Reading Time: 160 Minutes

Title: The Righteous One
Author: Keira Marcos
Fandom: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars
Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Relationship(s): Cal Kestis/Merrin, Jaro Tapal/Eeth Koth, Anakin Skywalker/Padmé Amidala
Content Rating: R
Warnings: Slavery, Violence-Graphic, Violence-Against Children, Major Character Death, Suicide, Off-Screen Suicide
Author Note: BD-1 uses droidspeak, which is a language made of electronic sounds. His dialogue will thus be considered translated in the story and in italics. I have zero respect for canon. Star Wars canon is dark as fuck and contains slavery, murder, extreme acts of violence, torture, and injustice.
Word Count: 156,487
Summary: The loss of another friend was a blow too many for Cal Kestis. He could blame the Empire for the loss of Master Tapal. But he had no one to blame but himself for Bode Akuna, and the betrayal cut so deep it’s all he can think about. When given the chance to time travel, he agrees. Cal will take whatever time the Force will give him to save everyone from the Empire.

Jedi Master Jaro Tapal must deal with the consequences of his padawan’s choices in a future that no longer exists as he deals with a child who has memories of a wretched future full of grief, loss, and the consuming avarice of the Sith.
Artist: Westwind
Artist Appreciation: My sincere thanks to Westwind for their hard work on my story. The artwork really embodies themes and characters in the work in a breathtaking way.

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Prologue

Merrin’s skin was warm against his, but Cal could hardly focus on the pleasure still thrumming in his veins. He’d had sex before Merrin—hurried couplings in small dark places on Bracca that had been more about stress relief and creating some sort of connection in circumstances where nothing was guaranteed, and everything could be taken from him in a heartbeat.

But Merrin loved him, and the Force trembled between them and in them when they made love. He’d never known such a thing was possible. Of course, he wouldn’t have learned about such things in the temple or from Master Tapal. Sexual intimacy and romantic love were heavily discouraged, and forming attachments was an act worthy of being removed from the Jedi Order.

The temple had been strict in their teachings and he believed that Master Tapal would’ve considered him far too young for a discussion about lust. He wondered if removing love from their lives was partly responsible for the rise of the Sith. If he’d learned anything in finding love was that burying his emotions was a true path to the dark side.

He turned and pressed his lips to her forehead, and Merrin shifted against him. “I’ve been thinking about what you suggested.”

“I know,” she said quietly, running her fingers down his chest. “It would be an immense risk—we could be separated for many years. Perhaps we might not meet again.”

“Maybe you won’t even remember me,” Cal said.

“My heart will know yours,” Merrin murmured. “You’re a part of me, Cal, and this ritual will not take that from me.”

“Greez is dying,” Cal said quietly. “He tries to be cheerful for Kata, but he’s heartbroken. The loss of Cere was a wound too many.” He closed his eyes as they dampened with hot, stinging tears. “He should live another eighty years at least, but he won’t. BD-1 scans him every night, and the readings get worse by the day.”

“I know,” Merrin said. “It’s why I suggested the ritual. The Empire is winning, and there is no…perhaps the rebellion will win, but it is many years in the making. How many people will die between now and then? How far will the corruption of Palpatine spread? Will it linger in our lives for generations to come?”

“He’s a plague,” Cal murmured. “Can we have a baby?”

She shifted against him and lifted her head so she could meet his gaze. “Now?”

“I mean….” Cal took a deep breath. “If the ritual works and we go back in time—I’ll eventually have to leave the Jedi Order. I don’t think I can have you and it, too. And frankly, there is no contest. I just want to know if we can have children together. Do you want them? Will being with me be a sacrifice?”

She took his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. “Yes, we can have a baby together. Several of the sisters in my clan were half-Human. Most of the Zabraks on Dathomir had distant Human relatives, including me. The children will be Zabraks. Would that be okay?”

“It would be amazing,” Cal said and pulled her down into his arms. “Will you wait for me?” He wet his lips. “If the ritual works?”

She slid astride his hips and let her weight rest on him in full. “I will wait a while then I will come find you because my heart is yours, Cal Kestis, for always.”

“What will you do?”

“The ritual will empower me in the past so that I can complete the tasks given to me by the Force. She’ll do the same for you,” Merrin murmured. “Dathomir will not be an easy target for General Grievous when that day comes.”

