Chapter Four

Kyp Durron was pleased. Luke Skywalker had left him in charge while he attended a Senate meeting, and so far nothing had gone wrong. Well, except for the younger apprentices who kept poking each other or using the "h" word. With a sigh, Kyp shut down his datapad and decided that a bit of sparring might be a good way to end his peaceful day. There had to be [I]something[/I] that could relieve the boredom.

He sensed Jacen outside of his door, as well as two Jedi he didn't recognize. Kyp rose to his feet. "Come in, Jacen."

Jacen and the two young men entered the office. Kyp recognized instantly that they were both well trained Knights. "Have you found yourself a couple of renegades?"

The taller blue eyed man took immediate offense. "Renegade?"

"What else am I to call you?" Kyp asked. "I've never met you before, and you are obviously a trained Jedi. You are not a part of the established order."

"With that logic, you could be considered a renegade to us," the other Jedi said. "We don't know you, and you are not a part of either of our established orders."

"Either of yours?" Kyp asked. He felt a headache coming on. "Do you mean to tell me that you aren't from the same renegade organization?"

"Yes," the shorter Jedi replied. "But we're friendly with each other."

"Wonderful," Kyp said, now regretting he had wished away his boredom. "We have two renegade organizations that are friendly to each other. We already have enough problems with the politicians distrusting us after the war with the Yuuzhan Vong. And now we have two renegade organizations that didn't even bother to aid the Republic during the war?" Kyp curled his lips in a small, condescending smile. "But don't worry, Luke would have my head if I didn't welcome you here."

"We certainly feel…welcome," the shorter Jedi said as he exchanged a glance with the taller one. "But you cannot fault us for not coming to your aid during your war any more than we can fault you for not helping us during ours."

"What?" Kyp rounded on Jacen. "Where exactly did you find these two?"

Jacen looked at him steadily. "The lower levels of Coruscant. And had you not started jumping to conclusions so quickly about them, I might have explained the situation to you earlier."

Apparently Jacen still hadn't forgiven Kyp for tricking Jaina into blowing up that Yuuzhan Vong worldship, something that Kyp regretted in hindsight. Not that he'd ever admit that to Jacen. "Then explain."

"Were you aware that Uncle Luke asked Anakin and me to retrieve the Crystal of Transportation?"

"Of course," Kyp said with a smirk. He was certain that Luke had sent them on that errand to get his nephews out of his hair for awhile.

"Well, Valin Horn followed us," Jacen said, hesitating. "And he and Anakin decided to use it."

"And?"

"It worked." Jacen gestured to the Jedi standing beside him. "They disappeared and were replaced by Cliegg Lars," he pointed to the taller Jedi, "and Garm Idanion. They're Jedi of the Old Republic. According to Garm, the affects should only last a day."

Sithspit. "This isn't one of your stupid jokes, is it Jacen?"

Jacen glared at him. "I assure you, it's not."

"Great," Kyp said as he wondered why the Solo kids couldn't do incredibly stupid things like traveling to the past on Luke's watch. He was also fairly certain that Corran Horn would blame him for the loss of Valin. "Why don't we throw them at the politicians? They're always complaining that we aren't enough like the Old Republic Jedi."

"That would go over well." Jacen rolled his eyes. "Garm and I have decided that it would be best if they didn't learn too much about their future."

Kyp nodded. "And you disagree, Cliegg?"

Cliegg shrugged. "Knowledge is power."

"True," Kyp said as he studied the younger man carefully. Or was that technically older man? Cliegg had an air of recklessness about him and an underlying anger strong enough to rival Kyp's own. He frowned. "But believe me when I say that you don't want to know what the future holds for you. Assuming, of course, that it can't be changed."

"But would it change for the better or worse?" Garm demanded. "Anything that changes in the past could cause any of you to cease existing. I am not taking that chance."

"There are fewer than a hundred Jedi on Coruscant, Garm," Exasperated, Cliegg said, "You would risk thousands of lives for forty?"

Garm folded his arms. "Master Yoda would advise against us trying to learn anything, Cliegg."

Cliegg raised an eyebrow. "Since when do Corellians listen to Master Yoda?"

"When he makes sense, we do," Garm answered. "The future is always in motion. Whatever has happened here may not actually be what the future holds. But if we actually hear of some great tragedy that occurs to the Jedi, it will shadow our entire lives even if it doesn't happen. Has it escaped your notice, Cliegg, that we are dead?"

