better,'" Ezra replies with a grin.

Kanan suddenly whips out his lightsaber and swings down at Ezra, causing him to turn around with a surprised yell and just barely block it.

"Never turn your back on an enemy!" Kanan exclaims.

Ezra shoves him back, and they lower their lightsabers again. "Okay, but since when are you my enemy?"

Kanan sighs, but gestures to him. "Let's go again."

The two continue their training session, and as Hera watches them go at it a small frown forms on her face, which grows into a worried look, and Sabine glances at her in concern. She was really worried for them about this upcoming mission to Malachor, and worried about Kanan especially. The fear of him possibly not coming back would not leave her alone.


Boil POV...

Me and Rex survey the operation going on as the Ghost came in for a landing with the newest shipment, making sure everything was going smoothly.

"Feels just like the good old days eh Rex?" I ask him with a knowing grin.

"Surveying a military base, making sure operations are going smoothly, possibility of invasion... yeah I'd say so," he replies in agreement.

"Would be nice to have the Commanders out here too, that would do it for us," I remark.

"Yeah well, we can't have everything. Kanan and the kid aren't exactly quality material but eh, they'll do," he says, smirking.

We both laugh fondly with each other at the topic of discussion, thinking back on the memories of the times spent with our brothers and Jedi Generals against armies of clankers. The Clone War wasn't pretty, but the memories and friendships we had back then can never be replaced. We approach the spectres, who had gathered together in a small circle.

"Alright, so the site doesn't look like much, I'll admit. But the good news is our scouts have found a fresh water source deep underground," Rex informs them.

"Along with that is something even better," I add with a grin. "Jarik and Ahsoka have gotten into contact with Senator Organa, and the three have agreed to bring the Munificent frigate they repurposed back here for use, now that we have a base."

The spectres all widen their eyes in surprise at the knowledge, sharing looks with each other.

"An entire Separatist warship?" Ezra asks with wide eyes.

"Yup," Rex confirms. "They'll be arriving with it once they get here."

"That'll be a very useful addition to the fleet," Hera remarks.

"Also, we're placing sensor marks around the perimeter. We'll know if anyone drops in unannounced," Sabine reports.

A few Dokma's then scuttled along the crates, and Zeb growled at them in irritation. "Hey, get away from that! How I hate those little bogens!" he complains.

"This planet may be hot, dry and unpleasant," Rex says, smiling. "But at least there's nothing here trying to kill us."

"Unless this place also has a few joopas digging around," I retort dryly.

"Oh, don't even get me started with those things," Zeb grumbles.


3rd person POV...

Kanan and Hera were both observing as ships came in to land and drop off supplies, or leave to go pick up more things.

"I can't believe it's all finally coming together. Ships, pilots, a base..." Hera trails off.

"Everything you need," Kanan says.

"Except you and Ezra," she replies uneasily, causing him to look at her with the same uneasiness. "So, when do you leave?"

"As soon as Jarik, Ahsoka and Mara get back," he replies with a heavy sigh. "We can't run from the Inquisitor's forever."

"I figured it was something like that, with all that training," she says dejectedly, walking away.

"Hera, what you've accomplished here is important. I understand that now, the need for us to be a part of a larger rebellion!" Kanan says, following after her. "I'm behind you, but none of it will matter if we don't do what we need to do."

"All sensors on the Eastern face are in place," a pilot tells Sabine.

"Good. Have all the pilots checked in?" Sabine asks.

"Lieutenant Dicer hasn't come back yet," he reports.

Boil, Rex, Kanan and Hera all turn around and share concerned looks, and Rex opens up the comm channel. "Phoenix-6, report. Dicer, do you copy?"

After a few moments of static, he shakes his head at Sabine, who turns to Hera in worry.

"She was on the North face. We'd better go check on her," she suggests.

"Take the Phantom," Hera says grimly.


Boil POV...

Rex, Sabine and I took the Phantom to investigate what could have happened to Lieutenant Dicer, and upon our arrival, things already seem a little suspicious. The sensor was in place alright, and Dicer's A-Wing was parked on the ground as if she were still here, except that she wasn't. There wasn't any sign of her.

"Spectre-5 to Phoenix-6, where are you?" Sabine asks into her comlink. "Dicer, come in!"

Me and Rex walk over to her ship, and notice her helmet lying on the ground. Rex crouches down to pick up the helmet, and a small dokma hiding under it squeaks in fright, scuttling away quickly.

