Three days later, following their return from Presilla, Jacen and Garis disembarked from the Solo Quest onto the deck of the Jedi Temple's hangar bay. Night had fallen on this side of Denon, so Master and apprentice had separated to head off to their dorms (Jacen had just gotten a new dorm, as Luke had told him in their last communique).

However, before Jacen could arrive at his own dorm, his commlink beeped. "Yes?"

"Jacen," Luke's voice replied, "I know it's a little late, but would you be able to come to my office as soon as possible?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later, Jacen had arrived in his uncle's office, and there, sitting in one of the two guest chairs, was an elderly Theran male whom Jacen recognized.

"Master Durn," Jacen acknowledged with a formal bow.

Theran Listener Taru Durn, who had turned in his seat to face Jacen, returned the bow with a simple nod. "Master Solo," the Theran replied.

"Jacen, please have a seat," Luke said.

Jacen complied as he took the other guest seat.

"It's about Garis, isn't it?" he asked.

"Indeed, it is," Luke confirmed flatly.

"I had no idea that former Listener Boric had joined the Jedi Order," Durn began without preamble. "If I had heard about this, I would have been here sooner to tell you why this was a bad idea."

"You excommunicated him from the Theran Listeners," Jacen pointed out. "And you also had him exiled from Nam Chorios. Did you not think he'd go and join the Jedi Order? He did have quite an interest in it; after all, isn't that why you had him separated from me when I went to visit your order, Master Durn?"

"Yes, that last part is correct, Master Solo," Durn admitted. "But, to be frank, I would think that Garis's growing insanity would have been sensed early on by the Jedi Masters here." The Theran Listener looked at Luke.

"He hid it well," Luke said. "When he came to me, I got the impression of an earnest individual who wanted to understand more about himself and how he could contribute to the galaxy as a Jedi."

"Then this is more my fault than yours, Master Skywalker," Durn said. "I and my fellow Listeners trained him to be a Master in our arts. Of course he, even as an apprentice in your Order, would be able to escape the likes of your senses."

Again, Jacen couldn't help but think back to his realization that rank didn't really matter as a Jedi, or as a Force-sensitive, for that matter.

"Well, Garis has pretty much revealed his insanity to me about a week ago," Jacen supplied. He explained his apprentice's actions in dealing with Lumiya.

When Jacen concluded the short story, Durn looked back at Luke. "And you thought that Jacen should continue his training with Garis?"

"I believe in giving people second chances, Master Durn," Luke said.

"A noble principle, but when it comes to Garis Boric, I believe that principle is in vain," Durn replied.

"What makes you think that?" Jacen asked the Listener. "And how do you even know of his instability to begin with?"

Durn looked at him. "Do you honestly believe that story he told you about how he was exiled? About him helping a fellow Listener and his sister out with their problem and being banned for violating our rules? Master Solo, Garis wasn't exiled for that. In fact, Garis wasn't exiled at all, for that matter.

"You see, since Garis started, I and my fellow Theran Listener Masters sensed a growing mental instability in him. We did everything in our power to quash this instability through training and disciplining him through our arts, to hone him not only as a Listener, but also to mold his mind into a healthy state of being.

"But instead, as time went on, we found that his anchorage in discipline and training was intensifying his instability instead of righting it. His psychosis lay in his adherence to rules, almost to a fault, that he would actually break into angry, almost childlike tantrums unbecoming of a Listener whenever he pointed out flaws in his teacher's methods. Yes, this contradicted with our discipline, and it was in these actions that Garis would inflict great pain upon himself. He would cut himself with a vibroblade, marking a spot on himself for every breach in discipline and training that he enacted. We discovered this by the time he was a fellow Listener Master.

"And then, following your departure from Nam Chorios, Master Solo, Garis simply disappeared one night. We had no idea where he went; all we know was that his presence was no longer on Nam Chorios. We figured he had made it offplanet, but none of the outgoing flight records from Nam Chorios's Orbital Control ever led back to Garis."

"He used his abilities, somehow, to escape notice so he could join the Jedi Order," Jacen said. "And he faked that story of his to not only gain sympathy, but access to the Order." His tone was filled with scorn; how could a man like Garis, who helped him return Jaina's memories without her PTSD, and, by extension, helped renew their twin bond, be not only a psychotic, but a liar, too? Jacen trusted him!

And even with the discovery of his insanity, Jacen thought that Garis had a chance to be redeemed, and to become sane.

Luke sighed when Jacen was done. "Listen, Master Durn, I still believe that we should give Apprentice Boric a chance here."

"Why is that, Master Skywalker?"

"Because aside from this Lumiya episode, Apprentice Boric has been a good student." Luke looked at his nephew. "Isn't that right, Master Solo?"

Reluctantly, Jacen nodded. "Yes. Again, ignoring his breach in training when it came to Lumiya, I do think that Apprentice Boric could still be helped."

Durn shook his head. "You are wasting your time. As I said, my fellow Masters and I did everything we could to help him. And besides, your point is moot anyway. Since Garis Boric never officially quit the order of the Theran Listeners, nor was he even excommunicated, that means that he is still technically a member of the Listeners. Therefore, I have the right to take him back to Nam Chorios to get him treated there as a psychiatric patient."

"We could treat him here," Luke pointed out.

"Perhaps you can," Durn agreed. "But, again, Garis Boric is still a Listener, so he must be brought back to Nam Chorios."

"You know, I find it interesting that you promoted a psychotic in your ranks to that of a Master," Luke said. "One who you knew was a psychotic."

