A crowd of speeders sat near the entrance to the charred encampment of the Mandalorians. The fires had died down to mere sparks and the sun had begun to mark the Dantooine sky a deep purple. The Masters passed without a look as if I didn't exist. Bastila, on the other hand, stared at me with those gray eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, yet she didn't give me a chance. Instead, she passed me like the Masters.

Kriff, I really screwed up this time.

Bastila's speeder was near the charred remains of the bonfire—there was no way I was going to ride back with any of the Masters. She started up the engine as soon as I joined her and sped back to the Enclave. The peeling paint on the edge of the doorframe became more interesting than the passing landscapes and farms.

Hopefully, Canderous got the kids out safely into the hands of the local authorities. I wasn't sure if the Mando would abandon the kids in the wilderness or worse. For now, I had to trust that they were in good hands.

When we were halfway back to the Enclave, I finally felt something in the bond. Rage.

"What were you thinking ?"

I couldn't answer. All I felt was numb. She gripped the wheel tight. I could tell she was trying to suppress her emotions. "When I sensed pain and distress in the bond, we discovered you ran off in the middle of the night. I had to convince the Council to go after you. We thought you were dead ."

"I can explain—"

"Explain? Oh, you'll have a lot of explaining to do to the Council. They won't appreciate you running off to fight these Mandalorians —"

"I didn't just wake up and decide fighting the Mandos would be fun!" I was shouting now. Great. "They took Liam—that little kid. Not only that, they've been ransoming off all the local children and terrorizing the countryside." I eyed the moons. "But...Liam. He's still gone. Missing."

I failed. Again, and again, and again.

The Master's speeders had begun to disappear as they sped ahead of us.

"You're injured."

I blinked once before glancing at my shoulder and my chest. The cuts from "Mandalore's" blade were red, staining my robes. Hadn't even noticed. I shrugged then winced as I began to feel the multiple cuts and wounds all over my body.

"I'm fine."

Bastila sighed. "You're always rushing ahead without thinking about the consequences. Why didn't you just tell the Council about the problem?"

I gave her a tired smile. "I don't know—maybe I just figured they wouldn't do anything about it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means, Bastila." I glared at their speeders. "You know what the Masters would have said to me if I had come to them with this? They would have waved me away and said 'There is no emotion, there is peace.' But that's a lie, isn't it? What they actually mean to say is that the problems of the little people are beneath them."

Bastila slacked in her seat. "That's not true."

"Is it?"

She pursed her lips and didn't say anything for a long time. Silence. Again. I hated the silence between us. Usually, it meant I said something wrong. And I probably did. Because, honestly, I didn't know where that rant came from.

Eventually, she whispered to herself. "Just...leaving without saying a word..."

I crossed my arms to guard against the sudden chill.

"I...will admit that I would have died back there if you hadn't stalked me using the bond." I sighed. "It's a gift and a curse."

She nodded as we passed a ridge. "Our connection allows us to glimpse into each other's minds. We can feel some of what the other feels. What I feel in you at times troubles me. I worry—"

"What? That I'll turn to the dark side?" I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to babysit me, you know? Also, I'd rather not become one of those yellow-eyed pale monsters thank you very much."

She twisted the speeder away from a rock and followed the road past some settlement housing. Bastila hadn't responded to my quips. I glanced to the left over my injured shoulder, scanning her face. It was, again, unreadable.

"What's wrong?"

Her grip tightened on the wheel. "You underestimate the power the dark side can have over you. First, you fear—you fear to fail, you fear to fall. Then you succumb to anger. Anger that you failed. Eventually, you become a shadow of your former self, hating...everyone. Everything. You won't even realize it once it has command over you. It begins as a domino effect of mistakes—tripping over and over each other until they pile up into a great abyss. And then all that's left is a pale husk filled only with the power of the dark side."

I put my eyes back on the road. For once I didn't smile. "It sounds like you have some experience with it there."

She remained silent before she spoke again. "It's what happened to Revan. And Malak."

Oh. Them again.

I huffed. "Master Vrook said they were always filled with the potential to fall to the dark side."

