Chapter 10

It wasn't until several minutes later, as Kyle and Sariss were explaining the attack they had survived to Aldera's security forces, that Kyle realized he was bleeding. Apparently there had been a glitch in their system the moment Kyle and Sariss had arrived, one official had been explaining, when Sariss noticed the blood slowly darkening Kyle's robes.

"Oh yeah," he said, after she pointed it out, "I forgot I got hit when we were above the explosion."

"You forgot?" Sariss said, her face was still very pale, and Kyle wondered if she would be sick.

"Yeah, adrenaline I guess," he said. Before she could reply, one of the officials stepped forward.

"Sir, if you'll follow me, I can take you to a medical facility, there's one close by."

"Sure," Kyle said, "but I want all the info your men gather, and you should also have someone report this to the Republic embassy. It was their uniforms they were wearing, I want to know how they got there."

"Yes, sir," the security official said. He lead Kyle to a small speeder and took him and Sariss to the medical facility.

Twenty minutes later Kyle was sitting on a medical bed, his pants off and with pulling bit after little bit of shrapnel out of his leg.

Sariss was sitting next to him, and Kyle kept trying to get her to focus on his face, rather than his torn, bloody and now disinfected leg. Her face was still pale, but getting better.

"You're handling this well," Kyle said.

"What part?" she said. "Knowing that I've killed someone, that we were almost killed, or watching a droid pick bits of metal out of your leg."

"I'll go with all of the above," Kyle said. "Look you haven't thrown up yet, and you're shaken by the fact that you killed someone, both of those are good things. It shouldn't ever feel normal to take a life, but we had no other options, and not all of them are dead. This was your first encounter with death and it leaves a toll. Trust me though, you're handling it well. As for me, you know I've had worse."

Sariss was going to respond but was cut off by a deep and familiar voice. "Yes, somehow you always seem to survive, no matter what the circumstances," Anslinger said as he entered the room. He pulled his hood back to reveal a face that looked older than Kyle had remembered, even though it had only been a few years.

"Master," Kyle said, "or should I say General now. Congratulations."

"I am first and foremost a Jedi," he replied. "This promotion was a necessity, both the Council and Republic High Command believe we should be working more closely together. The rift between us almost destroyed us when Revan was alive."

"Makes sense," Sariss said. "I thought you were patrolling the Outer Rim territories. Alderaan seems a long way away from there."

"It is, I was actually hoping to speak to Kyle privately," Anslinger said.

"Why?" Sariss asked, then quickly bowed her head, "sorry, Master."

"That's quite alright," Anslinger said. "I've read the report and you seem to have handled yourself quite well. In fact I'll be overseeing the remainder of your training, though at this point it's more of a formality, I see no reason why you won't become a full Jedi very soon."

"That's great and all, but I thought I was supposed to be doing that, not that she doesn't have my full recommendation," Kyle said with a smile.

"And you would have, but something has come up and your skills are required for a different task," Anslinger said. "Unfortunately I am only supposed to speak with you about this, and while time is somewhat of the essence, I'll let this competent droid finish it's job. You can find me in one of the private rooms upstairs."

Anslinger bowed and then left.

"I don't like the sound of the that," Sariss said. "Sounds like a mission."

"Yeah, it never ends, does it?" he said.

It took another hour to clean up his leg, place a kolto patch over it and wrap it to keep it in place. Kyle refused the pain medication, and had only a small grimace on his face when he stood up.

After a few minutes he found he could easily ignore the pain. A small part of him enjoyed it, made him feel alive. He walked up to meet Anslinger alone, Sariss having left to follow up with the security forces about the attack.

He mentioned this to Anslinger when he met him in a private room. "I should be following this up, since I was the target," he said.

"Of course you were, it seems rather simple, which is why Sariss is more than capable of handling it," Anslinger said. "We've done our best to screen and keep track of the remaining Mandalorian clans. Most have retreated to mercenary lives, but it's only natural that some would slip through."

"You seem really calm about the fact that I was just attacked," Kyle said.

"I know you can handle yourself," Anslinger said. "You might forget, but I was the first to open the small fighter ship you were in several years ago, after Mandalore revealed himself. You were barely alive, with burns all down your side and countless other wounds. Only an incredibly talented Jedi could withstand those injuries and live, much less escape and warn us of who we were dealing with."

"I haven't forgotten," Kyle said. "How could I?"

"And you shouldn't, but it's also why a small band of Mandalorians in disguise don't worry me," Anslinger said.

"I don't know why, out of any other soldier, they're the most dangerous to Jedi. They know how to fight us, they showed us that five years ago, and over a hundred in the Mandalorian Wars. The Order was nearly destroyed when Jedi went to defeat them."

"When rogue Jedi went, you mean," Anslinger said. "Anyway, it is funny you bring up that war. The time of Revan ties into the mission I have for you. I was worried you might need to take time to heal, so I have to recent my offer to take your time, this mission is very important, and you need to leave right away."

After explaining the details, Kyle took a shuttle straight to spaceport, where a small one-man ship was waiting for him. He wanted to say goodbye to Sariss, hurt him that he couldn't, but knew it was important to leave as soon as possible.

Kyle stands in the room he has slept in for several years. The room that was the closest to home that he has ever known, but the feeling of home has left.

The side of the room that had once had clothes strewn across it and a bed that was constantly unmade is now completely clean. Not a trace of the person who had lived there as well remained.

Aries had left. Had never been the same since he returned from the raider incident. He had grown restless and even after becoming a full Jedi had only grown more angry and arrogant. Constantly questioning the Masters and the instructors and taking more and more risks.

And then he had left, and Kyle was alone once again. He felt like the lost child who had sat on his bed staring into nothing. It would take quite some time to shake him from his depression. It would take a girl a few years younger, one with brown hair and a bright smile, a smile that had never known the horrors he had. Had never lost what he had lost. It was in that smile that he found a new home.