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Once all the attackers had been killed or had fled, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I used the Force to center myself, calming my nerves. I left my lightsaber ignited, so my position could be easily seen as I made my way back behind the barricade. Harking was nodding approvingly.

"Nice work, Zanthia. Well handled."

"Thanks. I may be a novice, but one of the first things a Jedi master teaches a student is how to repel blaster fire." I shut down my weapon, allowing myself to relax slightly.

One of Harking's men came into the shelter, out of breath. "Looks like they were White Maw, Sir. Not many of them. Just a standard raiding party. Only a few got away, but they managed to totally destroy the proximity sensors."

"It's too late to fix the sensors tonight. Tell the men to form a perimeter within the shelter and to hunker down. We can't guarantee they won't try again. It's gonna be a long night." Harking ordered.

"I'll keep my mind open three hundred and sixty degrees around the camp. Nothing living will get close to us without me knowing it." I said, opening my mind to the Force around us. "Fortunately, all the blaster fire has scared off the local wildlife. There's not much out there right now to distract me."

I found myself a quiet corner of the camp and allowed myself to slip into a meditative state. I focused all of my power out and round.

XXXX

It was a long, but quiet night. There were no further assaults on the camp, and by dawn, we were packed up and on the move towards the graveyard. It was decided that Harking, his men and myself would continue to accompany the team onward and Master Kiwiiks would accompany the last team, when she arrived.

I rode my speeder, but the pace was much slower this time. I could enjoy the scenery around me far better in the daylight and by the time we stopped for a midday break, I was actually starting to enjoy myself.

I sat on the top of a snowy hill, eating a protein bar and watching a herd of tauntauns grazing off in the distance. After almost a half hour, I was joined by Dr. Yucca, the Mon Calamari I had met the night before, who was the lead scientist on the second excavation team.

"May I join you?" He asked, waiting until I had nodded my head to sit next to me.

"You are the student of Bela Kiwiiks, correct?" He asked, folding his fin like hands over his knees.

"I am. Do you know my Master?" I asked.

Yucca nodded. "I do indeed. I have worked with her on several occasions, before she became a member of the Jedi council. She always had the most curious mind. I could see her teachings in how you handled the situation last night. Was that your first hostile engagement?"

I laughed. "Was I that obvious?" I honestly thought that I had done well controlling my fears during the fighting.

"No. It was just a lucky guess based on your age. You did very well. Master Kiwiiks will be proud of you when she arrives."

I sighed and leaned back onto my elbows. "On Tython they train us to use weapons and to know battle techniques and strategies, but there really is no training that can totally prepare you to see real combat situations. All you can hope for is that you retain enough of your lessons to be useful. I think for the first time I truly understand what Master Kiwiiks meant when she told me to trust in the Force."

"I think this is the part of your training where it can be said that your true lessons are about to begin."

I turned to Dr. Yucca. "Are you sure you're not a Jedi?"

The doctor chuckled, the sound coming out as a gurgle. "I am not a Jedi, but I have worked with enough of your order to have picked up a few things, here and there."

I stood up, brushing the snow off of my pants. "Well then, I look forward to learning from you."

"And I, you, my young friend."

We made our way back to our party and the caravan continued on. As we traveled, I began to not mind the cold so much. It was probably because I was focusing all my powers on detecting any hostiles in our path. It was exhausting work, but I wasn't going to allow this caravan to fall victim to another surprise attack.

By the end of the day, I was completely exhausted. I hadn't slept since I had arrived on Hoth and I had been using my connection with the Force more than I had ever used it since learning I was Force sensitive.

I was just closing down my speeder for the night when I was surprised by Harking, who placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump. I was focusing so much on the surrounding area, I was paying almost no attention to the camp itself.

"Little jumpy, aren't we. When was the last time you slept?" He asked. I could feel his concern.

"Couple of days."

Harking crossed his arms over his chest and sighed deeply. "You Jedi. You may be all mystical and everything, but you do need to sleep, too. You've more than done your part in protecting the camp. The proximity sensors are up and fully manned. You can take a break for a few hours. Get a bite to eat and get some rest. If we do get attacked in the night, you'll be no good to us half asleep."

"You're right." I replied, rubbing the spot between my eyes where my head was beginning to throb from concentrating so hard for so long. Harking's eyes widened.

"You're admitting I'm right! Color me surprised."

I frowned at him. "You've only known me for what, a day. You haven't known me long enough to know my mannerisms and habits. For all you know, I'm the most cooperative person in the universe."

Harking chuckled in amusement. "You're right. It's just been my experience that most Jedi are stubborn. They like to take control of everything."

"Well, I am not most Jedi. I have no desire to be in control. You can control me all you want."

Harking's eyes really opened wide this time.

"That came out wrong. You know what I meant." I was fortunate that blushes didn't show well with my dark blue skin. "Will you just go away so I can get some rest?"

"Sleep well, Master Jedi." He said, giving me a almost wicked smile as he turned to leave.

I rolled my eyes and headed to a tent set up in the middle of the camp. I found a nice cot in the back of the tent and fell asleep almost immediately.

To Be Continued...