Note: For anyone who cannot read military time, think of it without the ":".

1200 is 12:00. Noon.

0900 is 9:00. AM.

The hard part comes after noon.

1300 is 1pm

1700 is 5pm.

2300 is 11pm.

2400 is midnight.

In which case 0100 is 1am right after that. :P

Don't ask me whether Midnight is 12am or pm, and same with noon. I have never been able to get those two things straight. I just think of them as noon and midnight instead. Or just 12.

Something I was slightly afraid of is Varus versus Starkiller personality. Not just in the previous chapter, but in general as of this point. I don't want to rush changes, but changes also just happen at their own pace without necessarily my control.

I have been trying to have Varus grow a bit into his changed mindset being led by Jedi. I have also try to take into consideration he has Revan (albeit just nothing more than repressed memories that aren't really effecting him outside of annoyance) in his head.

Starkiller in The Force Unleashed was angry, a LOT. He was ruthless, merciless, and 100% obedient to his master with a level of servitude that was half fanatical and half blind-love (Vader was his only father figure… sad right?). But then when he was stripped of his master and left to go his own path, he was briefly confused, but he found his path and found that deep down he was actually a half-way decent human being with a hell of a lot to pay up for. He just did stuff because he wanted to please his master, mostly. I changed it so he was also abused a lot.

Varus is different, as is already obvious. But taking his recent changes into consideration, I decided to throw in the 'Eria' moment to show him having a moment to show he is as much human as anyone else. Considering his 'Revan' memories of Revan's-wife, which is just funny as can be to torment him with, his sights for woman are finally awakening, a bit.

Trust me, you take an ignorant recluse and stick him around woman, he won't know what to do with them or what to think.

But stick him with pleasurable memories of naked woman and not only is the "potential prospects" starting to awaken, but he is confused. SOOOO very confused in a way that makes me relish torturing him.

If Bastilla doesn't get to him first.

Let's hope she never finds out he has a library of porn in his head, of her. (Which he hates just as much as she would.)

Also, I love the amount of reviews and love Maris got, and in only a few chapters! She is also one of my favorite characters in the series. Not just because I get to torture her, but because of what she represents in Varus/Starkiller relationship.

I am only getting a review or two per chapter as of recently, but it is becoming the highlight of my days. I wake up, I check email, I read reviews. I love and read every one, and I try to reply a little after reading them.

Thank you so much guys. I feel the need to write coming on.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the clothes on my back.

Interlude - Departure

Summary: Starkiller, apprentice to the deceased Darth Nihilus, was tricked by Darth Sidius into becoming a puppet of the Jedi through a force mind-wipe. He was renamed Varus Wynn and assigned to Anakin Skywalker as his second Padawan alongside Ahsoka Tano.

Following a lead from the former Sith, Starkiller, the Jedi searched for what might be Darth Sidius on Coruscant. One team per Master was assigned for a week. Windu Assigned Anakin Skywalker and his pair of Padawan's.

They conducted a quick search and investigated a possible location. What they found were hostile droids unlike anything Skywalker recalled the Confederacy producing and skeletal remains. As well as a Sith Holocron they learned, the hard way, because Varus just had to touch it, was linked to Revan.

The following investigation shed light on the fact that the Star Forge was still alive, and the Dantooine Council had left the information classified, hoping no one would investigate too deeply. Anakin Skywalker was assigned to follow the trail of Revan left in Varus's mind to find the Star Forge for the Republic.

Meanwhile, despite the Jedi's hopes, sins of Starkiller's past are catching up to Varus. Maris remembers him after Starkiller murdered her Master, and sees him in the Temple. She has been told it is classified, and to leave it alone.

"You are a failure." A hollow voice utters in the darkness before my eyes. He wears a cloak and a red mask with not a single hint of flesh portrayed through the holes. He raises his hands and the air chokes me. My body lifts off the ground and I hang in the air at the end of his fingertips. My limbs hang uselessly, utterly numb from hours of lightning treatment. He flickers his fingers and I fly backwards into the wall. A protruding pipe takes the impact and my back snaps. My entire body goes numb as I am crippled. The evil man stoops down and heals me, only to lift my head and look me in the eye. His mask, devoid of life and eyes and flesh, looks into my eyes, filled with horror, pain, and dread, and he sucks in through where his mouth should be. Every good memory I have of freedom outside the ship is pulled away and is left behind with darkness. Every smile I saw on the streets from cute girls, amazingly enough pointed toward me, on my road to the target is turned into a frown and stare. Everyone I have ever met looks at me and sees the blood on my hands. They point at me and say-

Something hits me in the face, hard. I snap myself out of the daydream to see I'm on the ground. My bed is above me and the sheet is scattered across my back.

What was that? Was that a dream? Did Revan experience things like that? I feel almost sorry for the man. He may have been interesting to hear about, but having his memories was another matter. I hadn't had nightmares till he pushed himself in my head, I didn't have dreams either for that matter, and it was killing me. I move slightly to check myself over to see… yep. Every inch of me is stiff and exhausted. I spent the entire night moving. The bruise on my head from my fall is the biggest thing, that and the burning in my eyes from lack of good sleep.

