Kiara was walking through the small rebel base when she heard her name called out. She turned to find Kanan heading her way. She paused and waited for her brother to catch up to her.

Brother.

That still felt strange to acknowledge. For so long she'd just accepted that the brother that she'd never gotten a chance to know was killed along with the rest of the Jedi. Yet here he was. And while he had the aura of calm that was often associated with the Jedi, she could also tell that he had a bit of a sarcastic bent to his personality that would shine through from time to time.

A family trait, perhaps?

"I wanted to discuss something with you," Kanan said once he joined her, and they continued to stroll through the base.

"What about?"

Kanan appeared a bit uncomfortable for a second before he said, "Your training."

"What training?" Kiara stopped and turned to face the man. She folded her arms as she waited for his reply.

"Training to help you with your force abilities."

"I don't have any desire to train to be a Jedi, Kanan. That time for me has long-since past."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But in any case, it can't hurt to gain a grip on the abilities that you already possess. To help you steer away from the dark side as well as have more control."

Control. That was something that she knew she lacked. As evidence of how many ship's systems she's had to replace over the years. She'd even had to make a minor repair to poor Tac yesterday after she'd gone back to the ship after meeting up with the others at the Mess Hall after she and Sabine had returned to the base. For that, she felt incredibly guilty. She'd been upset and hadn't even realized what she was doing until the techno-service droid fell out of the air when his boosters gave out on him.

After letting out a heavy sigh she nodded reluctantly. After all, it wasn't like she had much else to do at the base. They didn't need an archeologist at a rebel base, and she couldn't spy on the Empire from it, either. That meant that the skills she did have were absolutely useless now that she had fled the Empire. Aside from being able to bring in a few credits from the gaming tables, that is.

"Alright. On one condition. I don't want anyone else at the base to know about any of this. The last thing I need is for people to start to expect me to be another Jedi like you," Kiara said accepting that this was something that she actually really did need to do. "So, where do we start?"

Kanan was startled since he was sure that he'd have to talk her into working with him. "Well, I suppose we should start with the basics and go from there."

"Which would be what, exactly?"

"Meditation. Learning to remain detached regardless of what is going on around you." Kanan then added, "We'll take the Phantom out and work away from the rest of the base. Grab a bag and meet me there in an hour."


Sabine was working with Rex and Zeb to make sure that the base's defense systems were upgraded so that they'd be prepared should the Empire find them on Suaren. The Mandalorian knew that she could only do but so much with the equipment that she had on hand and made a note to figure out what she needed to make the system better.

She thought back to when she'd been on the casino planet with Kiara and wondered if they could go back. After all, she'd made winning look so simple and easy. A few good nights would be all that they'd need to get the credits needed to really give them a fighting chance in the event of an attack.

When she mentioned it to the men, they both agreed that they wouldn't mind adding a few system upgrade ideas of their own. Sabine then started to mull over an idea. One that may not be one to implement just yet but one that could be helpful for them in the long run. She figured that she'd run it by Hera first. And of course, if they did that, they may need to set aside some of the credits that Kiara had been able to win this week as seed money for the plan.


Kiara operated the controls of the Phantom and dropped out of hyperspace just a few systems away from the rebel base. There was a small moon with an old Clone Wars' era base there. She figured that Kanan had decided that it would be best to bring her out away from everyone. Not only to see to it that the others didn't realize that she was force sensitive but also to protect them in the event that her powers went haywire.

"Cozy," Kiara said as guided the ship toward the old, abandoned base. "So how did you find this?"

"Rex."

"Why didn't the leadership choose to use this base instead of building from scratch on Suaren?"

Kanan shrugged, "I guess they thought that it wasn't big enough for the cell. This was a small listening post that only a few clones were stationed at back during the war."

When the ship came to rest just outside the old base the two went outside and Kanan led Kiara inside. The place wasn't in that bad of shape considering its age. Once they had the power to the station switched back on Kanan figured that they'd best go ahead and get started.