“I’m going to end Dooku one way or another,” Cal said darkly. “He’ll never get the chance to give the order to destroy your people if I can help it.” He ran a hand down her back and cupped her ass. “You might have to break me out of jail, though.”

She grinned. “It would be my great honor to break you out of jail.”

He laughed, and he kissed her. “I can’t believe we’re really considering this.”

“I want a safe future for our babies, Cal,” Merrin said. “I want the Empire to never exist. We’ll run away together, find a place to settle down, and watch Greez build a saloon empire while we make a family.” She ran her thumb gently against his eyebrow. “I hope one of them has your beautiful eyes.”

“That sounds great!” Greez shouted from the hallway. “And tell BD-1 to stop scanning me! When do we leave?”

Merrin huffed and knocked her forehead gently against Cal’s. “You forgot to engage the privacy filter again.”

“He certainly did!” Greez retorted. “Also, I hope you two weren’t really going to do a spacewitch ritual without me!”

Cal pulled the blankets up over them both and sighed as Merrin slid off him and tucked against the wall. He opened the door by pushing with the Force to deactivate the lock and stared at Greez, who standing there with all of his arms crossed. “It might fail. It might be really painful.”

“We’d get our whole family back,” Greez said stubbornly. “Eventually. Right? That’s the plan?”

“Yes, but if we go back as far as we want to try—Merrin and I will be children,” Cal said gently. “Neither of us would be able to seek you out until we were adults. A great many things would stand between us.”

Greez nodded. “I could do some things differently myself. Make the Mantis faster; put in some better weapons.” He clapped both sets of hands together. “Great. I look forward to the very pale, two-armed grandbabies!”

Cal laughed a little as Greez walked off. He closed the door and turned to stare at her. “Kata…she only exists because Bode Akuna escaped the Purge and married a woman.”

“You see the darkness in her already,” Merrin murmured, and Cal closed his eyes. “No matter how hard we try, no matter what we seek to teach her…witnessing the death of her father woke something in her that we cannot remove. Did you really leave her on Kobah for her own safety?”

“She is safe with Mosey,” Cal said. “And they clearly like each other a lot. She wouldn’t be safe on the ship, and we can’t rebuild the Hidden Path without meeting people in person and salvaging what we can of what was lost to us on Jedha. Tanalorr is an empty paradise. I don’t know what Bode expected. Did he really plan to just live on that planet with his daughter? Alone? Eventually, he would’ve died, and it would’ve just been Kata on that empty world.”

“He wasn’t in a rational place,” Merrin murmured. “And there was no arguing with him. And Kata won’t be the only child to never be born if we go back in time. Some will die that lived, and others that died will live. It’s the nature of such things. If the Force allows us to perform the ritual, then we must trust in that judgment. Didn’t Master Tapal tell you to trust in the Force?”

“Yes,” Cal said quietly. “Maybe he’d also be horrified to see me in the arms of a Nightsister.”

“I’m a bad influence,” Merrin agreed with a grin.

Cal reached out and activated the privacy filter then he sought a kiss. He rolled her onto her back, and she arched eagerly against him as he pressed his cock into her. She moaned softly against his lips as they started to move together. Their first time had been awkward, but after many months together, they knew exactly how to please each other. Her magick drifted over her skin as they moved, and she came with a little groan.

“More,” Merrin urged, and her hands clenched on his back. “More, Cal.”

“As much as you want,” Cal promised against her jaw and kept his thrusts careful and deep, just the way she liked. “I love you, Merrin. There will never be anyone else but you. I swear it.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him tight. “May our love and our bond be eternal.”

Her words felt like a benediction, and the desperate feeling that had been gnawing at him since he’d decided to agree to the ritual ebbed away. Despite his intentions, he buried his face against the side of her neck and came.

* * * *

There was a meal on the table when they emerged, dressed for the day. Cal sat down and watched Greez fuss over the food, then sat.

“Nerf steak?”

“A good meal before we go off and do spacewitch stuff,” Greez declared and cut into his steak.

Cal settled a hand briefly on Greez’s shoulder before focusing on BD-1. He’d miss the little guy more than he could say. “We’re not safe.”

“No,” Merrin murmured. “I don’t remember ever being safe.”

“But do we have the right to change the lives of so many? Everything we do in the past will have far-reaching consequences.”

“Cere would tell you to let the Force guide you,” Greez said quietly. “You trust it, right? And you trust Merrin’s magick?”

“Yes, of course,” Cal said.

