"What if I can't tell the good from the bad?" Xin's master turned to him with a look of surprise. "Throughout the entirety of your life from now till the end, there will be people that enter it, and pretend to be something of which they are not. You must take a leap of faith first; the trust part comes later." The flash of a green blade came down from his master's height, only for Xin to block it with his blue glow.

"I can't live my life not knowing who to trust Master …" Xin parried the blow, before peddling his footwork back two or three steps. "It's not right, it's not fair." Jurai pushed forward. Slash after slash, her apprentice blocked, stepped, and parried out from under the threat of her blade. Jurai stopped to take a breath. Both had been training with a ferocity all morning in preparation for the upcoming trip into the unknown regions.

In a stern tone Jurai said, "Focus Xin …" Motioning to the right of her with a curved hand, a block of rubber came speeding across the room with a blurred unseeable trajectory. Xin turned but his action was a late one. The rubber projectile struck him on the shoulder barrelling his form into the rubber crash mats across from the training floor. "Please… focus."

"Cheap shot Master …" Xin groaned as he turned over with a pained ache.

"… Timed survival, Padawan." Jurai retorted with a smirk. "No battle is fair. Not everybody fights with a sense of honour as we do. This is a fundamental truth," She continued, "THE fundamental truth." Xin picked himself up, just in time to see Jedi Knight Kenlar smile with amusement as he entered the training room.

"She threw a rubber at you, didn't she?" Xin responded with a nod of defeat. "Yeah… that move is called: timed survival. It's her cheat." Jurai turned a shade of red that Xin had never seen her turn before.

"I do not … cheat," she declared. "I merely take advantage of everything around me." Xin went to open his mouth, but the touch of a tender hand atop his shoulder spoke volumes, so he chose not to. "Nobody fights with honour," Kenlar said sarcastically, knowing full-well that Xin wanted to say the same, a retort to his master's hypocrisy.

Jurai's blush deepened. "What can I do for you Kenlar?"

"The jedi council has received word clarifying that the separatist forces have landed somewhere in the ruins on Zakuul." This information left Jurai pale and cold. "Where?" She asked with a hint of disbelief. "… Zakuul," Kenlar reiterated.

Sensing the tension emanating from his master, Xin asked, "What's on Zakuul?" Jurai turned to face her apprentice with a wide-eyed look, but no words left her, so Kenlar stepped in. "Zakuul was once home to the warlords of the Eternal Empire … powerful force-users that almost conquered half if not more so of the galaxy." Xin's expression mirrored that of his masters.

"… If they were so powerful, how were they defeated?" The young padawan asked.

Kenlar looked over to Jurai, who simply nodded. "The details are slight, but along with an army, a soul Jedi known as 'The Outlander', helped take down the empire. Once its leader was defeated nobody else took the throne for themselves. This empty, it left their armies vulnerable and eventually—in time—the good guys won. But the power the dead left behind … is unimaginable. The planet is soaked in the force. It's a dangerous place; but the Chancellor seems to think the mission is worth the risk." Kenlar explained.

"Why us?" Jurai said, stepping forward.

"Because you and your history with the planet makes you an ideal leader for this mission."

"It is because I have a history with this planet … that I am the worst person to lead it."

"You must let go and do what is required of you. We have entered a pivotal moment in this war. Master Kenobi has just engaged General Grievous on Utapau, and if he is successful in his capture or the kill, then we need merely play clean-up crew. The clone wars is nearly over Jurai …"

Jurai stood deep in thought for a few moments before answering him, "Fine …"

"Thank you… I'll inform the council. Your Starfighter is being prepped as we speak, and your departure is needed within the hour."

"We'll be ready." With that Kenlar bowed and exited the room. Xin, nursing his head with the palm of his hand walked or more aptly, hobbled up to his master. "I guess we're going on a trip," Xin said excitedly. It had been a while since he'd left the temple after his injury on their last away mission which left his master fearing for his life.

Sensing her apprentice's excitement, she knelt to the 12-year-old grabbing Xin by the shoulders. "I need you to focus, do everything I say, and do not fall behind. Do you understand me?" Her grip tightened and Xin felt the shake of her hands on top of his robes. "I understand…" His excitement dissipated.

"Go and get ready, then meet me in the hangar in an hour."

"Yes Master…" Jurai watched as her apprentice left the training room, averting her gaze when he turned to look at her. In that moment, the strength Jurai had held up until this point faded, and she collapsed to the ground in floods of tears. She knew that Master Yoda would be able to sense her grief, and up in the council chambers, standing near the window, gazing out across the city, a single tear fell down the cheek of the grand master.

"All right it will be Little One. All right it will be."