"Everyone has the potential to fall to the dark side. No, Revan and Malak ignored the dangers the dark side presented. They didn't believe they could fall—that they were above such moral dangers. Just like you keep insisting ."

I clenched my teeth, remembering the coldness that spread over me after stabbing Mandalore through the neck. I'd felt fear not only of what I had just done but of myself as well. As if...I couldn't trust myself.

Maybe I should have listened to Bastila. Trusted in her words after all of my mistakes and mishaps. But I'd only heard another lecture—another Master trying their best to protect me.

But I didn't need to be protected.

"Do you know how much trouble you caused by going after the Mandalorians? How much damage you brought by burning the countryside with the Force? By ignoring and disregarding the rules—!"

"Master Lamar, calm yourself!"

As soon as we arrived at the Enclave, the Masters called an early morning emergency meeting. Master Vrook began by stating my training had been a mistake, that they shouldn't have opened me up to the Force, and that I should be exiled immediately. The others, however, wished to hear my side of the story. So, I told them all that I could without censoring myself. I felt that if I didn't tell them the whole truth, they would have agreed with Lamar

Master Vandar sighed after I finished then leaned back in his chair. "And what did you need a lightsaber for, Apprentice?"

The stings on my shoulder had begun to become distracting.

"How else was I going to save the kid? The Mandalorians would have murdered me the second—"

"You are not ready for a lightsaber." Master Vrook glared down at me. "I'm surprised we haven't banished you for that alone."

"Master Vrook! There is no need for that." Master Zhar shook his head, his lekku waving. "While your intentions were in the right place, Apprentice, it is how you went about it that makes us all concerned. It is obvious to me now that you are in need of more training."

My heart pounding blood into my veins, my wounds grew in pain, and my eyesight blurred. There is no emotion, there is peace. But you can't even suppress your emotions, can you? You try and try but you continue to fail. It's no wonder the Masters look down on you. I clenched my fist.

Weak. Pathetic. Coward.

"I've trained long enough!"

The room grew silent with my outburst. Those... words that came out of my mouth. Those stupid words! My mouth opened and closed, my face turning red not out of anger—more embarrassment. There is no emotion, there is... damn it! I didn't dare look back up at my Masters. Why would I? They were going to either punish me or worse. Say that I've fallen to the dark side and banish me like Revan and Malak and all the other Jedi that joined them.

But instead, Master Vandar spoke.

"If that is what you believe, young one."

What? I looked up—bewildered as to what he just said. All of them, except for Master Vrook, were giving me soft eyes. They were understanding and...saddened. As if they had been the ones to fail. Even Bastila appeared at a loss.

I stuttered. "I-I'm sorry, Masters. That was out of line."

"No, you are right, Apprentice," Master Dorak interrupted. "And you are forgiven. We have been too... cautious. Perhaps that hadn't been the correct approach with you."

Master Vrook was red again. "No, we obviously haven't been cautious enough."

Vandar frowned. "Our fear of our pupil's failures has clouded our judgment, Master Vrook." This somehow caused that grumpy old man to pause. Vandar continued. "Fear leads to the dark side. If not from within us then from within our students." He faced me with a soft smile. "You have been ready for some time, Wes Gale, but we hesitated. In all our years we have never seen one who has mastered the initial training so quickly. You have done in weeks what many cannot do in years. We feared that your fast growth would have led you closer to the dark side. But it was not fair of us to assume the worst."

Master Dorak nodded. "And assuming the worst has only planted seeds of anger and self-doubt within you."

My shoulders sank instead of rising as they should have. They were talking about me beginning my trials to become a Padawan after all. I should have felt overjoyed that they finally saw the light.

But instead, I felt...nothing.

Bitterness formed in my mouth, and I glanced at Bastila who was expressionless. My mouth opened and closed, conflicted as to whether I should deny all of this.

Master Zhar sat back in his chair, appearing older than before. "Go. Rest and heal your wounds, Apprentice. Tomorrow you will begin your Padawan trials."

Master Vander bowed his head. Dorak appeared serene as he bowed as well. While Vrook shook his head in disapproval.

And so the Council meeting adjourned.

I left with a heavy head while staring down Bastila's pigtails. Trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. I'd expected shouting, lectures, discipline. Not forgiveness. Not a reward.