I don't wanna get up! I groan and roll over. The light on my clock burns into my eyes reading 0853… oh crap!

I jump up, jump into the closet, throw on my black outfit I got from before I was a Jedi, toss the robes into a bag with my data pad and… I don't have anything for hygiene do I? I need to make a grocery list. I have eaten nothing but restaurant food for days, my last bath was probably a sponge bath at the hospital, and I don't remember the last time I did my teeth or hair.

Whatever, don't have time!

I dash out the door, out of the temple, grab a taxi, and after showing him the GPS location girly had told me about: arrive at 0907.

I stop to check the time and look around. Ahsoka's place is inside of a penthouse like complex. For that matter, almost everything on Coruscant is similar to a penthouse with them constantly building upwards. There is a nice fountain garden in front of the landing pad with a few benches and down a ways is a set of double doors. There are people around, but no girly.

She did say to meet her out front right? She's late.

I collapse on a bench and put my bag down. With my data pad out I make a list of things I need. Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap sponge… Odds are there will be food stuffs on our journey, and I probably can't get room in my bag for food and utensils anyway. Tree-Hugger did say we will be on a cruiser or battleship or something. Whatever it is, it sounds large, and hopefully will have a little area I can get some household supplies.

The time reads 0913. Girly is late!

Nothing to pass the time, I head inside to glance around.

The inner lobby past the double doors is furnished brightly, filled with open space, and has a lot of couches. At the far end is a giant brick fireplace -a rarity I'm guessing- that is burning warmly and around it is a double set of waterfalls flowing down to a ledge just below the fireplace. Around are a lot of Jedi! Not just any Jedi either, ones that actually look… I would say human, but a lot of them aren't.

These ones don't look stuck up or like a bunch of tree hugging environmentalists. They are sitting around on couches talking, playing board games, dipping their feet in the water, sitting in front of the fireplace meditating -ok those look like the tree hugging ones- and eating breakfast from a buffet to the side.

Buffet. My mouth is watering already.

"May I help you?"

I turn to see an older… thing. Definitely alien, but the voice makes her out to be female. The breasts and thin figure might be a hint too. She is a little shorter than me with what looks like gills. Despite that she doesn't look too much like a fish. Rather cute, really. Her huge eyes are freaking my out though.

"Uh, no. I was just glancing around. I am looking for a friend, Ahsoka Tano."

She brightens at the name. "Ah! Yes, she is with management."

"Why?" I ask curiously. What would she be doing with people like that? Didn't she make a schedule with me?

"She is working to lease a roommate into her apartment. From the rush, I would presume it to be a last second need." She looks at my with a tilt of her head. "Are you a Jedi?"

Uh… Semi. Maybe? "Yes, a Padawan."

She smiles rather nicely. Damn, she's cute. Why do her eyes have to be so freakishly large? "Are you looking for a place to stay?"

My first human instinct was to presume she was hitting on me, and then have no idea how to respond, but my second and more powerful knowledge implied she is a worker here. It's an apartment complex. She isn't hitting on me, just phrasing it oddly.

Damn hormones… I'm going to kill Revan if I get my hands on him for exposing me to so much of his perverted memories!

But why would she ask that? Is it normal to ask it? I am looking for a place, but… "What makes you say that?"

"Your state of dress. Begging your pardon, but you look like you have been sleeping outside a very long time." She blushes slightly, looks away, and it's cute, and I need to focus. Look her in the freakish eyes, Varus! That's better, now she doesn't look cute. Nothing those eyes can't fix… except she looks like she is finding my intense gaze to be something besides… This is messed up. No wonder she is blushing.

"Yeah, I might have." I admit. I do look like crap rolled over. My black pre-Jedi clothes are shredded, filthy, caked in stains and rips and burns. Even the light metal plating sown in is dented and muddy. My hair is probably a mess, and I already mentioned my hygiene.

"Might I suggest talking with your Master then, about renting a place? I speak from experience in that: The Jedi Temple rooms leave much to be desired."

I chuckle. "Damn, right… There ain't nothing on them. Thank you."

"Eria."

"What?"

"I'm Eria. You said 'Thank you', I said 'Eria'."

"Oh, Thanks, Eria. It's Varus." I introduce myself.

"Then, you are welcome, Varus." She bows and leaves, and glances back at me briefly. As she walks I can see her straight back and long stride clearly. If it weren't for the eyes she would be pretty cu-

I AM GOING TO KILL REVAN! I didn't even notice females until he got stuck in my head! Damn him for sticking that Bastilla-naked-woman in my head!

Great now I'm seeing things I don't want to. GAAAAAAH!

"Your late!" I yell and point at her.

Ahsoka stops and looks at me incredulously, like I hadn't just blown my gasket. "Why do you have a giant red mark on your forehead?... Have you been beating yourself in the face?"

"Yes."

She is stunned into silence a moment. She just blinks at me. "Do I want to know?"

"No." No, she doesn't. I finally managed to purge the images a few seconds ago.

"Okie… anyway, I know I'm late. Sorry about that." She says genuinely. She walks by me to the landing pad, and I follow along. She flags down a taxi. "You remember Maris?"

"Your friend who lost her Master?" I ask.