“And I trust it as well,” Greez said. “You’re a good kid, Cal. Meeting you changed my life for the better and gave me something I’d never expected to have—a family. I want to see Cere again, Cal. Maybe I won’t, but knowing she’s alive would ease this old man’s heart.”

“It would ease both of mine,” Merrin murmured and focused on her food. “The steak is perfect, Greez. Thank you.”

“Do we need to go back to Dathomir to do the thing?” Greez questioned. “Because I always stay on the ship when we go there, but I’m willing to meet some…uh…Nightbrothers, if I need to.”

Merrin smiled at him. “We shall do it here on the ship where we are all comfortable. My memories of Cere are strongest on the ship, as well. It will help center us all in the Force, and perhaps my ritual will be met with approval and understanding.”

BD-1 beeped at them, and Cal focused on the little droid. “I don’t know if you can do it with us, buddy.”

“I will try, droid,” Merrin said gently, and BD-1 bopped a little then sat down on the table.

Cal watched BD wiggle his feet a little. “But you’d be with Master Cordova again. Or maybe Bogano. I have no idea when he left you there.”

BD-1 made a sad noise and wiggled one foot as he processed the information then nodded and said, “I will go.”

“I’ll go to Bogano and pick him up,” Greez said reluctantly. “If he’s there. He’ll have to come to me, though. I’m not going to run around the place like you did. You both have my code for communications. I’ll try to stay near comm relays if you have to reach out. I’ll be ready to evacuate all three of you if something happens, and you need to cut and run.”

BD-1 used his foot to push the salt closer to Greez and beeped.

Cal laughed. “He likes you, too.”

“I don’t like this little grease bucket,” Greez muttered but gently poked BD-1’s foot, then picked up the salt.

They finished eating, and Merrin, who never procrastinated, gently prodded them all to the lounge area and onto the floor. BD-1 hopped around a bit before sitting in the middle of the little circle they’d created with an excited beep. Cal’s stomach knotted with a mixture of anticipation and grief.

“I love you all,” Cal blurted out, and they all focused on him. “I will carry that love with me wherever I go for as long as I exist.”

“Me, too, kid,” Greez said and patted Cal’s leg. “Me, too.” He focused on Merrin. “How will this thing work? I only overheard the pillow talk version.”

Cal felt his face heat. “That’s all you overheard, right?”

Greez shrugged. “You really need to work on remembering your privacy filter, Cal.”

“May the Great Mothers save me,” Merrin muttered and took a deep breath. “From what I’ve read, the ritual was created, but never used, by a Nightsister who wished to save her only child. She was dissuaded from it because it was a selfish act that did not serve the clan. It is technically a dark art and I’ve avoided learning the darkest of magicks left to me on Dathomir.”

“Your heritage is your own, Merrin,” Cal said gently.

“I wish to serve the Force and be with you in the most honorable way I can, Cal,” Merrin said. “And I have found power and grace in the light magicks on my world that were abandoned centuries ago by the Nightsisters. It has been enlightening and deeply rewarding. I hope to bring these principles to my own clan in the past.”

“Okay,” Cal nodded. “But please know that I knew exactly what you were when I fell in love with you, and it didn’t matter at all.”

“You thrive on danger, kid,” Greez muttered.

“The ritual will send our memories back in time,” Merrin said. “I’m not sure which memories or how they will be delivered. The spell is designed to help our past selves make better decisions. That’s all I know. Perhaps it will not work, or it may work in ways that I cannot fathom currently. It may do nothing, and we’ll have to get off the floor and go figure out who to pick a fight with next.”

She held out the piece of crystal she used for rituals, and Cal realized he had no idea where it had come from. She turned to him and stared.

“This is all that remains of a Clan Mother’s crystal ball. I’m unsure who it belonged to. I counted myself lucky to find even a piece of one. It was once a very powerful instrument of magick. I scoured Dathomir looking for an intact ball and never found one. In the past, I will endeavor to make sure I have an intact tool so that our work will be aided by all the magick I have to offer.” She focused on the piece of crystal. “The ritual requires us to speak our truth. Humble yourselves before the universe and tell the Force what you will do with the gift you’re given.” She focused on Greez.

“I will be a stronger, better friend. I will make better choices when gambling since I can’t promise not to do it.” He folded all of his arms across his body and nodded.