"This, is not good," I state grimly.

"Looks like whatever happened, happened right after she placed that sensor," Rex observes, showing the helmet to Sabine.

"Someone else is here," she says suspiciously.

An egg-like bony mound behind her sudden starts to shake violently and rise up from the ground, several spidery legs popping out.

"Or something else," I correct her uneasily. "Behind you!"

She whips around and the three of us quickly back up, pulling out our blasters as it reveals its bug-eyed face, screeching.

"Do you think it's aggressive?" Rex asks.

"I'm not waiting to find out!" Sabine replies.

"Oh gee, I wonder what could have possibly caused Dicer's disappearance?!" I snap sarcastically, opening fire with my blaster.

Rex and Sabine both add their blaster bolts as well with their pistols, all of us hitting the spider a ton. However whatever these things were, they had a very tough exterior, as it just shrieked wildly in rage before scuttling for us, our lasers only knocking it back slightly.

"More incoming!" Sabine exclaims in alarm.

We make a circle for ourselves as several more spiders scuttle towards us, our shots seemingly having no effect on them.

"Well isn't this terrific!" I exclaim angrily.

"Get to the ship," Rex orders Sabine.

She quickly heeds the order and runs for the Phantom, however another spider jumps on top of it and leaps at her, forcing her away. Me and Rex both shoot at the spiders, but they increasingly advance without any mind, despite the two of us working like a strong team.

"This is Spectre-5. We're under attack! We need backup-" Sabine yells into her comlink, before one of the spiders slams into her.

"Hey!" I yell out, whipping around to shoot that spider, but the leg of another one lashes out and throws me to the ground.

I groan in pain, struggling to get up as the shrieks of these spiders continues to sound in my ears. I then look up, only to widen my eyes in horror as one of the spiders grabs Rex and starts forcefully taking him away.

"Get off me, you lousy crawler!" he yells furiously, struggling to beat it with his fists.

"Rex!" I yell out in worry and fear, which quickly turns to anger as I rush forwards. "Get off of him!"

"Rex! Boil!" Sabine shouts worriedly.

I aim my blaster and fire at the spider running away with Rex, hitting it's body, but it keeps going undeterred. A few more spiders then scurry forwards and cut me off, forcing me backwards over towards Sabine, who was having similar issues. I kept firing with an angry growl, this time aiming for one of their ugly, disgusting eyes and shooting. I hit a bullseye, causing it to let out a pained scream before dying.

Taking notice, Sabine does the same, and we begin to aim for the eyes more, steadily killing a few spiders. Despite our successes though, they just kept on coming, and backed us all the way up to the sensor at the edge of the cliff. Just when they were about to strike, they suddenly let out frightened screeches, throwing their legs in the air as if to keep something away.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" Sabine exclaims.

"I'll take you all on bugs! Give it all you got!" I yell, furious at them for taking Rex.

Behind us however, the Ghost then rises above the cliff, allowing Kanan and Zeb to shoot the spiders as well. I eagerly join in on the fray, chasing after them and firing continuous bolts as we force them away. They retreat back into the side of a mound that was peppered with large holes, which I can only assume is where they took Rex.

"Agh, I hate multi-leggers!" Zeb shouts in disgust as he and the rest of the crew exit the ship.

"Where's Rex?" Ezra asks in concern.

"Those karking bugs took him!" I reply with a scowl, glaring at the nest.

"I think they got Dicer to!" Sabine adds in a panic.

"Chopper, locate Rex's position!" Hera orders.

Chopper readily complies and opens up his satellite dish, searching for a signal. After a few moments, he beeps in ready confirmation.

"He says it's this way!" Sabine says, taking off at a run.

"I'm going first!" I exclaim, dashing in front of them. "Those bugs want a piece of Rex, they have to deal with me!"

We all run up to one of the large caves in the side of the nest and come to a stop in front of it. Kanan activates his lightsaber to help illuminate the area better. Looking down, I sniff in disgust, scowling at the unpleasant memories this was drawing back up from the war.

"Well this'll be good," I grumble, marching down.

"Stay close, and stick together," Kanan tells us.

"They have tough armor. Aim for the eyes!" Sabine warns them.

Continuing down the cave made me despise the place even more, as this situation was very similar to one that I took part of... back on Geonosis.