"She believes the Sith who killed her Master has followed her to the Temple."

I scrunch my nose and deep in my stomach is a burning sensation. I am either really sorry for her, or I am really hungry. Maybe both, I haven't eaten yet. "'Believes'." I quote. "I take it you don't agree?"

"No, I do." She clarifies. "I know I haven't encountered him personally. There is a chance she might be wrong and seeing things, but… I would rather have faith in her than not, you know?"

I guess that makes sense. A cab parks on the pad and waits for us to enter. Ahsoka runs her ID through and the payment is forwarded to the Jedi. "Starport, please." The driver nods. She enters first. I follow in and close the door, and we are airborne. "Anyway." she continues. "I'm worried about her, and she is afraid. So I had her bunk with me last night, and this morning I made arrangements for her stay in my room for a few months."

"You want to keep an eye on her." I state, yet ask. She said as much in the email.

"Yeah, she worries me… She is a complete wreck. She cried herself to sleep and has breakdowns at random."

I don't claim to know much about that, but I would be worried too if my friend was having a rough time. That sounds really really rough. Even rougher than what I'm dealing with, maybe. I'm grasping it without crying constantly, but I don't know if I should be or not if this Maris is for her problems.

"And your leaving her there?" I ask. "Shouldn't you be with her if you are so worried?"

"We do have a mission, Varus. As much as I want to be, our job gets in the way sometimes of what we want. I have another of my friends keeping an eye on her."

"Who?" I ask. Really, I don't care, but not like there is anything better to do.

"Eria."

I choke on air and she looks at me funny. "You know her?" She asks with clear interest.

"Uh…" I explain it all from my point of view. Namely in the fact that I may have inadvertedly gotten someone thinking I'm interested when really I was trying to freak myself out to avoid being interested. Like I said, its messed up.

Wait, wait wait. Friend of Girly… Works in Girly's apartment… why do I get the feeling I am going to be seeing her again? Gah, the Force hates me.

Force, if you're listening… the feeling's mutual.

Ahsoka actually finds my problem hilarious, which just aggravates me. I tuck my arms together and lean against the door. "Can we stop by something to eat?" I ask no person in particular.

The cab drops us off at the starport. I get out and tie my bag around myself, and Ahsoka double-checks to be sure the payment was credited to the Jedi Order. It was.

I turn around and… wow.

The Star Port to Coruscant is mind boggling. There is a giant tower from the floor I'm standing on all the way into space. All around the base of it is a giant building, probably the processing center, security, and most commodities beyond a straight up elevator, but the elevator itself is huge. It makes me feel dizzy trying to follow it up with my eyes. At the end of it, far in the distance, are a number of ships. The ships are as thick as smog but a few of them are large enough to stand out, namely Republic Battle cruisers.

And we are gonna be riding one of them.

Adrenaline shoots through me like fire and before Ahsoka could turn around, I was already gone. I stop inside the main lobby, which is huge and covered in businesses selling seats on transports and pilots and soldiers and a whole lot of wow, and look up transfixed on the upper windows showing the elevator towering above me. The tower just goes up and up and up and up and-

"Don't do that…" She tells me. She grabs my arm and drags me along. She leads us to a lady at the kiosk and tells her that Anakin is expecting us. The lady hands us both tickets with a specific location on it, and we are off.

Along the way I grab a pamphlet and browse through the information on the Star Port. I don't much care about the number of species here, or security measures or what not. What draws my attention is the aerial view of the tower from its base to its peak. It measures at thirty miles long.

We enter security and I flip the pamphlet while I let the scanners run over me, and some security personnel take a drop of blood from my finger.

For some reason that lets lose all kinds of bells. They don't know it, but whatever they scan from my blood has them anxious as a load of insects. They motion to us nervously and order, "Follow us, please."

Ahsoka looks at me in a way that says 'what did you do this time?'… But the problem is, I didn't do anything! I was just reading on how there are thirty-six thousand space stations orbiting the planet, where three hundred sixty of them make contact with the orbital elevator Space Station! The sheer fact I can pull specifics out meant that I actually paid attention!

But does anyone give me the benefit of the doubt?

The door shuts behind us and we find ourselves in a locked white room with a desk and single chair. Ahsoka bops me on the back of the head.

Clearly not.

She groans and beats her fists on the door demanding an explanation, and I look around. There is a camera in the corner, a one-way window on the wall, and the desk and chair… Something about all of this is eerily familiar.

I know I've been in the Star Port before, because that's just logical. I don't remember it, but I must have gone through this place to get into Coruscant originally. The thing I can't explain is why this room is so familiar.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap… What did I do last time?! Did I smuggle something?

With my luck, I probably did something bad and they recognize me.

"Why am I not surprised…" Anakin sighed. He entered the security room and noted Varus sitting at the desk looking absolutely bored out of his mind and Ahsoka visibly upset. She had never been in trouble before. Well, not SERIOUS trouble like this.

"I didn't do anything, I swear." She said quickly.

"I don't think you did." He responded gently. He rubbed the back of his head and analyzed Varus more closely. The man was still as stone, but there was something wrong about it. The Varus he knew would be more relaxed and going-with-the-flow. But he wasn't. His shoulders were pinched together, his forehead was knit, his back was rigid, and his hands were clasped together in nervousness with a hint of shaking. More than that his eyes. His eyes weren't lax and wandering care free, they were worried, pressed.