We entered the courtyard, heading towards the medical facility but I stopped before we arrived. I pulled a hand through my hair then sat at a bench—the same bench I'd sat and cursed my rotten luck at being trapped in a Jedi Enclave. Bastila stopped as well. I could sense that she was troubled through our Force bond. Who knows why.

I leaned forward, rubbing my face.

"I don't deserve this ."

She sat down beside me.

"No."

I glared at her. Yet, instead of that stuck-up look she gave me while lecturing about the dark side, she was smiling. And it was...odd. Coming from her. Unfortunately, that smile disappeared. Bastila's face scrunched as if thinking about some complicated battle plans.

"If the Masters say that you are ready, then you are."

"I don't feel ready now ."

She chuckled. "Perhaps that is what they wanted you to realize." Her gray eyes glossed over. "A Jedi must receive a considerable amount of training. They must learn to control their emotions and darker impulses. Often it takes years before using the Force is considered safe."

I looked off into the gardens of the Enclave. "But is that really my fault? After all, you said that I'm using the Force 'instinctively.'"

"No, of course not. But it's still a problem. The fact that you are so strong in the Force and have had such little training can have terrible consequences. Both for you and those around you."

"You can warn me when I do something bad," I said, smirking. "Blink once for dark side, twice for light."

Her serene face turned sour. "This is not a joke. The choices you make could affect both our destinies not to mention the Republic and the entire galaxy."

I raised my hands. "Way to put the entire fate of the galaxy on my shoulders, sunshine."

"Not just you. Both of us. Don't you see? Any reckless behavior done on your part will likely affect me as well."

I sat back. I hadn't realized that I could've been endangering Bastila with my reckless maneuvers. Usually, I was fine with risking myself, but her? I stared back at her, sincere.

"I won't do anything to harm you. Ever. I promise."

She pursed her lips. "I believe you truly mean what you say. For now." Her eyes wavered. "But sometimes it is not easy to keep such promises."

I grabbed and shook her hands. Her expression shifted into shock.

"I'm keeping this one."

Her eyes remained fixed within mine and I could feel the familiar confusing emotions she denied swirling around her. Guilt. Shame. Sadness. Loss.

She flinched out of my grip then stood.

"I would rest in preparation for tomorrow if I were you. Building a lightsaber isn't easy. Nor are your trials ahead."

I sat within the repair shop after getting a shot of kolto from the Jedi nurses—ignoring Bastila's suggestion to rest. Instead, I distracted myself by deciding on the different lightsaber parts I would use. While there, I spoke to the owner of the repair shop and he allowed me to help fix some of their pieces of junk. Usually, when something big was on my mind I resorted to tinkering. Good or bad.

I didn't notice until she jumped from behind, covering my eyes.

"Guess who?"

I cursed. "Mission—!"

The screw in my hand clanged as it fell into the protocol droid. Mission released me and I was about to shove my entire hand in there before realizing that—right—I can use the Force. The screw shot up. I caught it and continued, ignoring the teenager behind me.

"You didn't find him, did you?"

I twisted another screw out of the droid. The thing flickered on then off again. I slapped it then held it still as I took the cover off.

A tap on my shoulder.

"Dantooine to Wessy?"

The cover fell to the floor causing an ear-splitting sound. I turned, glaring at her.

"Look, Mission, if you need to say something, say it."

I gave the wires a look, not liking what was there, so I took most if not all of them out, tearing at them like a kath hound to meat.

Mission sat next to me on the floor. "Fast talk and slick words get the job done." After taking all the wires out, I glanced down at her with a tilted head. She smiled. "It's what my brother used to say to me."

"You mean Griff?"

She nodded, deep in thought. "You know, I imagined walking into a cantina in one of the settlements here and seeing him under the pazaak tables drunk again. But...he would never come to a laid-back place like this." I continued working, taking up new wires, connecting them to their proper places. I didn't pay the kid any mind as she spoke. "Hey...it's not your fault for losing him, you know? I shouldn't have assumed he was with you. I should've asked—"

I pointed the sonic driver at the young Twi'lek. "No." I waved it. "No, no, no. Dumb. That wasn't your fault. Believe me."