"This reminds me of the time that me and Jarik were part of a strike force to rescue General Unduli," I remark unpleasantly. "Only that time we were fighting undead Geonosians."

"Undead? What do you mean undead?!" Zeb asks in bewilderment.

"I mean exactly that," I snap at him. "I swear, if Rex suffered the same fate as the men on that mission..."

"Hey, Rex will be fine," Kanan attempts to reassure me.

"You can't know that," I retort with a frown, pressing forwards. Out of the five of us clones still remaining, Rex is the only one who understands me the most. I lost my closest brother Waxer in the war, just like he lost his closest brother Fives. If he's gone too... I'm going to make sure these spiders get sent through a kriffing wasteland.

After several more moments, we come across several more tunnels, causing Kanan to sigh.

"We need to split up," he says.

"I don't like that idea. That's how they got us," I say in disapproval, the sound of Gearshift and his brother's screams still haunting me to this day.

"We don't have much choice in situation. Besides, these aren't Geonosians, just wild creatures," he reasons. "Ezra, go with Hera."

"No," Hera interrupts. "Ezra, stay with Kanan. Sabine, Zeb, Boil, with me."

Hera looks at Kanan with an impassive expression, and he just looks back with a slight frown before turning away. "Let's go."

"I'm leading down this tunnel," I tell the others, leaving no room for argument.

I walk forwards, holding my blaster and flashlight in front of me, keeping a cautious gaze on everything incase those kriffing spiders attempted to ambush us again.

"Shouldn't we have a Jedi on each team?" Zeb asks nervously.

"We've gotta get used to not having them around," Hera replies stiffly, causing me to glance at her for a moment.

I push her behavior from my mind and focus on Rex, keeping myself moving so that we could reach him in time, before anything else possibly happens to him. Turning down a few more tunnels, we reach a larger cavern full of large, egg like formations, along with a bunch of small dokma shells littering the ground.

"I don't like the looks of this," Zeb shudders.

"Believe me, it could be much worse," I state.

"Those big crawlers must eat them," Hera remarks, observing the many shells.

"Ugh. Even I wouldn't wish that fate on these little bogens," Zeb replies.

Sabine looks over and points her flashlight at a bunch of small orbs littering the ground, causing her to groan in disgust. "Are those eggs?"

"I could really use a hand over here!" Rex's voice suddenly yells out.

I whip around in the direction of his voice and point my flashlight, revealing him to be trapped in some sort of bone cage on the ceiling. He covers his eyes from the shine of the light, but I pay it no mind, exhaling in relief.

"Rex! Good to see you still alive brother!" I exclaim, rushing forwards.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a few bugs to get rid of me Boil," he replies with a confident grin.

"Definitely," I reply in agreement.

Zeb, Hera and Sabine each other one of the 'bars' of the cage and start pulling them open, while I grab hold of Rex's arm and pull him out of there with a few grunts. Once he's out of there, I give him a short hug, and then bump his shoulder with my fist.

"Kanan, Ezra, we found Rex," Sabine says into her comlink.

"Good work. We're coming to you!" Kanan replies.

A sudden screeching sound from the ceiling has me looking up in alarm.

"Or maybe we should just head out right now," I advise them, realizing that Rex's cage was actually the spider.

"This way!" Hera yells.

We all take off at a run as it falls to the ground, and scurries after us. Turning around, we fire our blasters at the spiders, seeing as more of them were waking up and giving chase. Scowling at them, I aim my blaster and shoot one of them in the eye for an instant kill, but the others just crawl over it without a care, seeming more mad. Sabine then pulls out a detonator and throws it at the spiders as we start running again, leaving it to detonate and kill it behind us. Coming across an intersection however, more spiders were approaching from several tunnels.

"Here, I saved it for you," I tell Rex, handing him a pistol that I had I picked up. "Aim for the eyes."

"Thanks Boil," he says in reply.

He fires several shots at the spider, but while it's knocked around heavily, hit shots don't reach its eyes. Zeb then charges forwards with a yell and begins pummeling it with his fists and feet.

"Get back, ya stinking crawlers!" he yells, shooting its face off.

"They're boxing us in!" Sabine exclaims.

"I did not survive Geonosis just to be killed by a bunch of spiders!" I yell angrily, firing off a shot to kill another one of the spiders.