"What's wrong." He asked.

"Nothing." Was the short answer.

"Varus." Anakin pressed.

Varus snapped his eyes over to him briefly before pinning them back on the wall in front of him firmly. "Nothing… Just… this place gives me the creeps. I'm getting really strong Deja vue. Have I been here before?"

…

Anakin could have heard the tap of Chancellors pin miles away, his thoughts were so quieted. His stomach filled with hot ice and his heart immediately leapt into motion like an engine.

"No." Anakin said automatically. Already he could feel the sweat coming off him and Ahsoka was looking at him worriedly and she really needed to stop noticing how wrong this situation was! "I-I'm going… I'm going to take care of this. You both hold on." He said quickly and rushed out the door.

"What got into him?" Varus wondered. Ahsoka watched the door worriedly, noting the stirring in the Force around her Master, but had no clue.

She had no clue, and Anakin needed to make sure no clue was evident.

Before he had noted Varus's… habits, as being instinctual. Fine, logical. He was a born Sith. He was going to be rash and stupid and angry a lot.

The layers underneath filled with fear, or more specifically fear of how his Master would react in his moment of weakness, or how much his master's opinion truly mattered to him: Those were unexpected, but also logical and easy to understand. Sith apprentices were often abused as a catalyst for the anger that would turn them into full blown piping hot angry Sith Lord murderers later on.

When Varus had mixed lightning in with his Force Push before, and his red eyes, that scared Anakin. But again, he could explain it away in his mind. Varus had the body and instincts of a Sith. He drew on the Force, and his body knew how to react and more specifically what to pull. Pulling the Dark side gave red eyes, and the lightning was small anyway. Varus probably didn't realized there was a small hint of electricity in his attack. That told Anakin it wasn't on purpose.

Again, residual instinct.

But Varus feeling he had been in this place before? Logical in a sense, he had to have been in a Star Port in order to arrive in Coruscant, but was it logical to FEEL the MEMORY in the back of your mind when you weren't supposed to have MEMORY to begin with!?

Something was very wrong.

Anakin entered the office and put on a calm mask over his face. He needed to play the part of the General on the surface while his mind panicked and worked through this. He didn't notice himself discuss matters with the security chief. He did note the security chief had grabbed Varus out of concern for him when Varus's blood sample came back as NULL. (Meaning he had no blood sample on record that he could access.) Such security measures were more common now.

He didn't notice as they returned, grabbed his Padawans, entered the elevator, took the long hour ride up to the battle cruiser.

He did notice Varus's excited 'WHOOP!' when the doors opened and he ran in to see all the cool stuff inside like a kid in a candy store at the sight of so much military stuff. It pleased him greatly that the former-Sith was opening up instead of putting up a front of anger and hostility to everything like being excited and energetic about something would bite him. It was proof that Anakin's gentle efforts were working, but all the while he paid everything very little mind.

All Anakin could think was how he felt something was very wrong as he pasted a smile on.

I have to admit. The place is kinda neat.

Fighters lined up ready to leave at a moment's notice, tanks and walkers and a lot of big guns stacked on shelves against the wall, clones walking around tending to their business with rifles against their shoulder, and then the battle cruiser turret guns! I want to touch it.

They looked like a good twenty-five inch wide barrels that were short and stubby, whereas others were much longer in length at the barrel and looked to be only an inch wide, if that.

'Scalpel' guns, my data pad calls them. Lasers that hold a steady beam and cut ships like a surgical scalpel. Not effective against anything short of the biggest ships, the power drainage is too much to compensate for its value against fighters, but against the big 'ole confederate battleships? It supposedly should cut through shields and entire decks in a matter of seconds, and eventually could cut the entire enemy ship in half like a knife.

It's giving me goose bumps just looking at it.

The sights outside of the ship is OK. We launched about an hour ago and I was left to wander, with some clone chaperones to make sure I don't get into trouble… Whatever, ignore them. They are nice and quiet anyway. The hyperspace window doesn't look like much from the inside personally. A guide wanted to show me the windows, but I was like 'nope. I want to see guns.'.

Or I might have just wandered off instead.

"What's that?" I point toward a room that has barricades set up in front of it, two infantry turrets, and an open doorway that I can tell is still very very thick. It has troops walking in and out casually.

"The armory." One of my escorts explains. He has a much higher voice than expected from the other clones… Sounds stuffy.

"What's with all of the defenses? It's inside the ship."

"It is for the case of when the ship is boarded, as is the situation especially with pirates. In the case of a hull breach and boarding parties, the armory is also acts as a command bunker inside of the ship itself."

Just the sound of it makes me goosepimply. "Let's see." I run in.

Inside… it's beautiful. Rows and rows of guns, grenades, rocket launchers of the anti-tank and anti-air kind, flamethrowers, pistols, knives, snipers, swords, and boxes and boxes and boxes of ammunition and rationing supplies! Even has a small bathroom, sets of blankets and camping equipment for the worst scenarios, and access to the ship's internal network. All in the course of five rooms, one of which is very large and topped to the ceiling in supplies and ammunition in case of exactly what the guy said.

