7 AJP: a young, red headed girl in traditional Jedi robes stood in the middle of a quarry on Lankade 7. A boulder that was no more than 70 pounds floated in the air, the girl seemed to be guiding it with one of her hands. This girl was Mara Jade, she had learned much since she met her master a over a year prior, so much so that she was much farther ahead than most Padawans would have been at her age. Her master, Jaren Ko, watched her from a distance, a smile on his face, he was incredibly proud of how skilled his apprentice was in the ways of the Force and how knowledgeable of Jedi traditions she was.
Jaren looked at his apprentice, she was incredibly focused, more focused than he was during training.
"Mara!" he called to get her attention, he motioned his hands apart as if he was splitting something. That was all the permission Mara needed, she put both of her hands in the air and began to move them apart causing the boulder to crack. The boulder split apart like butter, Mara looked to her master and bowed, looking up cheekily to smile. Jaren laughed, Mara knew she didn't have to lift a boulder that size, she just wanted to show off, it was part of her charm. Jaren had gotten used to her tendency to show off early in Mara's training, it was easy, he was the same way at her age.
"So, whatcha think?" Mara asked. Jaren walked closer and kneeled in front of her.
"You did rather well for someone so early in there training. You passed." Jaren told her warmly.
"Does that mean I can finally get a lightsaber?" Mara excitedly inquired. Jaren stood up.
"No..." Jaren told her, walking closer to her, "not yet, you still have much to learn before we can leave this planet. Remember the Empire is present nearly everywhere else in the galaxy, you need a higher level of skill to avoid them." Mara looked down, she was disappointed, though Jaren tried to sympathize, he couldn't, at this point in his training he already had his own lightsaber, sure he didn't build it, but it was his to use, but they were currently living a different time, a darker time, they had to be careful, they had to remain on Lankade 7 as long as they could, even if it meant disappointing Mara, so long as they remained safe.
Mara didn't understand, she didn't fear the Empire like her master, she wanted to take to fly headlong into the hangar of an Imperial Star Destroyer, while all Jaren wanted was to stay on Lankade 7. She didn't even know why he was training her, it was clear that he had no intentions of overthrowing the Empire, all he wanted to do was bring the Jedi back in secret, without the Empire knowing, but how would he be able to do that, something like that would eventually come to the attention of the Empire, not even the Hutts could cover something like that up. In Mara's mind they only had two options, fight the Empire or die trying, and unfortunately Jaren won't let her choose either one.
"I sense your anger and frustration, Mara. You must not let those feelings control you, anger leads to the dark side of the force, you must steer clear of that pa-"
"Enough!" Mara raised her voice, cutting Jaren off, "You treat me like a child, and I may be one, but you're no more experienced than me, why should I be treated differently. You said you were-" Mara stooped, she didn't want memories from his past to flood back into Jaren's head. She hung her head in shame, expecting to be scolded by her master. Jaren knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Mara…" he said softly, "... I am not angry, I am not even disappointed, every Jedi struggles, at some point, with the dark side. You will learn to ignore the emotions, like anger and frustration, that will lead you down that path."
Mara hugged her master. Jaren didn't know what to say, all he could do was hug her back. The daughter he never had. The daughter he never had the chance to have. Mara looked at her master and smiled.
"By the way. Stop talking like you're on the Jedi council." Mara joked, "Use a contraction, talk like yourself, be casual." Jaren chuckled, she seemed older than she really was, she was different than anyone he had ever known, she was definitely different from any Jedi he had known, but at the same time eerily similar, she was as quippy as General Obi Wan Kenobi, and as potentially ruthless as Anakin Skywalker, out of everything else, her similarity to Skywalker is what scared him the most.
Mara may have been incredibly strong in the Force, and strong in general, but she needed rest nonetheless. Jaren brought Mara to the small home they built 7 months previous. He had intended to tell regale her with stories of how the Jedi used to be, but she fell asleep almost as soon as they got through the door. Jaren figured he wouldn't stay now that Mara was asleep in her bed, he would go to the local bar.
Jaren set off immediately, he didn't bother to change into clean clothes when he went out, he didn't care, the bar, one of many in the area, was crawling with scum and criminals who probably hadn't bathed in decades. He did bring his lightsaber though, he always did, just incase.
As he walked into the bar, a smell so foul that it could kill a Hutt smacked Jaren right in the face, it was a miracle that he didn't vomit. "This place is almost as bad as Mos Eisley" he thought, he remembered Mos Eisley vividly, he had been on an undercover mission with his master there.
Bad memories began flooding back into Jaren's head. His master practically raised him, if it wasn't for him Jaren probably wouldn't have survived the first year of the Clone Wars. He hadn't seen him since…
...since the Purge.
The Council wouldn't approve of this, they wouldn't approve of Jaren getting drunk every night, but that didn't matter, they were dead, the Jedi order didn't exist anymore.
"No" Jaren thought, he came to the bar to prevent these thoughts, he would never admit it to himself but that was why he was there, and he would not let himself think back to that time again today. Instead he would drown himself in liquor and drunken ignorance.