One of them pokes through the roof, and Hera takes aim at it before a blue lightsaber is stabbed through it. The spider falls to the ground dead, revealing Kanan and Ezra to be on top of it, and they immediately rush to the front of our group.

"Huh, glad you could drop in," Hera comments sarcastically.

"I wouldn't stand there if I were you," Ezra warns her. "Come on, we'll clear a path!"

Moments later, more spiders start to drop through the hole, and we all follow quickly after the two Jedi, blasting at the spiders following us every so often. Thankfully, we soon reach the surface again, and it was now night out. More and more spiders were pouring out of the holes in the nest, and we made a dash for the Ghost.

"Chopper, open up! Chopper!" Hera yells.

After a few moments the door opened up, and we all ran inside as fast as possible, closing the ramp just as the spiders tried swarming it. However by the sound of scuttling legs all around us, I could only assume they were now crawling all over the ship instead.

"These bugs just don't give up huh?" I say irritably.

"They are absolutely annoying," Rex says in agreement.

We follow after the rest of the crew to the main corridor of the ship and wait for them to get the Ghost ready for take off. To our horror however, the ship wouldn't budge even when giving the engines maximum power, because the kriffing spiders webbed us down! Absurd!

"We have to go outside and cut the ship free," I hear Ezra say.

"Yeah, fat chance surviving that!" Zeb exclaims through the comlink.

"Huh? Oh, that's great, Zeb. I'm gonna get eaten, the last Jedi in the galaxy, chomped up by some crawlers BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO AFRAID TO GO OUTSIDE!" Ezra yells furiously into his comlink.

"Zeb, You were eaten by a massive joopa, yet you can't handle these kriffing spiders?!" I add, entering the cockpit.

"They have multiple legs!" he retorts in disgust.

"We're missing something. Why didn't these things attack us before?" Kanan suddenly asks.

"You're right. They could've overrun the base, they didn't come near it," Hera points out.

"Sensor marker..." Sabine says quietly to herself.

I look it the cockpit window to where the lone marker was visible in the distance. One of the spiders goes a little to close to it, and then screeches, flaring back a few steps before continuing. I widen my eyes in realization.

"Wait, that's it!" I exclaim, and Sabine nods eagerly in agreement.

"Kanan! I think I know why they didn't attack the base," she says, pointing out the window. "Look! See that marker? When we was looking for Dicer out there, the creatures wouldn't come anywhere close!"

"They don't like the markers. And the base is surrounded by them!" Kanan says.

"If we can get it, we can use it to hold them off while we clear the ship," Hera says hopefully.

"Only problem is, how do we get to it?" Sabine asks.

"We got a breach! They're coming in through the airlock!" Rex exclaims in alarm.

I rush forwards after him as he opens one of the doors, revealing the ugly spider crawling through the airlock, going crazy once it sees us.

"Lousy crawlers!" I say irritably, pulling out my blaster.

"We'll hold 'em here. Get out and cut the ship loose!" Rex tells them.

The spider screeches at us, and we both start firing at it as the rest of the crew heads off to carry out the plan. Chopper watches just at the edge of the corridor, peeking his dome out uneasily.

Somehow, in the most absurd way possible the kriffing thing actually manages to crawl and fit its body all the way into the tiny airlock space, regardless of our blaster shots. It shrieks at us again, and I kick one of its legs away in retaliation, attempting to shoot out its eyes. However it seems to be realizing that weakness, as it keeps its head away from the blaster fire.

"Will you just die!" I exclaim angrily.

"It just keeps coming!" Rex adds in aggravation.

The spider then lashes out with its legs, throwing me back onto the ground with a grunt. It charges forwards into Rex, however he shoves back hard with a grunt, gritting his teeth. Scowling, I jump back to my feet and join him, furiously shoving the spider closer towards the airlock as it crawls fiercely in protest. I kick its face several times for good measure, but just as we have it pushed halfway out, the spider throws hits us back with its legs again, attempting to charge forwards again.

"You want some? Then come get it!" Rex exclaims, rushing forwards.

He jumps into the air and then drop kicks the spiders face, sending it tumbling outside to the ground below with a fierce screech.

"Hah! That's the way to do it!" I grin eagerly.

"Now Chopper, seal the door!" Rex orders.

Chopper all too quickly moves to comply, and moments later the airlock door was shut tight and locked, allowing us to sigh in relief. Not too much longer after that, the Ghost starts to take off into the air, meaning this ridiculous nightmare is over.