"But if I hadn't—"

"You're a kid, Mission. Liam was never your responsibility."

I returned to the protocol droid, using the sonic to meld parts together. Like a surgeon, I drove a wire into the heat, jumping as it sparked. I hissed, waving my hand from the burn.

It was caught.

"I'm not a kid you know. I'm fourteen years old. I can take responsibility for things." I felt my face soften, but I removed my hand and continued to work. Mission huffed. "Wessy...you don't have to carry your burdens alone, alright? If you hadn't saved him, he'd be dead like Gadon and Zaedra. He would've been on Taris."

I paused, staring at the broken droid before me. Perhaps I was being too hard on myself. I shook my head, a smile growing on my face.

"You're right. I guess..."

My eyes glanced over to the front of the shop where Zaalbar was standing, holding—

I jumped to my feet.

"What in all hells happened to T3?" I shrieked.

Mission cursed under her breath then tugged the sleeve of my robe in order to pull me back to the protocol droid. She laughed.

"Heh, that's nothing, Wessy. Now you can go right on back to work—"

"I told you to take care of him!"

"We did, we did...but he was stupid enough to get caught! It wasn't our fault that he made too much noise in the Matale's storage compartments!"

Zaalbar, as if in surprise, dropped the droid onto the ground. He growled a laugh himself.

"This is...nothing..."

T3-M4 was in a state. The top part of his chassis was tilted as if something smashed him into a wall and the glass of his optics were broken. I bent over the poor thing in order to inspect him, seeing if he could be repaired. Fortunately, his hard drive had been spared along with his sensory and memory units.

Zaalbar heaved him up again, growling an apology.

Guess I had something else to fix.

"There is no emotion, there is peace."

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."

"There is no passion, there is serenity."

"There is no chaos, there is harmony."

"There is no death, there is the Force."

I looked up from my cross-legged position on the floor after I recited the Jedi Code. The Jedi Masters nodded in approval—except for Master Vrook who hadn't said a word throughout the ceremony. After my recital, Master Dorak used the Force on a blue crystal, setting it gently onto the floor in front of me...

Earlier that morning, before the ceremony, I was met with Bastila's lovely face in the mess hall. She told me I was to be taken to Master Dorak in the Archives. The Masters had to assign me a role.

I finished dumping my tray. "Why can't I just go with whatever? Who cares about roles like that?"

She huffed. "All Jedi are assigned a role that best suits them. For example, I am a Jedi Sentinel. The Sentinels work to ferret out deceit and injustice. Because of that, we work closely with local governments. You will become what the Force decides for you."

"Or what the Masters decide for me." I rubbed my chin. "Also, I don't like blue, yellow, or green."

She stumbled over her words. "T-That's what you care about? The color of your lightsaber?"

"I would choose red, but that's unfortunately controversial." Bastila crossed her arms. I laughed nervously. "No...I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it?"

"Joke?"

After she saw my humored smirk she huffed again, returning to her duty of taking me to the Jedi Archives. Compared to the rest of the Enclave, the Archives were dimly lit and stuffy. Shelves upon shelves were filled with datapads and holocrons. Unfortunately, I hadn't been allowed in here before due to the Masters feeling I "wasn't ready" for the information within.

Bastila left me at the entrance. I passed many Knights and Padawans until I found Master Dorak sitting at a desk in the corner. His old eyes peered up at me from the datapad in his hand.

"Good morning, Apprentice. It is time for your evaluation."

He reviewed with me the notes Master Zhar had taken about my training. Occasionally, he'd ask me questions about said notes. Despite feeling like a failure, most of what my Master had written down had been glowing. Especially when it came to mastering the Force.

And it was after half an hour of deliberation that Master Dorak decided that I was to become a Jedi Guardian.

"Guardian?" I had expected Consular after Zhar's remarks. "I'm not that good at combat. Am I?"

Master Dorak chuckled. "It is not only because of your combat proficiency that I have come to this conclusion. You have an innate desire to protect those weaker than yourself. No one but a Guardian would have gone to rescue a child kidnapped by raiders without consulting anyone first." I winced after the reminder of my recent escapade, but the Master hadn't flinched with that comment. "You will be presented with your crystal at the ceremony. There, you will recite the Code and begin construction of your lightsaber. You have chosen your parts?"