Jaren sat down, payed for a drink, and began drinking. Soon one drink became two, and two became seven, and seven became twenty, the only reason he hadn't passed out by that point was because of his Force-sensitive nature. Eventually, people began crowding around him, and he began telling stories, stories he shouldn't have told, stories he had never told anyone any other time he came to the bar, Jedi stories, it was blindingly obvious to everyone in the bar that he was a former Jedi,. After that, he passed out, even as a Force-sensitive he was overwhelmed by the amount of liquor he drank. No one tried waking him, no one gave him a second glance, it wasn't because the patrons of the bar were bad people, though most of them did have a couple of life sentences, this just happens every day, every day someone passes out, unconscious drunks were as common as people buying a drink there.
Jaren didn't wake up until the next day. The hangover was bad, he felt like he was about to vomit, his internal organs were burning and his head felt like it was about to explode, that wasn't his main concern though, he was more worried about Mara, she was probably worried sick.
He made his way back to his and Mara's home, he was expecting to see her waiting at one of the tables for him, all of their makeshift kitchen utensils floating around her either to keep herself entertained or to show off, but that wasn't what he found. In the middle of Jaren's home was a bounty hunter, he had a blaster pointed to Mara's head.
"So you're the guy I was sent to retrieve." The bounty hunter said, "You don't seem as mentally there as you're supposed to be, you know, for a Jedi."
The memories came flooding back, Jaren had told some of the worst scum in the galaxy that he was a Jedi, he had made a horrible mistake.
"Get… get away from her." Jaren managed to say, still recovering from the egregious amount of liquor he had managed to drink a day previous. The bounty hunter inched the blaster closer to Mara's head, never loosening his grip on her hands as to keep her from using any of her abilities.
"Only if you agree to come with me." The bounty hunter told him. Jaren was having none of it, he wasn't going to go with some bounty hunter, if he did the bounty hunter would most likely just leave Mara on Lankade 7 to die. The way he saw it, there was only one choice. He grabbed the metal hilt on his belt and took it off, getting into a fighting position. He eyed the bounty hunter in the face from across the room.
"You just made a major mistake." Mara said to the bounty hunter. She was right. Jaren pressed the button on the hilt.
The room was bathed in a green light, an artificial humming sound came from where Jaren stood, the bounty hunter stood there looking at Jaren in shock, he had never seen a lightsaber before.
"I said..." Jaren uttered, "let. Her. Go."
"You don't scare me." The bounty hunter said, "You're drunk, what are you going to d-" Mara stomped the bounty hunter's foot, causing him to let go of her. She then used the force to pushed him away from her, making him incredibly angry.
"Should have kept an eye on my feet!" Mara taunted.
"I can kill you both blindfolded, you are making a mistake. I will spare you both if you come with me." Jaren wasn't listening, his grip on his lightsaber tightened, the bounty hunter took a step back, he was afraid. "Fine, have it your way."
"Stop!" A voice said from the door. Jaren turned to look, the man was wearing robes, Jedi robes.
"Who are you?" Jaren asked, readying his lightsaber to battle both the bounty hunter and this mysterious stranger,
"So you are a Jedi. I can't believe it." The stranger said in amazement.
"Maybe I am. I'll say it again, who are you?" Jaren inquired angrily, his head beginning to clear.
"Yes, sorry I was just relieved, I thought we were the only ones left."
"We?" Jaren said.
"Let me explain, my name is Kareth Tek, I was a general during the Clone Wars. I was on Alderaan during the Purge, it was a miracle that I escaped. As for "we", I've managed to find three other surviving Jedi, I sent this fool here to retrieve you, I thought it would have made things easier, I was obviously wrong. Luckily I came here just incase what transpired here happened, and it did." Kareth explained.
"How did you know I was here?" Jaren couldn't process what was going on, he couldn't be a Jedi, but his robes, the way he carried himself, maybe this guy was who he said he was.
"News travels fast across the HoloNet, my friend. You're lucky I came here before the Empire arrived, the entire galaxy knows you exist now."
"Enough chit-chat." The bounty hunter said. "Where are my credits?"
"You went against what I told you to do, you threatened who I assume to be this man's apprentice, you were going to attempt to kill them both and you failed to convince him on your own, you aren't getting your credits." Kareth frustratingly told the bounty hunter.
"Give me my damn credits" the bounty hunter said, he quickly pointed his blaster at Kareth and fired three times. A split second later, Kareth deflected all three laser blasts to different parts of the room using his lightsaber, which emitted a beautiful blue light.
The bounty hunter unholstered another blaster to try and gain an advantage, but Jaren lunged at him and cut both of the bounty hunter's blasters in half. Mara force pushed him into a wall, knocking the bounty hunter out.
"Come with me, the Empire will have sent someone here by now." Kareth said, "If we're lucky, we'll only have to deal with an army."
"I assume the alternative is Darth Vader?" Jaren asked.
"Exactly."
Jaren was hesitant to leave, but at this point, if Darth Vader was who the Empire sent and they had to face him in combat, they would be much safer off planet than they would be if they stayed on Lankade 7.
"Come on, Mara. We're going with Kareth." Jaren said begrudgingly.
"Aw." Mara whined, "I want to fight Darth Vader."