Cal took a deep breath when she focused on him. “I will be righteous and seek justice in all circumstances. I will seek to be patient, thoughtful, and wise as I make decisions that guide me to a new and better future for us all. I will be humble and grateful as I move through the Force for the rest of my life.”

Merrin smiled then and focused on BD-1. “Droid?”

BD-1 wiggled his feet briefly. “I will be loyal to Cal and keep him safe in any way that I can. The Force can trust me because I’m a good droid.”

Cal smiled at the droid, and Merrin nodded.

“Yes, BD-1, you are a very good droid.” She took a deep breath and focused on the crystal. “I will seek the lightest path my nature allows within the Force and accept the role of a visionary for my people. I will seek to guide and protect myself and those around me the best I can and take solace in the smallest of victories.” She took a deep breath, and her eyes darkened. “We make this sacrifice now in the hopes of freedom.”

Freedom.

It seemed like a child’s dream rather than an adult’s goal.

Merrin’s magick flowed around them in a way that comforted Cal in the most amazing way. He felt such safety in the embrace of his lover’s magick that he couldn’t bring himself to fear any part of it. Though, when he’d first met her, she scared the hell out of him. The language of her people flowed out of her mouth and seemed to thicken the magick around them by degrees.

Cal’s eyelids grew heavy, but he fought the urge to close his eyes as he stared at Merrin. He wanted to see her, be with her as long as he could in the final moments they had together—no matter the outcome of the ritual. A hand settled on his and he shifted it slightly so he could hold Greez’s smaller hand in his own. Then Merrin took his other hand. He settled and relaxed just as BD-1 perched on his knee. The connections helped.

Trust in the Force, Cal.

“Cere?” Cal questioned, and his eyes fluttered shut.

“You are the truest Jedi Knight I’ve ever known, Cal. You gave those around you grace when they deserved none. You sought the good in the worst of us and let go of your anger quickly when you were disappointed. I am so proud to have known you.” The power in Cere’s voice filled him with so many emotions that breathing grew difficult.

“Can I do this, Cere?” Cal questioned, and Greez’s hand tightened in his.

“Of course, you can. May the Force be with you.”

“And with you,” Cal said hoarsely.

Cal opened his eyes once more and Merrin’s green magick was flowing thick in the air around them. He focused on her, ever enthralled by her wisdom, power, and beauty.

Please, he thought, let me keep the love I’ve been given.

Chapter 1

His padawan was in deep distress. Jaro pushed back his blankets and hurried from his bedroom and across the three-room suite that housed him and his apprentice. The door to Cal’s room was open. His padawan was tossing and turning in his sleep. Objects around the room were levitating, and the boy’s bed was vibrating. He’d never seen anyone manifest Force events in such a way in their sleep. He stepped into the room carefully, eyes darting around as several objects started to fly.

Jaro caught Cal’s datapad as it flew from the nightstand. He held onto the device as he sat down on the bed, as the boy had been so pleased to get it. It had amazed him how such a simple and cheap piece of technology could please a child so much. Cal was his first Human apprentice, and the boy had been delivered to the temple on Coruscant as a toddler. The Republic required that all citizens be tested at birth for Force-sensitivity. Many Force-sensitive children were abandoned quickly by their parents out of fear before they could even be encouraged to have their children educated by the Jedi Order.

He touched Cal’s shoulder with a firm hand, and the bed stilled. Objects that had been floating fell all over the room, and his padawan started to sob uncontrollably. Jaro put the datapad on the nightstand hesitantly and carefully picked the boy up. Cal flung himself at Jaro and clung. Grief poured off of the child like a tidal wave. Jaro closed his eyes and curled one hand into the material of Cal’s pajama top as carefully as he could. The small size of his padawan had never been more evident to him.

The Force swelled up between them, and Jaro was filled with so much light and love that it took his breath. He’d never known such comfort in the embrace of the Force before. It felt like a gift and to have it bestowed upon him by his thirteen-year-old padawan was stunning. The boy quieted by degrees and stiffened as if he’d realized his circumstances.

“I’m sorry, Master,” Cal said and tried to pull free.

“Be still, boy,” Jaro murmured and took a deep breath as Cal relaxed against him. “Tell me what you dreamt of that has broken your heart so.”

“The Jedi Order is going to fall. We’re going to be betrayed by the Republic,” Cal whispered. “They’ll kill us all.”