"Yes."

Last night. Painstakingly.

Dorak nodded. "It could take days for you to correctly set the crystal. Do not push yourself."

After the ceremony, I took the blue crystal and made for the meditation room. I sighed as I walked the halls of the Enclave, peering into the crystal as if that could tell me my fate in these trials. I was assigned a room all to myself. The parts sat in a box on the only table there along with tools of many kinds. I took out the parts and placed them in the order they were going to be used then got to work.

Building a lightsaber was nothing like tinkering with droids. At times, I had to use the Force in order to make the parts fit snuggly. That took most of the time. Fortunately, the meditation room was the perfect place to work in complete silence. And it took me hours just to create the casing. I inspected my creation with a frown. The three metal wing-like extensions stuck from the side to help with the grip. They ended at a sharp point past the ignition port. I wasn't an artist by any means—it was gaudy—but for some reason, the design called to me...

All that's left is the crystal.

I sat then placed the empty shell of the lightsaber on the floor along with the crystal. Closing my eyes, I felt the pulse of the Force in the air. Concentrate, Wes. In my mind's eye, the crystal and the shell hovered off the mat. I had to place it perfectly using the Force without it touching the inner casing. Else it would combust like a lit grenade.

The crystal sank towards the opened case. It hovered there for a second before I released my grip on it through the Force. I breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't explode in my face.

Now, the moment of truth.

I grabbed the staff as it still hovered in the air, then hesitated before I pressed the red button

Blue light engulfed my face and I grinned after hearing my lightsaber hum for the first time. Truly a work of art. Maybe that's why the Council was so harried by me using another Jedi's weapon. Each lightsaber is like that Jedi's identity—their badge of office.

And this one was mine.

I staggered out of the meditation room—exhausted. Starving. Food. When I entered the courtyard I spotted Bastila at a bench. Don't tell me she was waiting there this entire time. She looked tense both physically and mentally through our Force bond. I wanted to spook her but she spotted me before I could try anything.

She eyed the lightsaber in my hand.

"You've finished? Already?"

I waggled it at her.

"Nope. I stole this one too."

When I spotted Bastila's ill-humored expression, I chuckled. She relaxed her shoulders, shaking her head.

"Very funny. You need to bring it to Master Zhar. He'll be the one to assign you your final trial."

I raised an eyebrow. "Any idea what this trial could be?"

"I don't know. Even if I did I wouldn't tell you."

Oh well, I tried.

Master Zhar was in the training rooms—as always—peering down at some meditating young ones. When I entered the room, he turned his attention to me—all of the young ones awoke from their meditations with wide eyes. I passed him my lightsaber and he ignited the blade with a hiss.

"You have done well, Apprentice. Not many place their crystals perfectly the first time." He extinguished the blade then handed it back to me. "I assume you want to take your final trial?"

I hooked my lightsaber to my belt. "Might as well get this over with."

The Twi'lek raised an eyebrow—his lekku twitching. He awoke the younglings from their meditation and they dispersed in gratitude while giving me awed stares. I tried to ignore their fawning as my Master asked me to sit on one of the cushions.

"First, a word."

I wondered, briefly, how long this word was going to take. His expression turned dark, the mirrors reflecting his sorrow both ways.

"Did you know that Revan was my Padawan?"

I raised an eyebrow of my own. Him? Training Darth Revan? The Dark Lord of the Sith? I narrowed my eyes. I hoped his training wasn't flawed.

He smiled at my suspicious look. "I was among his first of many. Revan had trouble sticking with one Master over the course of his training."

"Why so many Masters?" I asked. "They didn't like him or something?"

"Oh no," the Twi'lek said, laughing. That had been the first time I'd heard Zhar laugh. "In fact we all loved him. Always had an air of charisma..." He trailed off as if remembering something nostalgic until his cool smile dipped. "But that ended up being a part of his downfall. He outpaced the Masters that trained him—became the youngest Jedi Knight, in fact. We should have seen that ambition, that passion, in him. Before it was too late."