"Alright, we'll start with trying to learn some basic meditation techniques. Find a place to sit down and let's get comfortable."

Kiara glanced around the mostly vacant room that they'd made their way to and decided to find a place next to the wall. She had no idea how long this was going to take and if nothing else, she wanted to be able to lean against it if she got tired.

"Alright, the first thing we're going to go over is how to stay in the moment. Not concentrate on our anxieties or worries. They don't matter when we are meditating. Clear your mind."

Kiara closed her eyes and set her hands on her knees as she listened to Kanan start to try to guide her through a Jedi meditation.

"Concentrate on the force. Feel it flow through you. With the force there is no beginning and no ending. It simply is."

Kiara lost track of time. Every so often Kanan's voice would breathe through the silence. As she allowed him to guide her further into the meditation, however, his voice began to sound more distant.

"When you are at peace, passive, calm, the force will help you discern the dark side from the light. Will help you turn from the darkness and embrace the light."

When Kanan finally put a hand on her shoulder to end the exercise it was late. The sun was starting to go down on the small listening post. Kiara looked around when she realized that they'd actually been meditating for a couple of hours.

"How did it get so late?"

"You went deeper in than I expected on your first attempt. We can work some more on this, tomorrow." Kanan reached down to help pull his sister to her feet.

"Answer me something, how will this help prevent me from fritzing out computer systems and stuff like that when I get upset? How does this help with control?"

Kanan gave a smile as he answered. "It helps build a foundation for you to draw on; helps keep you focused when you feel yourself starting to get to the point of losing control."

"And this really works?"

"Well," he paused for the right words before continuing, "You definitely get more out of it the more you put in. So, it isn't a shortcut, by no means. But yeah, it works. Even when I was hiding from the force before I first met Hera and started the fight against the Empire, I would sometimes subconsciously draw on the lessons that I'd learned as padawan. Without them, I likely wouldn't have been able to survive those years of being on the run on my own."

Kiara walked with Kanan to where they had left their small amount of supplies for the night as she asked about those years. As they set up for the night and ate their evening meal of rations that he'd brought with them Kanan told her of the various jobs that he'd taken during his years on the run. Listening to them, it seemed that her brother had gone through a period of having a death wish considering the jobs that he took. Among them, flying and hauling around highly volatile explosives for a mining company.

She could tell by listening to the stories that while there may have been a few moments here and there, for the most part, those years had been incredibly lonely. She could empathize with him. With the exception of her brief friendship during her academy days where she'd first met Alexsandr, she didn't allow herself to get too comfortable with others during her time in the Empire. Not that it had been a big deal. Friendships were highly discouraged. So, she went for years with colleagues, and eventually contacts, when she made some within the budding rebellion, but no friends. Friends were a luxury who could only get hurt if she were ever found out as a force sensitive. And she'd already watched enough death thanks to her when she watched the Inquisitor tear through the camp when she was on a dig when the Empire first took over. She never wanted to be responsible for that kind of death and destruction again.


The two siblings found the old bunk room that had once housed eight clones at a time and slept on the abandoned beds that night after their long conversation during and after their evening meal. They'd been sleeping for hours when Kiara began to toss and turn as she visited her past in her dreams. She usually didn't think about the past but speaking about it with Kanan seemed to open old wounds.

Kanan woke when he could sense a disturbance across the room. He sat up as a computer panel blew, causing sparks to fly from the old wiring within the wall. He knew that Kallus had told him that Kiara tended to break things when she was upset. This was different than the display that she'd demonstrated in the Moff's, their father's, office. This wasn't using the dark side, but it was an example of how little control she had when she let her guard down.

"Kiara." Kanan stood and listened and realized that Kiara was deep in a dream. "Kiara, you need to wake up." He shouted just a bit louder. "Kiara, wake up."