Jaro swallowed hard because it felt like the truest thing he’d ever been told. He put Cal down on the mattress and took a deep breath. “I will see us returned to Coruscant.” He stood from the bed. “Do you wish to sleep more?”

“No, I can’t….” Cal shuddered. “Please don’t make me.”

“Then our day has begun, Padawan,” Jaro said. “Shower and dress.”

He left the boy’s room and walked across the lounge area of their quarters to his desk, where he sat and activated the comm link to the bridge. “Commander Meza, change course to Coruscant. Best possible speed.”

“Understood, General Tapal.”

One good thing about clone troopers, Jaro thought, they never questioned their orders. Jaro took a deep breath as he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. Not only was Cal his first Human padawan, but he was also the first to have visions or Force dreams. And there was no discounting what he’d witnessed. The Force had practically attacked the child in his sleep with what had to be a true dream with a vision of the future that had devastated the child so much he’d nearly torn his room apart as he slept.

Jaro opened up his comm and set it up to record a message.

“Mace, I find myself in need of your guidance. I’m returning to Coruscant as I create this message and I need to see you as soon as possible. I will be there in ten hours. My need is most dire.”

He closed the message and sent it with a trembling hand. Jaro had never missed his own Jedi Master more in his life. The loss of Yaddle had been an immense blow, and the mysterious circumstances around her death still angered him if he allowed himself to linger on them. Jaro felt as if he were in the center of a shatterpoint, and that meant a conversation with the only Jedi who really paid attention to such things. Yoda could do it but very often ignored the prophetic elements of the Force wholesale.

Jaro stood and went into his own bedroom. He shut the door, locked it, and stripped off the tunic and pants he slept in. He used the sonic shower and put on a uniform. When he emerged from his bedroom, Cal was seated on the meditation platform, clearly trying and failing to meditate. He joined his padawan and sat down carefully. At seven-foot-five inches tall, he towered over his student and worked hard not to use his size to intimidate the child.

Cal opened his eyes and focused on him. The boy looked him over, a strange desperation in his eyes that made no sense. Cal, like most padawans his age, was quite sheltered. While his student certainly knew of the ongoing conflict and even had the rank of commander on Jaro’s ship, the Albedo Brave, he’d never suffered the kind of loss that could equal the grief the boy was clearly drowning in.

“Once we reach Coruscant, I will seek an audience for us with the Jedi Council.”

Cal nodded and took a deep breath. “Can I ask for a guest?”

“Yes, is there someone in particular you’d like to speak with?”

“Jedi Master Eno Cordova.”

Jaro tried hard to keep the shock to himself. Eno Cordova had been traveling and researching for decades. There’s no way Cal would’ve ever met him or even heard his name as his research endeavor was special, and precious few people knew about it outside of the Council.

He took a deep breath and focused on the boy. “How do you know that name?”

“He was in my dream,” Cal said simply. “Is that okay? Is it wrong to know his name?”

“It’s not wrong,” Jaro said. “It’s merely unexpected. The dream was clearly very disturbing, so I won’t ask you to speak of it at length repeatedly. You’ll be required to speak of the dream once we reach Coruscant. I cannot keep what you’ve said between us, Cal. The matter is quite grave.”

“I don’t want you to die, Master,” Cal said and took a deep breath. “You’re supposed to live a very long time. That’s why I said yes.”

“What do you mean?” Jaro questioned.

“Your species live four times longer than a Human,” Cal said quietly. “And you’re just 110. You’re supposed to be with me my whole life. I never have to lose you. That’s why I said yes when you asked me if I wanted to be your apprentice.” He averted his gaze. “I suppose that’s selfish since I will die when you’re middle-aged if I live to old age.”

“Life is unpredictable, Padawan,” Jaro said. “I cannot promise to live as long as my lifespan would allow. But I do promise that I will do everything I can to survive. What do you know about Jedi Master Eno Cordova?”

“He’s researching something,” Cal said and scrunched up his nose. “I think he’s on the planet Zeffo right now. At least, that’s what…the Force says.”

“Is the Force speaking to you, Cal? Right now?” Jaro questioned and felt his heartbeat increase.

He was entirely certain that he was no longer qualified to be Cal’s Jedi Master. Children with such a deep connection to the Force often trained directly under Master Yoda. He did not want to part with Cal as the boy was special to him, despite the fact that they’d only been master and apprentice for eighteen months.

