Nik had his own giant, glass-top table for himself. He stared blankly at the blurred image of the room and faraway windows of the balcony while the droids poured his morning water glass and fruit juice. Eye-Two had just finished the first morning horror, so Nik was trying to remember what he was supposed to be thinking.

All he knew was that it wasn't anything about being Darth Tovecus or passion, or victory . . . He glanced around for an idea. All that Tovecus business seemed to be right, but he knew it wasn't right. Yet how could he convince himself it was wrong unless he remembered what was right?

His eyes returned to the glass table and saw the shape of the distant window reflecting as in a shining rectangle. With familiarity, he looked to the balcony, or what he could see of it from here, and he squinted at the slice of daylight over the edge of it. The sun glowed into the dark suite as if showing him the way home.

Home?

N5 placed a gold-trimmed plate of breakfast on the tablemat in front of him and Nik immediately stabbed for a tasteless bite. He wasn't used to this food. It was too bland. He wanted spicy. He wanted richness. He wanted . . . .

"Cheesecake."

N4 angled over. "I beg your pardon, my lord? What is 'cheesecake'?"

Nik angled back to look at the silver protocol like he'd fried a chip. "You don't know what cheesecake is?"

N4 shook his head. "I'm sorry, my lord. I'm not programmed for that particular item."

"Well, get programmed with it!" Nik spat. He knocked the base of his fork against the glass table with a childish thud. "Your emperor wants cheesecake! Figure it out!"

This had Nik grinning at himself, but he immediately forgave himself for it too. He resumed eating this tasteless food without pause. If cheesecake got him through this mess, what's the harm?

He remembered when mom brought home a cheesecake from a vendor she found in the street. He grinned at the memory. It was tasty, but there was something in it that made Kay Kay throw up for a half an hour—

Kay Kay. He thought, and he chewed as he gazed out through that window in more thought.

Kay Kay's my little sister. That's right. My name is Nikolai Lendra. Not Darth Tovecus. I remember now. . . . And he grinned a little more. Grandpa taught me how to meditate last night. That must be why I feel so good today. He stabbed at a new bite and smiled at himself.

Nik considered this as a strategy. If he could train his mind to come back with a mere glimpse of the sunlight, then he could lean into everything Jakobi and the droids tried to throw at him. They were trying to brainwash him into this; therefore, the more he acted brainwashed, the less they would work him over. Additionally, using Grandpa's meditation trick further refreshed his soul so that he had the mental energy to fight it. This was a good day, for now Nik had a plan.

As Luke drove them away from Leia and Han's place, Kess gazed out at that sidewalk cutting through the trees where she had quit her training months ago. The family dinner was an enjoyable break, but she made herself accept that she was just as worn out and stressed today as she was back then. Her worries kept drifting back to Nik. She needed to meditate. She needed some hard sleep. She vaguely remembered whispering a suggestive comment to Luke earlier, but that was hours ago. Now, she was too exhausted for any of it.

But she didn't have time to be tired. They were leaving—forever—for the biggest challenge they ever faced, in nine days.

Luke pulled up to the curb outside her barracks and parked. Kess wasn't sure if he forgot her earlier suggestion, detected how tired she was, or was just keeping up with appearances again. She looked over. Several troops were lounging on the entrance steps, chatting lively.

Luke looked darkly at the troops before looking passively over at her.

Kess wondered why it didn't bother her anymore. Family knew. Friends knew. That was all that really mattered. Letting the Newsnets know was all political and nothing personal, and it came with the added hassle of receiving questions from strangers that were nobody's business. Kess wasn't sure if she was ready for that either.

The idea of it shifted her mind back to memory, when she herself watched Luke on the Newsnets for so many years. She was hungry for hints of his personal life. She wanted to claim it was only because she was curious how the new Jedi lived, but she knew that wasn't true. The Big Hero influenced her, and so she cared about his well-being, even though she'd never met him. The tabloid covers with the two of them in training wouldn't have sold so well if the general public didn't care. The grapevine wouldn't have whispered about them so widely if the troops weren't interested. Letting the public know would create an immense distraction, and they needed to focus on other things right now. Kess accepted that this public announcement, however it happened, was better to wait until after this colossal mission.

"I owe you an apology," she said, watching that small crew of strangers trying to pretend not to watch them back.

His face cringed mildly at her. "For what?"

"Being part of your fan market." She said, unsure how to word it. "For eight years I was one of the fools that wouldn't let you have a private life. Now I'm seeing it from the other side . . ." she looked him in the eye, "I'm sorry about that."

Luke shrugged one shoulder and searched for something to say.

"You get to choose . . . when. And how." She told him. "And take all the time you need."

"Wow. Where did you get this patience?" He sighed and grinned anew, "I know you didn't get it from me."

Kess smiled back as she climbed out of the speeder. "Where do you think?"