"So... how does that compare to the Geonosian Queen?" Rex asks me.

"Oh, those bugs are still the worst," I say, repulsed just at the thought of them. "But this was a close second."

"Whatever gets thrown at us, we're still gonna love to fight another day huh?" he replies with a grin.

"Don't we always?" I ask rhetorically in response, grinning.


Chopper Base; Atollon

Jarik POV...

Ahsoka pilots the ship to come in for a landing on one of the landing pads, a rebel officer guiding us down properly.

The Munificent frigate would be coming in shortly, piloted by some of Bail's most trusted men, so there was no need for us to worry about retrieving it ourselves. It's good to finally have a base to set things on, as keeping that cruiser away from the Empire's knowledge was stressful, particularly for Bail. Having a place now meant it could also help with extra space for the rebels, and with the fleet when needed.

"Well, we're finally here! And the new rebel base is on a desert world... great," Mara says sarcastically.

"Considering it's desert terrain, this place is actually very nice looking," Ahsoka comments.

"Trust me, this is an oasis compared to other desert planets," I add with a grimace.

"Whatever you say," she replies uncertainly, but shrugs. "Where do you think the rest of the guys are?"

"Guess we'll have to find out," I tell her.

We open the exit ramp and walk out, R5 coming along as well to get a good look of the base and explore around for a little bit. He certainly had the permission and authority to do so, but there was always the nagging worry that he might mess with people needlessly.

Can't believe Bail allowed R5 a rank of authority like how R2-D2 has one.

"Alright I'll admit," it's not that bad," Mara says.

"Not that bad she says," I tell Ahsoka, causing her to snicker quietly in amusement.

R5 beeps his agreement with Mara and rolls around, heading towards the communications and 'techy' areas to check them out as well. He was beeping his excitement the whole way, drawing some small smiles to our faces.

I suppose R5 does deserve this freedom considering he spends about 90% of his time on the Knight Hawk, since he firmly has no interest in strolling around Berk, and sometimes doesn't like moving around Temple Island either.

"So, where should we go first?" Mara asks us.

I wasn't paying attention however, as a chill from the Force suddenly swept through me. I thought I picked up the faint sound of an echoing chuckle in the distance, but I wasn't sure. The presence of something extremely powerful appeared in my view, lurking just beyond the range of my senses.

"Hello? Mom? Dad?" Mara asks in concern.

I snap out of the trance, and realize Ahsoka had done the same thing I just did. We share a look with each other, eyes wide before turning to Mara.

"Sorry Mara, what was your question?" she asks.

Mara narrows her eyes at us uneasily. "Are you guys okay?"

Ahsoka looks back out across the wilderness of Atollon, which was slowly brightening from the crack of dawn. I glance out there as well, connecting my thoughts to Ahsoka with the bond.

We both senses how something was calling to us...

"I don't know," she answers slowly in reply.

"What do you think it is?" I ask her.

"It's something powerful. Can you feel it calling to us?" she asks.

"Yeah, I can," I reply. "Do you think we should investigate?"

"...I think so. If there's something powerful lurking on Atollon, we should probably figure out what it is, in case it's possibly dangerous," she decides.

"Alright then."

"Actually Mara, why don't you go along with R5 to check out the base, maybe find the crew?" Ahsoka suggests.

"What? You serious?" she asks in surprise, staring suspiciously. "What are you going to do?"

"Have a look around the area, check out the environment," I answer in reply.

She looks between the two of us in confusion and suspicion. "Okay seriously, you guys are acting weird right now, and I don't like it!"

"It's a bit complicated," Ahsoka replies with a sigh. "There's something we can sense out there, something we need to check."

"Well, shouldn't we all go then?" Mara asks.

"It's calling to us," I tell her. "I think it's just something we have to do alone."

A small breeze picks up around us with the feeling of that presence blowing along with it, but due to Mara not reacting, whatever is calling is not interested in her, but rather in us.

"Okay... If you say so," she replies doubtfully.

"We'll be back before you know it Mara," Ahsoka reassures her, and the two of us move to retrieve a speeder bike.


I sped us through the wilderness on the speeder back while Ahsoka was sat behind me with her arms around my waist. The environment of Atollon was dry with hard desert sand, but there were also large coral formations acting as trees, showing that millions of years ago this planet used to be an ocean world.