I tried not to look impatient, however, my words betrayed me. "What does this have to do with my trial?"

"I know you found me too...protective. Weary even. But you have to understand. Revan fell due to our failures and ours alone. It is why we remain cautious, not only with you but with all of our students."

I frowned. "It's not like I want to become a Knight, you know? I didn't even want to be a Jedi in the first place."

His old eyes flickered with...something as I said that. It couldn't have been sadness. No...he wasn't like Bastila. He was a Master who preached about lack of emotions. Nothing should cause him grief, right? But he didn't look back into my eyes.

"That may be so." He met my gaze again. "But let's not dwell on the past. You wish to know what your trial is after all."

About damn time. I smirked, sitting back.

"Of course."

He nodded his head. "To the east over the Bithian River, there is an ancient grove. Kath hounds have been infesting the area due to a taint. You are tasked with finding this grove in order to eliminate the taint within." With my task set, I pushed myself to my feet then made for the door. But he called out. "Before you seek out this taint, Apprentice, a word of wisdom." I glanced over my shoulder. "Know that not all that succumb to the temptations of the dark side are lost forever."

Leaving for my trial at night would've been foolish—at least in the Council's eyes—so I decided to leave first thing in the morning. That and food called to me like the Force.

Mission waved when I entered the mess hall. She sat with the Wookiee and Carth. It was a rare sight to see them all together.

"Hey, Wessy. Done with your trials?"

I snorted. "I wish."

"Can I see it?"

Mission pointed to the lightsaber.

My face scrunched.

"Hell no. It's not a toy."

She hissed as if she'd been struck. "Oh, no. You sound like Bastila now. Don't worry, I'll break your hypnosis!"

I chuckled. "Hypnosis?"

She clapped her hands around my face. I shook my head in embarrassment then made for the food. Gizka—again. I collapsed beside Carth who raised an eyebrow.

"Mission is right, you know. The Jedi have changed you."

I grabbed a Gizka leg and waved it at him. "I'm still a smuggler at heart, Orangy. Don't you forget it."

Carth sighed. "I spoke too soon there."

While I ate, Mission bombarded me with questions. What was the ceremony like? Did I have to do something embarrassing? What was my next trial? I answered all of those questions with food stuffed in my mouth. I was starved after all.

Then, Canderous stormed in. And he was heading towards me. And he looked angry. Pissed.

He slammed the table causing my half-eaten gizka leg to jump as if it still lived.

"Thanks, by the way, for abandoning me out there with fifteen younglings." I stared up at the ceiling. But the Mando continued his rant. "When you said we were going to hit one of the clans to find that kid, you failed to mention I was going to be a babysitter."

Carth stuttered. "Wait... what ?"

Mission and Zaalbar gave me confused looks along with Carth. Ah, right. They had no idea what happened. I continued eating, wiping off grease that drizzled down my bare chin that I shaved before for the ceremony.

I met the Mando's dark gaze.

"And the kids are…?"

"Didn't even look back when I dropped them off at the nearest settlement." He banged the table with a fist. "And you still haven't told me where the kriff you ran off to."

"Sorry, but that's how the pazaak game was dealt." I took a drink of water. "'Mandalore's' lackies caught me off guard. Would have followed you, but I almost got skewered."

Carth gaped. "Mandalore? What the hell are you talking about?"

Canderous chuckled. "That was not Mandalore. That was some imposter with his band of idiots. The true Mandalore wears the golden mask and that has been...lost."

I held my chin and for once I didn't press that point.

Instead, Carth sneered at Canderous. "Good riddance. We don't need another Mandalore to start a war right now."

Canderous sneered back. "I don't feel as if there is any reason to go to war now—even under true banners."

Carth snorted. "A Mando that doesn't want to fight? First I've seen it. Is it because you lost the war?"

"I do not loath how the war ended. But for us Mandalorians, it is only the fight that matters. Win or lose. And we lost."

"And it's a good thing you did."

"You served in the war, didn't you, Onasi?" Canderous's scar twisted as he smirked. "We may have faced each other in combat. What battles were you in?"