Kiara began to stir and after a few moments she was able to realize that the sound of Kanan's voice wasn't a part of her dream. She groggily woke up and looked around to see what had caused him to wake her up. When she saw the sparking wires at the wall's computer panel it was a clear indication that the meditation session that she'd been guided through hours prior had been countered by her walk down memory lane.

"Great."

"Are you okay?" Kanan asked now that Kiara was awake.

"Yeah, sure." Kiara sat up and looked at her chronometer and realized that there wasn't enough left of the night to try to go back to sleep. She groaned and got up and started to work on the computer panel to turn off the power supply to it so that it wouldn't catch fire later on. "Sorry for the wakeup call."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Nope." Kiara continued to tinker with the panel until the sparks ceased. "I'll head back to the main corridor. Feel free to try to get some more sleep."

Kanan tilted his head and reached out to stop her from leaving. "Wait."

"What is it?"

"We're not alone here anymore." Kanan's hand went to his lightsaber. "Stay here."

"But-"

"It's an Inquisitor and you don't have a lightsaber. So, stay here."

With that Kanan slipped out of the small bunkroom and went in search of the dark side force user. Kiara was torn between being insulted at having been told to hang back and actually doing what she'd been told. Logically, she knew that she wouldn't have a chance in a fight against an Inquisitor. Yes, she'd come across them before she joined the Empire, but she'd escaped by hiding and just being quicker than them. But in combat, she was woefully outmatched.

Hell, Kanan was right. She doesn't have a lightsaber. She's not a Jedi. Nor does she want to become one. But other than a Sith, which wasn't an option at all, what were her choices so that she wouldn't be regulated to hiding while others fought?

She listened as the battle got closer to the bunkroom. It sounded as if it was just a hallway away. But something felt off. Something was going to happen. She didn't know what, but she didn't question her sense. It had helped her many times over the years. She turned off the lights and stood beside the door with her blaster drawn. When the door opened the room was filled with a red light. Kiara fired her blaster but wasn't surprised when the bolts were deflected. She looked up and saw a woman holding a double lightsaber and she looked to Kiara with a sinister smile. She brought the lightsaber up in preparation to strike but Kiara launched herself at the other woman's legs. She knew that her only chance would be to prevent her from being able to use the lightsaber in the small room.

Kiara had taken the female Inquisitor by surprised since she'd figured that the non-Jedi would be dispatched easily enough. Instead, she found herself in hand-to-hand combat as Kiara grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the weapon in it. She rolled from side to side as she fought for control of the weapon as the lightsaber began to spark before the lightsaber's red blade disappeared back into its sheath and rendered the weapon harmless.

When the Inquisitor realized what had happened, she looked at Kiara in surprise. She wasn't a Jedi. At least, she shouldn't be one since she had waited for her holding a blaster, not a lightsaber. She rolled onto the mystery woman and leaned over her as she pressed her arm against her throat. She used her force powers to keep Kiara held to the floor. She wouldn't need her lightsabers to dispatch this woman.

Kiara didn't know why she couldn't free her arms. She struggled but the Inquisitor suddenly seemed much stronger than she had been just a moment ago. Now she found herself fighting off the lack of air as the woman leaned into her throat. Through her vision that was beginning to darken at the outer edges she spotted where her blaster had fallen to the floor. She tried to recall the calming techniques that Kanan had started to teach her earlier as she focused on the blaster. Only on her blaster; and the force.

The Inquisitor was feeling quite pleased with herself when she saw that the woman's eyes closed and believed that she'd succeeded in causing the woman to pass out, but she wasn't going to stop until she finished the job. She leaned further into her only to be shot from behind.

When the Inquisitor's hold on her was released, she pushed the limp body off of her as she panted and gasped for air. How long had she gone without any? It likely felt much longer than it had been, but her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. When her breathing finally steadied she listened and realized that she couldn't hear Kanan's battle with the second Inquisitor any longer. She stumbled to her feet and grabbed her blaster and went to the door. After a moment to collect herself, she opened the door and was surprised to see that someone was on the other side of it.