There wasn't much to be said between us, so we merely kept ourselves open to our bond, sensing for the presence that calls us and sharing its direction with each other. After some time we could sense the presence of this person of creature flaring with power close by, and so I brought the speeder to a halt at the edge of a hill, which surrounded a small valley.

We both dismounted the speeder back and approached the edge of the hill, looking down into it. There were a few small dokma scurrying away, and some coral formations but aside from that, there was nothing else. The Force was saying otherwise, since the presence was right in front of us. Sharing a brief look with her, we start walking down the hill.

"We sensed your presence..." Ahsoka starts.

"...do you know us? Did you call us here?" I say, finishing the sentence.

We look intently around the small valley, standing in the middle of it. The presence was right on top of us, and very powerful in the Force for sure, yet there was nothing visible.

"You have come at last," a voice suddenly echoes, booming yet gentle.

The sound of rock and coral shaping and shifting has us both turning around, widening our eyes in surprise at the sight of the massive creature that uncurled before us, having previously been one of the coral formations. The coral on its head formed horns, and a thick orange beard ran down its face as it looked down at us with gray eyes in intrigue.

It is pleasing to finally meet you, Ahsoka Tano Shan, former Jedi Knight, and Jarik Shan, last of Revan's blood," he greets.

Me and Ahsoka share a surprised look it's each other at his introduction, and then redirect our gaze up to the creature.

"You know us?" she asks.

"The Force speaks very clearly of you," he states. "The path you have traveled is very strong, walking between the Light and the Dark."

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am the Bendu. The one of the middle. The one between the Light and the Dark," he introduces.

"So you're a Force wielder," Ahsoka says. "Being in the middle, do you know of the Father from Mortis?"

"Ah yes, I know of him. He's kept the balance between his children for as long as I can remember, although now that is no longer the case," he replies. "I still remember the unbalance I felt when Morai was killed, only to be set back once her brother fell too, lastly followed by Father. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," she tells him. "Your role sounds similar to his."

"Why did you call us here?" I ask him.

"Ah, so you heard my call, good," he says, sounding pleased. "I sensed your presence as soon as you arrived. There is much turmoil in the two of you, and along with the power you possess, you are as a violent storm on my quiet world."

"So you mean to help us then?" I deduce.

"Not help you. Rather, to help you help yourselves," he replies.

"To help ourselves?" Ahsoka asks in confusion.

"Tell me, why go to Malachor?" he questions.

We look up at him in surprise. "You know that we're planning on going to Malachor?" I ask.

"The Force does not lie. I merely obey its will," he states.

"This is certainly interesting..." Ahsoka tells me.

"Certainly," I reply, looking up towards the Bendu. "Well, going to Malachor is a necessity. Our mentor Master Yoda, is hoping that the planet may hold a key to how we might defeat the Sith."

"Hmm. The quarrel behind Jedi and Sith has always been needless," he states with a frown.

"Maybe..." I admit.

"...but the galaxy is ruled by an oppressive Empire, whose leaders happen to be Sith..." Ahsoka continues.

"...and to stop the cruelty and injustice dealt, we have to stop the Sith," I finish.

"Such is the natural way of life," he replies. "Cruelty is simply an expression of nature. Some beings more so than others."

"But should innocent people have to suffer at their expense? Is that not unjust?" Ahsoka questions in reply.

"Perhaps. But it is the way of things. I've lived through times of cruelty, and times of peace. They all have their beginnings and endings," Bendu remarks. "However that is not the greatest worry the two of you carry."

It's as if he could see right through, which I suppose he is a powerful enough creature to do so. Ahsoka glances at me before sighing.

"I'm worried about who I might face," she admits.

"Ah! The conflict becomes clear!" he declares with a smile. "One who worries about the future, and one who worries about their past."

I look up at Bendu warily when he says that, and he also glances at me knowingly, focusing his attention on Ahsoka for the moment.

"You fear to encounter one close to you, yet also wish to confront them," he deduces. "Who is it that troubles your mind then?"

"My old Master," she replies grimly. "He used to be someone I looked up to, yet now he has become someone to fear."

"Is it acceptance, or answers that you seek?" he asks.

"I wish to know why he would do the things that he's done. I want to be able to bring him back," she tells him.

"Ah. It is possible to do so," he muses. "Your weapon, may I see it?"