I might never leave this room…

One of the swords draws my attention, make that two of them. Both are thin one-sided blades that curve ever so slightly at the end. The hilts have finger guards and at the base they look like they have hooks. I lift them off the stand. Wow, their heavy.

Something in the back of my mind tells me to put the two hooks together. -SNAP- Both of them fuse together into a double blade. Small buttons let me detach them, and I can fit them together in any rotation I want at the base. The hilts are adorned in black, steel, and a hint of red along the edges. Also feels comfy in my hand, like it's layered in a spongy material to keep it from chaffing my bare hand.

I'm in love. My Lightsaber is cool, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't have the raw beauty blades have. I half wish my lightsaber was black, steelish, or red. Those seem to be colors associated with me a lot.

Pity the girls are a whole lot heavier than I expected. I just held them up a minute and my arms are already tired.

"I take it you like swords, sir?"

I shrug. I had never… no wait… I had wielded a sword hadn't I? Yes, I was told I had a… I forget what kind of sword it was, but I remember it wasn't a lightsaber.

"Yes, I think I do. How would these fare against lightsabers and blasters?"

The clone bows his head slightly at my question and says, "Sir. All swords of good quality are constructed from vibro-manufactored material. It allows them to block lightsaber energy, and absorb blaster bolts of most kinds. It reacts by absorbing energy and turning hot over time as more kinetic energy is held inside. Not as effective as lightsabers when you need to get through heavy doors and swords are much heavier, but it is good at hiding your Jedi status, if I do say so myself."

"You may say so yourself." I chuckle. Theoretically he was right. Who ever heard of a Jedi wielding vibroswords? If you saw a guy holding swords, you expected warriors of men and women, not a semi-not-quite-pacifist religious order with super powers.

Also, just a thought, but the blades are much heavier than my lightsaber. Even if I don't use them actively on the field, even though I really really really want to, I could use them for training in helping to build up muscle. The blades and my saber should have the same basic forms. If I practice with the blades…

I know it's just me rationalizing the raw need for it. But how can I not?

Big? Check.

Heavy? Check.

Metal? Check.

Epic-Fusion-Action? Why not.

Manly? Oh yes.

I don't need to rationalize.

"Sir, if I may, no one has commissioned them, yet. Most of my brothers go for knives and daggers."

I smile. It's like he's reading my mind.

"What… are those?" Ahsoka points at my waist.

I had the two blades in their scabbards strapped to my waist. They are really really heavy. I need to exercise more. My legs already feel like lead from the extra weight. They aren't fifty pounds or anything ridiculous, but the small weight is enough to let me know that I have almost no muscle to begin with. Might be due to being in the hospital a week without moving, possibly twice if my amnesia-inducing-concussion has anything to say about it.

"Swords." I answer flatly.

"That I can see, but why?" If she knew why did she ask? Stupid girly. Minus a point. Not that it matters when she has a couple thousand. I really need to figure out why I tally this stuff in my head. Is there supposed to be a point to it?

"Because they're awesome."

"Because they're … Varus, we're Jedi!"

"Ye, I know."

"So-"

"But do I LOOK like a Jedi to you?"

"Of course, you are!"

"No," I say firmly. "Carrying them, do I LOOK like one?"

She stops and inspects me. Starting from my feet - why does she have to start there?-, to my waist, to my chest and clothing, to my unbathed face and ruffled hair that hasn't touched water in days.

"You look like you need a bath."

I groan. "I know that. I'll jump in as soon as I find my room, just answer the question."

"No. You look like an idiot."

I snap my hands together and point to her. "Exactly! I looked up force techniques the other day. A lot of them in one area are about influence, secrecy, invisibility, and etcetera. Why bother with all of that advanced power stuff when it is so simple to not even look the part!?"

"Because, it's impractical in a fight, it will weigh you down, and uh… you have no muscle to even try lifting them." She suggests.

OK, as right as she is, I ain't about to admit it. "Then I'll exercise!"

She groans and face palms. "Varus…"

"My swords, my life, girly." I stick my tongue at her like a brat, but relent and put my hand up. "I won't use them in a fight, promise."

She looks at my skeptically a moment before sighing in surrender. "Fine… I'm not your master, Varus. I'm just… concerned."

The word kicks me in the gut, but I don't show it. "Noted."

With that said, we leave to find our rooms. Mine is room 816. "What's yours?" I ask her.

She walks in and plops down on a bed, in my room, without ceremony. Now that I notice it, the room has three beds. "Wait wait wait… Girly. Don't tell me we're sharing."

"We're sharing. So is Master Skywalker." She tells me. "It's normal for Jedi teams to bunk together, Varus. The fact that the three of us live separately on Coruscant is odd."

I sigh and look around. Three wooden beds, not technological or anything. Each with a small in-table acting as a headboard. The closet is small and the bathroom just as puny.

Ahsoka starts to unload her luggage which includes a pillow, some jewelry, and bathroom material with some that I don't recognize. After she leaves the bathroom I unload mine as well. I have a fraction of what she does. What am I missing besides a toothbrush? It's already stocked with soap.