"We gave Boric a chance," Durn said. "Actually, we gave him more chances than he deserved, in my opinion. It was really at the prompting of my more naive fellow Listeners that Boric was able to get as far as he did in our ranks. If I had it my way, I would have had him committed to a psychiatric ward for his own good."

"But Apprentice Boric has been a very good student here," Luke said. "He has claimed that he felt very confined and restricted among the Theran Listeners, believing their ways to be insufficient in discovering himself and his relationship to the Force."

"Ah, yes, Boric's fascination with the theory of the Unifying Force," Durn said with a touch of scorn in his tone. "The viewpoint that would lead your Order to ruin, Master Skywalker. If Boric is any indication, I give that within several generations, after your passing, the Jedi Order will be no more."

Jacen stopped himself from launching into a debate about the practice of immersing oneself in the Unifying Force. They'd all get too offtrack on the subject of Garis, he knew.

"Look, while I have my doubts about Apprentice Boric," Jacen said, "I, like Master Skywalker, do believe there's hope for him. He's been calm, patient, listening, and quite a few other things that prove that he's a worthy apprentice. So I think we should continue on this path with Garis; he could be helped, in the end."

Durn couldn't help but sneer. "You engineer your own folly, you Jedi." His expression was now set in determination. "I want to see Apprentice Boric now. Only then will you understand my point of view."

Luke and Jacen shared a glance which ended with the former nodding at the latter. Jacen then took out his commlink and channeled it to his apprentice's frequency.

"Garis?"

"Yes, Master Solo?"

"I know it's late, and I'm sorry if I awakened you, but could you please come down to Master Luke Skywalker's office right away?"

"Of course."

With that, Jacen deactivated the commlink, and he, his uncle, and Durn all waited for the apprentice to come to the office.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and Garis froze past the threshold when he saw not only the two Jedi Masters looking at him, but also one of his former Masters on Nam Chorios.

"Apprentice Boric," Luke said, "it seems as if you weren't completely honest to the Jedi Order. Would you care to explain?"

Garis hesitated, his expression as blank as his Force-presence was unreadable to Jacen, before he began. "I'm sorry I lied to the both of you, Master Skywalker and Master Solo. I felt that, had you known that I had escaped the Theran Listeners and did not simply leave them on due notice, you would not have accepted me as one of your own."

"Why didn't you just quit as a Theran Listener?" Jacen asked.

Durn gave another sneer. "You think I would let a psychotic such as this one off to go around the galaxy when he could be, I don't know, murdering small animals on other worlds?"

Garis's expression was now set as if he were preventing himself from verbally lashing out at Durn.

"Yes, I had to leave without the rest of the Theran Listeners knowing, Master Skywalker, Master Solo," Garis said. "Otherwise, I would have been trapped in a psychiatric ward, as Master Durn and some of his fellow Listeners were intending."

"We were considering it," Durn confirmed to the Jedi Masters. "In fact, we actually settled on doing so before he disappeared."

"I didn't want that to happen," Garis followed. "So I took a shuttle up to the space surrounding Nam Chorios, where I bribed the control officer there with a large sum of my allowance to keep him silent before I took a ferry transport to Denon."

"And now that you're here," Durn said, "it's time you came home to be treated."

"I refuse to go back to Nam Chorios, Master Durn," Garis said, his tone controlled and restrained. Jacen could now sense his apprentice's Force-presence, immersed in searing anger. "Denon is my home now. The Jedi Order is my home now." He looked at the Jedi Masters. "Master Skywalker, Master Solo, please, don't let him do this. The ways of the Theran Listeners are an imprisonment compared to the ways of the Jedi."

Durn looked back at Jacen and Luke. "If you continue to let him stay here, you will be forging a weapon that will turn against you. One day, his unstable mind will snap completely, and he will leave so much chaos and misery in his wake, you will rue the day you ever considered keeping him away from returning to his true home."

"I've only ever hurt myself," Garis interjected, his tone getting more emotional. "I wouldn't dare harm another being."

"Tell that to the soul of Lumiya," Durn said flippantly.

With an expression of hurt and shock, Garis looked at his Master.

Jacen levied an apologetic look at his apprentice. "I had to let them know, Garis."

Garis looked back at Durn in anger. "If I hadn't stopped Lumiya, neither myself nor Master Solo would even be in this room right now, Master Durn." His tone was still somewhat controlled.

"Do not mask your obvious flaws by making them appear altruistic, Boric," Durn said. "You seek order and control in yourself and your surroundings, but when that is challenged, you turn that order and control into something sinister, if not lose that order and control altogether. A very interesting mental case, in my opinion. I'd certainly love to hear what your psychiatrist would have to say."

"I am not returning to Nam Chorios," Garis said.

Durn turned back to Luke and Jacen. "Master Skywalker? Master Solo? What say the both of you?"

The human Masters looked back at the apprentice, whose eyes pleaded for them to continue giving him his chance among the Jedi, before they looked at each other.

"Well, Master Solo?" Luke asked. "You first."

Jacen hesitated as he looked back at Garis, then back to his uncle. He took a deep breath before rendering his verdict.

"I vote that Garis stays."

"As do I," Luke said a second later.

Durn scowled, looking between the Jedi Masters and Garis, whose expression changed to one of joyous triumph.

The Theran Listener then stood up from his seat in a stiff manner. "You will regret this decision," he said to the Jedi Masters.

He then turned and headed out the door, brushing past Garis in the process. Garis didn't even turn back to watch his former Master leave; instead, he continued to stare at Luke and Jacen.

"Thank you, Masters," he practically whispered.

But, deep in his gut, Jacen wondered if Durn was right; if he and Luke would regret this decision after all.