I raise an eyebrow at the request, sensing Ahsoka's confusion just as easily, but she does so anyways, pulling out her lightsaber and showing the shining white blade. He hums in approval at the sight.

"Your presence in the Force is much like moonlight. Silvery, pure in heart, and gentle," he comments. "Walking in the middle, yet still leaning towards the light, no doubt through your hosting of Morai's spirit."

"So is there a chance I can bring him back towards the light?" Ahsoka asks, deactivating her lightsaber.

"Nothing is ever certain my dear. I sense that your adversary carries much turmoil within himself. He will likely not concede," he says.

I glance at Ahsoka in concern, worrying over how she might take listening to this. I'm more than willing to help her try and bring Anakin back if we do encounter him on this mission, but the things he's done... they aren't easy to come back from. She breathes heavily for a moment before replying.

"Even so, I still have to try," she declares.

"You are set on this confrontation then?" Bendu questions.

"I have to know the truth," she replies firmly.

"So be it, but understand this, much will change of this encounter, including you," he warns.

"Isn't that true of all things, as time advances?" Ahsoka says questioningly.

"My dear, when I say change, I mean death," he states.

I freeze in alarm, whipping my head up to stare at Bendu with wide eyes before glancing at Ahsoka in terror, fearful of what might happen to her. She's just as surprised and uneasy, glancing at me nervously before steeling herself, looking back up at Bendu.

"So I will die?" she asks, too calmly for my liking.

"Will you? I didn't know that," he muses in reply, confusing us even further.

"Then whose death do you refer to? His?" I ask warily.

"Why ask me? I am not involved with the conflict that will occur on that world of Bogan," he replies, seemingly giving his own version of an uncaring shrug.

I slowly look over at Ahsoka and share a look with her, my mind racing over the fear of what might happen to Ahsoka. Bendu said that change on this mission will result in death, yet at the same time he says he doesn't know if death isn't the case...? He's even more confusing than Master Yoda!

"I don't like this Soka," I say uneasily. "If there's a possibility that you die..."

"There's always a possibility that we may die," she reasons. "But if Anakin is there on Malachor, I need to try and bring him back."

"But what if it doesn't work? What if he... if he kills you?" I shoot back fearfully.

"You brought back Barriss didn't you?" she points out. "I have to at least try. We, should try and bring him back, together."

I eventually concede with a reluctant sigh, knowing that she did have a point with Barriss. Still...

"And now onto your conflict then," Bendu says, turning his gaze onto me. "Your fears seem to dwell on what has been, and on your past connections with Malachor. May I ask why?"

"I've, never been to Malachor before," I tell him with a small frown of confusion.

"But you worry over your connection to it," he tells me. "In your blood runs a legacy of warriors that tasted Ashla and Bogan and found the middle in their end. Destroyers and defenders, conquerors and liberators, and now only one remains," he says, looking thoughtful. "It was the first, who turned the dark worlds of Malachor into what they have become today. Your thoughts dwell on this."

I furrow my brow uneasily, giving the Bendu a wary gaze before slowly nodding my head.

"I... I suppose so," I reply in agreement. "Revan's mistakes killed so many people, corrupted Malachor irreversibly, and also set loose the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus. Not to mention he only turned closer to the Sith after this."

"And you fear that fate may befall you?" Bendu asks.

"Yeah, I do," I answer grimly.

"As your companion shines like moonlight, you shine much like the sunlight. Strong, full of life and light, and full of goodness for what is needed in life," Bendu starts, getting my interest. "Yet much like a sun it can also sometimes be unpredictable, with powerful flares."

I front at him, not very pleased with his words. "I'm not sure how that helps me in this situation."

"You worry too much for what can or cannot be within the grasp of your power, rather than lets the events play out over time," he tells me. "The actions of your ancestors do not define your spirit today."

"Even so, you said yourself that I can be unpredictable," I remind him. "If I do follow a dark path away from what I want, how am I supposed to bring myself back from it?"

"You already have the answer," he states.

I raise an eyebrow, glancing at Ahsoka, who just shrugs.

"As the sun provides a moon with light and power, the moon will also provide the soothing light to balance the harsh brightness of the sun," Bendu says, looking between the two of us. "The two of you are as the Sun and the Moon, working in tandem with each other. Your destiny is interwoven to each other through the Force, and it is together when you are most powerful, though even this is yet a small inclination of what you will reach."