"Where do I get stuff like this?" I ask.

She chokes on air and laughs at me. What's so funny? Clearly I don't have what I need if we do a comparison here. Her laugh is high-pitched and loud, but not as annoying as I expected. "Varus!" She stops herself with effort, even though she has tears going down her face. "Those are only for woman!" And she loses control and laughs again. I look back at it all again and still don't see much of a difference… What do woman got that involves stuff than me? Makeup? OK I don't care about that.

"I can tell you one thing you're missing, though."

"What?"

"Deodorant. You stink."

I raise my arm to smell myself… but I got nothing. "Are you sure."

"Ohhhhhhh, yeah. I don't want to spend the next few days shut in with you while you smell this bad. Get a shower and I'll get you some."

"Excuse me?" I turn on her. "I don't need you buying my stuff, and you're not my boss."

"No. But I am the one who has to put up with your smell. I should choose what you smell like. After all, you already can't smell yourself to begin with."

I open my mouth to argue, but shut it again. I have no idea how to argue that. I genuinely don't understand her argument well enough to be able to work against it. It's like… stupid.

"That's stupid."

"Varus." A new voice says. "Just go with it. Girls have a habit of arguing us into corners."

Ah, Tree-Hugger. Where the hell as he been? After I went up and disappeared, originally, I went back but found him in a snap conference with some people he DIDN'T want me in the middle of! He made that very clear, and for once I didn't argue since he seemed shaken.

I still feel left out of the loop.

Was it about me? Did I do something again? No wait, better yet, am I getting some damn wallpaper already?! IF they don't, I'm moving out of the temple. The place gives me the creeps anyway.

His smile still looks fake, better, but fake. It doesn't reach up to his eyes, and his eyes lack that twinkle they always have. Instead there is worry in them.

"Oh no. I'm dying aren't I?!"

He glances at me like I'm an idiot. "Don't be stupid, Varus. You're not dying. If I want to have a meeting without you, I can. I'm your Master, remember? And you better put your clothes down the shoot too. It needs to be washed." To which Girly immediately agrees. She pulls out her clothes to hang up and hangs it and- whoa! Wait a second.

I reach over and pull the clothing out of her hands. "Varus!" She barks at me. She jumps after me to take it back, but I toss it over my head and Tree-Hugger catches it with one hand. He looks at it curiously, then us, then it again.

"Snips." He teases with a rapidly growing smile. Now his eyes are twinkling. "Is this actually covering?"

She reddens, more than her already natural shade of red and white, and takes it from him while he laughs. The clothing in question is a lot like her normal ones, but is a lot longer. Enough to actually cover her midriff down to her waist.

Finally she upgrades from just the ridicules bra-strap thing.

"Maris and I did some shopping, if you must know." She tells us in a huff. She hangs it in the closet with extra force in every movement and glares at me. Not sure why, when I wasn't even the one who said anything. As such, I point to Tree-Hugger. He rolls his eyes at me.

"And you got a good look at the 'normal' Togruta stuff, I take it?" Tree-Hugger suggests. "I was always telling you Jedi Togruta don't dress like normal ones. But noooo, you always have to be right in everything."

"What's normal?" I ask.

"Practically naked." He tells me. OK… I take it back. Ahsoka is VERY conservative in taste compared to the rest of her species.

"You!" Ahsoka fumes and I jump back. Why is she constantly on me! I didn't do crap! "Gah! Men!" With that said, Girly storms out.

Tree-Hugger chuckles and finishes, "Jedi Togruta, and most self-respecting ones, usually come to realize how distasteful that is later on as they grow up. It was about time Ahsoka caught on. They are raised to think it's perfectly normal to show skin. In their own culture, that's fair enough, but when they are exposed and interact with others, they start to… well. It's hard to negotiate or have a serious conversation when we stare at them below the neck."

Tree-Hugger dumps his stuff on his bed. He has a lot more stuff than both of his Padawans, but it looks like official stuff. Data pads, a miniature holoprojector, and a bunch of pieces of hardware for him to tinker with in his spare time. And an alarm clock.

"Why the alarm clock?" I ask as I disrobe. I look around looking for a shower head or switch or… something… Which part of this bathroom is the shower? Tree-Hugger sees me ambling around trying to find things and he reaches in to flip a switch. The toilet and sink both disappear into the floor and a shower head comes out of the ceiling. Ok, that's neat.

"Because," He holds the door open for a moment. "As of today, all three of us are getting up at Zero-Three-Hundred hours to start training. We have just over a week to get to Dantooine and I don't want to waste it. You still have a lot of catching up to do, and we need to establish a sync between the three of us." He closes the door for me and I flinch.

Getting up at 0300 every morning to begin training regimes… I better figure out that Force Stamina thing before he kills me.

Anakin pulled up a small box in the corner and watched as Varus and Ahsoka both did their training. Most of the day, as it was every day of the week thus far, they did group training. Meditated together, trained together, and in some ways taught together.

When they meditated, he had a chance to observe them. Ahsoka, as always, was a very hyperactive snippy girl, but she had the experience to 'turn it off' and be more of a Jedi when she needed to be. Her meditations went as they always did, but with a hint of nervousness. Varus though was different. He was twitchy and there was a tense energy within it. It was expected from someone new to meditation, but Varus should have been able to meditate by relying on his Sith instinct as he had with so many other things.