“Yes,” Cal whispered, and his mouth trembled. “I don’t understand, Master. I was tested for this ability when I was in the temple, and Master Yoda said I had no such gifts. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know, Padawan,” Jaro said. “But we must tread carefully and trust in the Force.”

Cal averted his gaze. “I’m sorry to be so upset. It’s not the Jedi way.”

“There are times, Cal, when I must admit that I find fault with our teachings,” Jaro said, and the boy’s gaze jerked to his. “My people believe that emotions are meant to be examined and confronted—not ignored and suppressed, as many of us do not have the ability to give such emotions to the Force as we’re told to. Why let grief or anger fester inside of us?”

“It seems like a dark thing to do,” Cal said thoughtfully. “I am very sad about the dream. You died and left me all alone. I ended up….” He shook his head.

“You ended up where?”

“We were in orbit above a planet called Bracca when we were betrayed by the clone troopers,” Cal said quietly. “We had to fight to the escape pods, and they killed you—you died protecting me because I was weak. I’m so sorry. I’ll be stronger! I won’t let anyone murder you again.” He took a shaky breath. “I was in an escape pod, and I crashed on Bracca. The Force was screaming, crying out as Jedi all over the galaxy were murdered. It was awful.”

Bracca. It was his next assignment, and he’d yet to share that information with anyone on the ship, not even Commander Meza, the highest-ranking trooper on the ship and the third in command. The Albedo Brave was expected to spend at least six months in the Bracca sector protecting the Republic’s interest. Their first mission would be to remove all of the Confederacy’s influence on the planet, so he was working on a campaign plan for that in private before announcing the mission.

But the fact that his padawan knew about Bracca meant that Cal’s dream could happen sooner rather than later. It was a horrifying realization. Suddenly, it seemed like the war with the Separatists was nothing more than a very expensive diversion.

“We have to be careful on Coruscant, Master,” Cal said quietly. “Things aren’t what they seem, and some people can’t be trusted.”

“Do you know who we can trust?” Jaro asked.

“We?” Cal repeated.

“In this, young Padawan, I must follow your lead,” Jaro said. “The fate of our people rests on what the Force tells you. Where the Force leads you, I will follow.”

Cal nodded slowly. “I promised the Force I’d make thoughtful decisions.”

“When did you make this promise?” Jaro questioned.

“I don’t know,” Cal said and frowned. “Is that weird?”

Jaro laughed. “A little.”

Cal hummed a little. “When I woke up from my dream, I felt like I’d lost something I can’t replace. I don’t understand that, though. I have everything right here that I’ve ever had.” He chewed his bottom lip. “But it hurt a lot and made me really sad.”

“I wish I had an answer for you,” Jaro said. “You were trying to meditate when I came out. Why were you unsuccessful?”

“I can’t quiet my mind,” Cal said. “I’m very worried about the dream. The Force says everything will be fine now, but I saw terrible things.”

“Did you want to do a physical training exercise?”

“No.” Cal frowned at the door. “I don’t want to go anywhere near the clone troopers right now. They’re dangerous, Master. They’ll murder us.”

“Do you know why they betrayed us in your dream?”

Cal shook his head. “One minute, Commander Meza was fine, then…he tried to kill you.” He looked down at his shaking hands. “I thought he was our friend, Master.”

“I thought so as well,” Jaro said. “We will stay here in our quarters behind the locked door until we arrive on Coruscant. Then we will go directly to the temple. I will pilot our shuttle personally.”

“Okay,” Cal said. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being so scared,” Cal said. “I shouldn’t be scared.”

“Why?” Jaro questioned.

“I can’t be a Jedi if I’m scared,” Cal said pensively. “Right?”

“Everyone gets scared, Cal,” Jaro murmured. “It’s how we deal with that fear that separates us—makes us strong. Perhaps other masters would tell you that being scared is wrong, but they’re merely dismissing and ignoring all of their emotions. Being resolute and trusting in the Force does not prevent fear. It merely makes it manageable in the short term. The long-term consequences of ignoring our emotions are often so far-reaching that they’re breathtakingly terrible.

“Seek to be calm, Padawan, and just. Make thoughtful and rational decisions. Seek to give mercy over retribution whenever you can.”

Cal nodded. “And yes.”

“What?” Jaro questioned.

“I think I will know who we can trust,” Cal said.