The Republic pilot grimaced then faced away from Canderous. "I don't like talking about it. The horrors of war are something I'd rather not relive."

"The horrors of war?" Canderous cackled. "My people know only the glory of battle."

"Then why were you some crime lord's lackey on Taris?" Carth asked. "I don't see the 'glory' there."

The Mandalorian took a menacing step forward. "You saying I'm a coward, Onasi?"

I could literally feel the tension in the air. I put my fork down and watched them over my shoulder as I chewed.

Carth twisted in his seat with open arms.

"What if I am?"

Then, Canderous jumped the soldier, yanking him from the bench, pushing the table and its contents to the floor. I jumped to get out of their way before my tray landed on my lap. Mission and Zaalbar shot up with me. The Jedi stopped the chatter around us and watched as the two war veterans struggled.

"Both of you, stop!" Mission shouted.

"Let me tell you something about cowards, aruetii," Canderous asked. He pulled him closer—the Republic soldier glaring lightsabers at him. "They hide behind fleets five times our size, let a Senate of weak-willed imbeciles make decisions for them, and rely on a Jedi wearing one of our masks to win their battles. And we still made the Republic tremble before we fell."

Carth looked as if he was going to reach for his pistols.

"Nice speech."

Before Canderous could punch Carth in the face, an invisible wave pushed them away. They both staggered after I used the Force to pry them apart then glared at me.

I waved at the tray. "My dinner is on the floor now. Thanks a lot!"

Carth gave me that unimpressed look while the Mando rolled his eyes and twisted on his heels to leave the mess hall. The young Jedi all whispered to themselves after witnessing that violent scene. Mission sank back, sighing in relief, and Zaalbar put down the fork that he looked prepared to plunge into the Mandalorian's skin.

Carth shook his orange jacket into place as he sat back down in his seat.

"You really shouldn't piss off a Mando," I said.

Instead of glaring at me, as I expected, Carth smirked.

"It was worth it."

I packed then left for the grove early the next morning. Following Master Zhar's vague directions, I drove a speeder to the edge of a deadened forest. The wind knocked the bare branches together and a cold chill seeped through my robes. Something...dark whispered in the wind. The taint was close.

The gray trees whistled due to their hollow trunks and I made my way towards that dark sensation. I traveled for an hour at least before I came across any form of life.

An old Jedi held his bleeding chest while leaning on one of the dead trees. I rushed to the old man when he finally collapsed to the dry dirt. I helped him to a seated position.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

He smiled through the pain. "Ah...don't worry about me. I am fine, Apprentice."

"Yeah, sure, I'll believe that when Gamorreans fly." As I dug through my bag for a medpack, I paused. "Wait, do you know me?"

After all, Apprentice wouldn't have been someone's first guess with my age and all.

He laughed weakly. "Of course I know who you are." He winced when I administered a shot of kolto. "You are all what the Council talks about nowadays."

I tried to recall a lesson from him as I helped wrap his wounds, but I couldn't place his face. "I'm sorry, but are you one of the Masters? I don't remember you..."

"Do you only remember Masters, Apprentice?"

I mulled on that before I stood. "You don't happen to know where a grove filled with kath hounds would be, do you?"

"Ah, the grove? I felt a disturbance in the cliffs past that fallen tree. There is a bridge over the river." He hissed as he tried to stand. "I can sense the amount of taint spread there. Be careful, young one, and do not underestimate the dangers." He waved a hand. "But I'm sure you wish to be off, don't you?"

I gave him a concerned look. "Do you need help getting back?"

"Oh, no, Apprentice, I'll be fine, thank you. You're medpack was more than enough help."

Before the old man could limp away, I called back. "Wait, you know my name but I'm afraid I've never heard yours."

"Nemo," he said. "I am Nemo."

"Nemo?" I glared at him. "Is that a joke?"

"Why would I joke about my name, young one?"

"Well, it means no one. Who would actually name you that ?"

"What if that was something I named myself?"

I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose. And I thought I'd gotten over the Jedi weirdness...

"Why...why would you call yourself something so stupid?"

He chuckled as he began to limp away again. "The importance you put into a name is misleading, young one. You of all people should remember that."