So Anakin suggested he change up his meditation to be something more comfortable, and Varus, of all things, asked that he be given something as a distraction. "Why?" Anakin inquired.

"No, reason… just… I can't focus. This doesn't feel right. Isn't meditation something different?"

"What do you think it should be, then?" Anakin asked. This was more expected. Varus felt his meditation was out of place, and had an idea what it should be based on his instincts.

"I don't know… just…" Varus trailed off silently.

"Go ahead." Anakin nodded. "Meditation is about clearing the mind, centering yourself, and encouraging self-control. Meditation methods sometimes may vary just as the much the person who has to use it."

Slowly and unsure of himself, Varus pulled out his lightsaber and flipped it on with a 'hiss'. Anakin's nerves jumped, but Varus did nothing but stare into it. Varus gazed into his yellow lightsaber steadily, and over time he seemed to relax. For probably the first time since Anakin met the young man, Varus was able to sit for a long time without mouthing off. He spent the entire time staring into his saber.

Almost immediately there was an effect on Varus. His emotions stayed much the same, but they became less wild and uncontrollable. It was a very odd way to see him. He didn't lash out or get aggravated when the rest of his training didn't go so well, instead he only became more and more focused. Like he was taking control of his inner anger and giving it focus, giving it purpose. Every failure he had fuelled him into trying harder, with only one time ending in him yelling in aggravation.

Before, he would have been yelling and angry after each failure.

The fact that he employed his anger as fuel was a Sith trait, one that Anakin knew he would need to put an end to. But the sheer fact that Varus was less chaotic and outwardly angry was… amazing. Anakin couldn't have been prouder. It was a good strong step. Varus was taking control of his anger.

Training together had been taking drastic improvements as well. Varus had been showing improvement since he found out partially what his style was: being evasion and sudden unexpected strikes. But his movements were not in any way fluid.

The Jedi Knight had no idea what Varus's true style was, he had never the misfortune of fighting the Sith in a true battle. But he could easily tell that Varus was still uncomfortable in the forms he employed.

So he did the best thing he could think of, he pressured him, and he made it fun.

He employed three lights, each one of two colors, and each to a person.

"This is yours, here's yours, and this one is mine." Anakin told them. "The colors represent your allegiance. If your color matches someone else, the person is on your team. If your color does not, then, well, you're on your own. The colors will change at random, so watch yourselves."

Immediately he attacked them, and the game started. In many ways their individuals styles both conflicted yet merged in interesting ways. Anakin relied on experience, strength, and good solid strikes with a solid defense. He also had a prodigy-level amount of Force power in him, and a good amount of it went into his instincts. Ahsoka pulled out double sabers and while she blocked solid blows with both, she could use rapid attacks to go in and out between blocks and also use both sabers together into a strong attack. She was very adaptable and used her small size to weave around. Varus was neither in that he spent the entire time evading, maneuvering, and suddenly attacking from angles where neither of them expected.

When Ahsoka and Varus both were on Anakin, Ahsoka was hyper aggressive and demanded his attention, while Varus suddenly came in with a strike that always aimed for a lethal mark out of the blue with no warning.

Anakin was so happy they were using wooden training swords. The bruises would turn purple later.

Varus and Anakin together were difficult for Ahsoka in that they both did few attacks, but all of them were sure and true. The two of them moved and swapped places smoothly. Varus would strike and move out and dash in and strike and move around the Knight just as Anakin came down with a solid strike, and between the two it was a constant barrage that required Snips to use as much of a solid defense as she could manage. One move was particularly good in that Varus came from a most unexpected place: over Anakin's head just as him and Ahsoka parried. It was very sloppy and ended up hurting him more than it did aiding him, but it was unexpected.

Anakin and Ahsoka together was the pressure Anakin felt Varus needed to grow. When it was them against Anakin, he had a solid defense and solid forms to rely on. When it was them against Ahsoka, she also had her own solid defense, solid forms, and some adaptability to make up for her less experience and strength. But both against Varus, he could only evade and his lack of solid forms and skill showed.

Anakin didn't tell them, but he had programmed the colors to push Varus more than the other two.

They bombarded Varus, and eventually pinned him down to keep from escaping. Then the unexpected happened, that Anakin hoped for, Varus simply stopped thinking, he stopped holding back, and he went with what he felt. His sword swapped in his grip to turn backwards and his strength became more solid. In addition, he started swapping in his grip continually.

An attack Anakin saw coming down on him, suddenly became coming up. An attack from the side turned into a thrust into a swing down into a block he barely put up his time. Varus's attacks constantly changed in mid-swing, so what was an attack from one angle became something from a million others. His feints had feints within his feints. His strength became sudden reflexes and unorthodox attacks.

Areas on Varus that looked exposed, suddenly became where his defense was strongest. Varus was a living trap.

Altogether, Varus's sudden style that finally fit together was difficult to adapt to. The biggest favor they had was Varus's general lack of experience and skill. He didn't know how to employ the style himself, in fact he only just invented it to help ease the pressure being put on him. But Anakin knew better. He could see it in how his Padawan moved.