"Excuse me?"

"None of the Jedi here recognized our signatures in the Force or know our names," Garm pointed out. "I do not want to know how I die."

"Why?" Cliegg demanded. "Why wouldn't you want to know if it can be prevented?"

"Sometimes, it shouldn't be," Garm said softly.

"No." Cliegg objected with such dangerous recklessness that Kyp nearly reached for his lightsaber. He suddenly saw himself in the younger man, when he had been seduced by Exar Kun's call to greater power.

Determined to break up the argument, Kyp cleared his throat. Garm was the more logical of the two, but his realization that both he and Cliegg were dead raised a chill up Kyp's spine. "Garm, what would the Jedi of your time do with Anakin and Valin?"

Garm shrugged. "They would likely assign them Masters to keep them out of trouble."

"Then I will do the same for you, at least until Luke can sort this mess out." Kyp pursed his lips. "Jacen, why don't you let Garm follow you around? I could use Cliegg's help around here."

Jacen nodded. "I can do that, Kyp."

"Thank you," Kyp said as gestured for Jacen to leave. There was no way he was going allow anyone else to watch a loose laser turret like Cliegg.

***

Jacen led Garm out of Kyp's office, his mind racing. It hadn't occurred to him that Garm and Cliegg were dead. He had always felt sad that the Jedi of the past had been purged, but it hadn't affected him personally before. Despite the fact that Garm and Cliegg had replaced his brother for a day, he couldn't help liking them. How could he look either one of them in the eye and tell them that his grandfather would be there demise?

He also felt somewhat strange as a temporary Master to Garm.

"Your Kyp Durron is an interesting Master," Garm offered, breaking the silence.

"He's a bit unconventional," Jacen admitted. "But he's a good Master."

Garm nodded. "You don't like him."

"He tried to date my sister," Jacen said as he clenched his hand into a fist. "After lying to her."

"Ah." Garm smiled. "I imagine that I will object to any young man trying to date my daughter."

"You have a daughter?" Jacen also distinctly remembered Garm flirting with Jaina.

"I think that I will, eventually. For now, I am quite happily single."

Jacen refused to point out that Garm could die before he ever married. But what had given the man the impression that he would eventually have a daughter? Jacen wondered if he knew her. Garm certainly reminded him of someone. "Will my brother really be safe in your time?"

"As safe as possible, I would say," Garm answered carefully. "They will give him a Master to make certain of it."

"Good," Jacen said. He hoped that Garm's time wasn't anywhere close to the purges. He then remembered that earlier, Garm had mentioned the Clone Wars. "There aren't any Sith around?"

Garm missed a step. "There have been a couple, but Obi-Wan Kenobi killed one."

"And the other?"

"Master Yoda nearly defeated him, but he got away," Garm explained. "I wouldn't worry, Jacen. There is no way the Council will let those boys leave the temple, and there are thousands of Jedi living there."

Jacen refrained from pointing out that it had only taken two Sith to destroy thousands of Jedi. Thousands. Jacen shivered. "I can't imagine there being thousands of Jedi around. We've never had more than a hundred."

Garm gave him a sharp look. "Every child born into the Republic was tested."

"How did the Jedi have time for that?"

"The blood test doesn't require a Jedi, Jacen."

Jacen stumbled. "They tested Force sensitivity by blood? How?"

Garm offered him a quick explanation of the midichlorians, which Jacen listened to in fascination. If the Jedi could test by blood, their numbers would increase considerably.

"Can you show me what to look for?" Jacen asked.

"Do you have access to a lab?"

Jacen nodded. "In the infirmary."

"Are you a Healer?"

"I've been an apprentice for about a year now," Jacen said, already leading the way toward the infirmary.

"But you're a Knight, aren't you?"

"I chose to be a Healer after being Knighted," Jacen answered. "I was tired of death, Garm. I didn't feel that killing was the true path of a Jedi, and when Healer Cilghal told me I had an innate talent for healing, I asked her to apprentice me."

"So you left the fight to heal?"

Jacen shook his head. "During the war it was necessary to fight. But at least now I can help repair the damage I've caused. It…helps."

"I understand," Garm said softly. "You've been able to make peace with yourself."

Jacen nodded. "Exactly."