Before I could ask what he meant, he disappeared past the dead trees like a ghost. Perhaps I had hallucinated that entire encounter. It certainly felt like it. I shrugged, then headed in the direction "No one" pointed me to.

In the distance—a howl. Kath hounds bound and weaved through the trees. Most of them watched me from a distance. Others were brave enough to attack. I took out my lightsaber as three began to circle me. Their red and white coats blurred as they pounced. The blue of my lightsaber illuminated the ground as I chopped the attacking hound in half. The other two scattered after the first one died to my blade.

After that, I kept the lightsaber close.

The sun was setting when I arrived at the river. Beyond it over the bridge, darkness cloaked the overgrown trees with a hum. The tainted grove—just as Master Zhar described.

I crossed the rickety bridge over the fast rapids. The grove was overgrown with vines and weeds. The place was so dark and thick with foliage that I had to take out my lightsaber to both cut and light my way through. In the process, I stepped on small kinrath spiders and other bugs.

Eventually, I came across a clearing. The taint had become as thick as soup now. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I looked on towards the source. An ancient shrine of obsidian rocks encircled the place. Many dead bodies of both Mandalorians and kath hounds littered the center. And in the middle of it all, a meditating Cathar muttered to herself words that were indecipherable. She looked familiar. I saw her around the Enclave a few weeks ago, although I couldn't remember her name.

That's when I noticed the sleeping pack of kath hounds in the bloody chaos.

Lovely.

I tried not to wake her from her meditation as I moved towards the Cathar with my lightsaber staff at the ready. She was the source of the dark taint. Sith. Had to be. If I could get the jump on her, my trial would end as soon as it had begun.

I calmed the kath hounds with the Force and stepped over them with light feet. If I killed the hounds, the hum of my lightsaber would have woken her. Eventually, I was close enough to strike her in the back. However, before I made the killing blow, I hesitated. Master Zhar's voice drifted into my consciousness.

Know that not all that succumb to the temptations of the dark side are lost forever.

In my hesitation, one of the kath hounds was released from my grip and started to growl.

Both the Cathar and the pack sprung awake in a flurry. I cursed as ignited my lightsaber, beheading one of the hounds in the process. The pack scattered. The Cathar's lightsaber hissed awake—her red blade skimmed the ground, burning the grass. Her yellow eyes met mine—the kath hounds rubbed at the feet of their queen.

She licked her lips, fangs apparent. "I shall deal with the prey, lovelies," she muttered to her pack. "I will make him suffer for trying to take me unawares."

She shouted, hitting me hard with her lightsaber. I reflected the blade using a quick form to retaliate. The Cathar's yellow eyes widened as she spun away from my blade before it reached her neck. we continued exchanging blows, none of us ever getting close to hitting each other.

Eventually, she must have grown tired of our game. Raising her hand, she pushed me with a powerful Force wave. Kriff, she packs a punch. I flipped through the air into the foliage behind me, yet I managed to backflip and land on my feet. The kath hounds had begun to swarm again. I glanced back at the bridge. A chokepoint. They couldn't all attack at once there. The vines and grasses scratched my arms as I ran back the way I came. The Cathar followed with her piercing screams and hungry kath hounds.

At the bridge, I twisted and held my lightsaber in front of me with both hands. The rushing river flowed below and in the distance, a waterfall roared. The ropes holding the bridge together creaked with pressure.

The Cathar strode onto the bridge with a sharp grin. Without any room to circle me, the kath hounds didn't follow their master.

"The Council sent you to kill me, didn't they?"

Before the Cathar could attack, I rushed forward, meeting her red lightsaber. She kicked at my groin but I was quick to jump back. All the while she sneered, whiskers flaring. While she was consumed with anger, I flicked my saber to her side, causing her to block with an awkward hold. I pushed into the attack, relying on my strength to weaken her block. But she never gave in. Instead, she screamed bloody murder as she tried to use the Force on me again. I was prepared this time.

I flipped back to the opposite side of the river and, without thinking, cut the suspension rope holding the bridge up.

Kriff. I...hadn't meant—

The bridge collapsed and the Cathar didn't use the Force to jump after me. Instead, she screamed in terror as she fell into the rapids...