We both listen intently, our hearts fluttering a little bit about how he describes our connection, about how we need each other, and how we are at our most powerful when together. Yet his words about how there is so much more power than what we've felt already makes me wonder what that could possibly mean. And from what I'm hearing, it sounds like Ahsoka is the light that keeps me anchored in the goodness I wish to remain in, while I provide her with the strength and life to continue, or at least that's what it seems like.

"I think I understand..." I finally say in reply.

"So do I," Ahsoka adds in agreement.

"In order to face conflict, you must understand yourself," Bendu says in finality, smiling down at us. "Goodbye Ahsoka Tano, former Jedi Knight, and Jarik Shan of Revan's blood."

We share a smile with each other, but when we turn to look back up at the Bendu, we blink in surprise to see that he's just vanished, not anywhere in sight! A quick outstretch of our senses through the Force shows him to not be anywhere nearby either! Just what kind of creature is he...?

"Well... that was quite interesting," I remark, pulling myself out of my shock.

"Yeah, quite so," she agrees. "But we did learn a lot."

"A lot more than I ever imagined us learning when coming out here," I reply jokingly.


3rd person POV...

The Separatist Munificent frigate had finally arrived at Atollon, and was being set down in a massive clearing beside the coral trees that made up the rebel base. Boil and Rex were overseeing it being brought in, and everyone was giving a helping hand except for two others.

Ezra and Mara were both sitting on the ground near the fence of sensor markers, watching as one of the krynka walked by, the name of the spiders which was soon identified. Seeing it crawl along the ground, Mara grimaces a little.

"Yeah, those things sure are ugly," she says quietly.

Ezra scoffs in amusement, readily agreeing. "I'm gonna see if I can try this again," he tells her.

Reaching a hand out to the krynka, he closes his eyes and focuses on the Force, seeing if he can connect to its mind with the Force. The krynka immediately turns to look at him, and Mara glances between the two curiously. A moment later, the krynka charges forward with a shriek, causing the two teenagers to let out yells of alarm and stumble onto their backs. It stops at the fence before crawling away again, no longer interested.

"Fine! I guess we won't be friends!" he grumbles in exasperation.

Mara sits back up as he puts a hand behind his head to lay on the ground more comfortably.

"Well, at least you tried. Not all creatures will be the same," she comments.

"I guess," he replies.

The long call of a bird has the two teenagers look up into the air, where a green and white convor was circling around them. Ezra watches it with some confusion while Mara manages a small smile, recognizing the convor. The sight of the convor is soon joined by both Ahsoka and Jarik, who look down at the two with smiles on their faces.

"Ahsoka? Jarik?" Ezra asks excitedly, and they both get to their feet.

"I see the base is coming along nicely," Ahsoka observes.

"It's actually kind of cool now," Mara admits sheepishly, causing Jarik to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, but these creatures almost ruined it though," Ezra replies, gesturing towards the krynka crawling around. "No matter what I do I can't seem to connect with them."

Everyone looks out at the horizon as the krynka start to disappear behind the hill, but only Jarik and Ahsoka hear the echoing chuckle of Bendu through the Force, along with the small breeze that blows past them.

"In our experience, just when you think you understand the Force, you find out how little you actually know," Ahsoka says.

"I don't think I ever understood the Force to begin with," Ezra admits.

"No one can ever know all of it's mysteries," Jarik adds, causing Ahsoka to smile briefly at the two teenage Jedi. "We should get going."

Both he and Ahsoka then turn around and walk off, Mara and Ezra following after them, although not without giving one last look towards the horizon. On a ledge above them, Morai perches on a coral branch and lets out another long call, which Jarik and Ahsoka both hear.

Everything would change after this mission.


Well, this is it. The time has finally come for the Twilight of the Apprentice.

We got to see some more Boil action in this episode, yay! If you noticed I've also decided to have him included in the mission on Geonosis in the episode Legacy of Terror. Waxer would've been with him as well of course. I'll be updating that chapter in V2 when I reach that point.

Also did you like the Bendu in this chapter? Writing characters that are supposed to be as wise and knowledgable like Bendu is honestly really hard lol. (Thanks to Shadow Solaris for the idea of one of his comments though)

And with the question I gave up top at the start of this chapter, please tell me which you would prefer through a PM or review if you wish too, it would really help. Thanks so much for your continued support of this series, reading your reviews and positive feedback is so fun, and I love writing this!