It was the style pounded into him by his Sith Master.

Despite the revelation within Varus's body, he still was pounded in his training far more than Ahsoka was. It would take time before his style truly would shine, but for this week, Anakin was pleased, and he made sure to say so. Which visibly brightened Varus up, he still reacted like had was unused to praise of positive reinforcement of any kind, but he was getting better at accepting it without gaping like a fish.

Varus needed physical strength to augment his ankle and his turns, he needed stronger senses to gain clarity of the battlefield. This would be rectified in his daily workouts.

Then came the Force training itself. In the sessions, Anakin didn't want for any revelation within Varus to bloom. Rather, he wanted his 'revelations' of his other two training sessions to impact the third. Lightning was an element with massive destructive power. It was useful in a fight against droids, and had great potential there, that much was true, but the cost was so great always that it was employed only by Sith. Lightning could not be directed. Lightning could not be controlled. It could be aimed slightly, but the cost of ending one foe usually resulted in ending your own allies in the process, or hurting yourself.

Hopefully, by giving Varus more and more empathy over time, he could transition away from methods that hurt his friends and allies. Already he wasn't actively using lightning, if he even knew he could, but if the time came where he could, Anakin hoped his conscience would hold him back.

So the training in the Force focused on things to push in his basics. Varus already had a kind of "shopping list" to work from, and interestingly enough, they were mostly what Anakin wanted him to study and work on. With one or two Force Techniques added. Namely working on techniques to levitate objects, but in a more precise form than just pushing and pulling. Various techniques that meditated on letting the Force flow through them.

Which, in a way, was one of the biggest differences between Sith and Jedi. Sith took control of the Force like it was a slave, bent it to their will, and forced it into submission. The Jedi let it flow through them like an open river.

Feeling into the force allowed one to see the future by a split moment, not as a visual aid, but a feeling, an instinct. Being able to feel how things would flow one moment from the next was crucial. Varus could already do it instinctively, but Anakin instructed him to focus more heavily on it. In time, Varus would be able to extend the reach of it not only in how easily he could feel the flow of the Force from a great distance, but an extended reach of time forward and increased accuracy.

In battle, especially with Varus's style, every moment counted.

As such, Varus was practicing being able to predict things just before they happen with his senses, while running in circles. As he tired, he worked on his Force Stamina technique. At random, Anakin would yell for him to jump, and he would immediately; with the objective of feeling the yell before it happens, and jumping just as he does so instead of after. Anakin would wait before having him practice Force Jumping, at least until the young man could get a better grasp of how to use the Force.

Ahsoka also continued to improve. At this time she was practicing Force Camouflage. Already she was invisible when she didn't move, but holding it and keeping it adapting while moving, was a very difficult thing to do even for masters. Her natural adaptability was coming in handy. Already she was becoming difficult for Anakin to notice if he wasn't actively paying attention as she slowly moved along the background.

With a grin on his face, he decided to test them. Anakin stood up, and turning himself ever so slightly to hide his hands, he pooled together a mass of Force Energy. With a silent burst he unleashed a massive Force Push into both of them. Ahsoka had the training to feel it coming and grounded herself. Varus, though, was tossed aside like wheat. However, Anakin noticed that the boy had noticed before it happened, just a moment too late. Not much yet, but it was improving.

"Are you seriously trying to kill me!?" Varus fumed. He lost all sense of self-control and raged angrily from where he was stuck upside in a box that he was knocked into; only for the box to fall over and him hit his head on the ground. Ammo cartridges to roll over his fallen form out of the box.

"Not at all." Anakin called over. "Now get back to it. You're doing well in drawing the Force inward to supply your stamina, but don't do it past another ten minutes. Your muscles will still feel the after-effects of exercise, even if your energy isn't."

Ahsoka bowed slightly at the command, and he noted her exhaustion. She was pouring sweat. It was normal in training, but what made it so evident was how Varus wasn't at all. He was out of breathe, but he was drawing on Force Stamina in much larger quantities than her. Something he hadn't expected.

The week had gone quite well, he concluded. "OK, time!"

Varus dropped face first into the floor in mid-stride, and Ahsoka sat down on a box about as high as her thigh. "You have both done well this week. Very well. Snips, work on your lunges along with your camouflage next time. While you may be able to get close, you would still need a sudden attack from it to take advantage of the shortened distance. Varus, continue trying to predict events. See if you can know specifically what the event is before it happens, and not just go 'oh, shit! Something is about to happen!'." Anakin did a mock imitation of him that made Ahsoka giggle, and Varus growl lightly. "No, try to make it more specific. We arrive in Dantooine in four hours, so I suggest you both get rested while we still have time."

Varus picked himself off the ground and dragged his feet out the door. "G'night."

Ahsoka followed him, of like mind. Anakin had been pounding them the last week. A nap was in order.

Ahsoka used the last of her energy to RUN into the room, jump into the air, land on her bed, and fall sleep in the crash. Varus trudged to his own bed, put his wooden sword on the in table below his hanging dual vibroblades on the wall, and collapsed face down with a loud groan.

Chapter Edited by Aeterna Knight: u/4617921/

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