* * * *

Cal fiddled with his satchel, pleased to have all of his things from the ship with him. He never wanted to get back on that Republic ship again. It didn’t feel safe. It felt like death, and he hated that because he’d liked the clone troopers before his dream. Now, the sight of them petrified him. The trip down in the shuttle had been nice since it had just been him and his master. But, now they were on Coruscant, and there were troopers all over the place.

He was trying really hard to stay calm for his master, but every single time a trooper got close to him, his insides clenched up, and he felt like he might die. They were all murdering bastards; that’s what his dream had told him. It’s what the Force was telling him. Cal couldn’t trust the clones. The Jedi couldn’t trust the clones. A shelving unit next to the wall rattled as they passed it.

Master Tapal swore under his breath, which was startling as his master rarely used curse words and plucked Cal up. “My apologies for the indignity, Cal,” he murmured and picked up his pace. “Pull up your hood and close your eyes.”

Cal did as instructed, ashamed to have lost control. He hadn’t done it on purpose, but surely the shelves had started shaking because of him. His master was walking fast, and not having to look at anything or anyone had certainly helped. He was tucked into the seat of an aircar, and Master Tapal sat in the backseat with him.

“The temple, Master Tapal?”

“Yes, and no stops,” Master Tapal ordered tersely.

“Master Windu was quite explicit in his instructions that you were to be brought straight to him,” the young man behind the controls of the aircar said. “But he also asked me to confirm the destination with you as your wishes were to supersede his.”

Cal noted he had a braid. “Are you his padawan?”

“Yes, I’m Suo Greta,” the young Human said. “My master said I’ll be ready for trials next year.”

“That’s good,” Cal said and looked out the window. “It’ll be ages and ages for me.” He wiggled his feet and glanced toward his master, who shot his feet a look. “You’ve already destroyed my dignity, I might as well fidget.”

Master Tapal laughed and tugged gently on his braid. “So I did, but you are short, and I was in a hurry.”

Cal appreciated the explanation for Suo Greta’s benefit as he didn’t want it to get around the temple that he was a baby who had to be carried by his master at the spaceport. The trip across the city was quick and Cal quickly found himself being guided with a firm hand into the temple. Master Mace Windu crossed the large atrium as they entered.

“Jaro.” Mace Windu offered both of his hands, which his master took.

“Mace,” Master Tapal said quietly. “What’s amiss? The temple is brimming with people.”

Master Windu glanced toward Cal. “We hope you can tell us. Dozens of Jedi have contacted us over the last ten hours. Two different ones asked for your padawan by name. One merely wanted to know that he was okay, and when that was confirmed, he told us he was on his way. He should be here shortly as his ship arrived shortly after yours.”

“Eno Cordova?” Master Tapal questioned, and Master Windu exhaled.

“My friend, you have so much explaining to do,” Master Windu said gravely. “Come, the Council is already assembled. Jedi are gathering at temples all over the galaxy. It’s caught attention, but nothing especially troublesome as far as we can tell. Chancellor Palpatine contacted the Council to ask for information, but Yoda dismissed the concern and pointed out that we have twice yearly gatherings for educational purposes.”

“Did that work?”

“Yes, Palpatine did take a few moments to lecture him about not updating the damned calendar,” Master Windu muttered as they walked. “The silver lining is that the second in-house lecture series of the year has been canceled to cover up for this little situation.”

“Great,” Master Tapal said. “I was supposed to speak, and I haven’t even started writing my speech yet.”

Cal looked around and saw someone he’d never met but recognized. A wave of nausea rolled over him, and Master Tapal stopped moving. He caught Cal’s shoulder gently. “Padawan.” He cupped Cal’s head with a big hand as he knelt. “What’s wrong?”

Cal looked at the Jedi he’d recognized as the man walked past them. The man cast them a curious glance. “Bode.”

The Jedi stopped moving and turned.

“Your name is Bode Akuna.” Cal took a deep breath, then another and tears welled in his eyes.

The Jedi stared, clearly startled and concerned. “Master Windu?”

“Perhaps you should come with us, Jedi Knight Akuna,” Master Windu said.

“No.” Cal shuddered and moved as close as he could to his master without crawling onto the Lasat.

“Padawan, have I upset you? I don’t believe we’ve ever met,” the Jedi said quietly, and Cal turned his face away from Bode. He couldn’t stand to look at him. “My apologies, Master Tapal, for any offense I’ve caused him.”

“My padawan is sensitive to movements of the Force,” Master Tapal said neutrally. “Perhaps we can meet with you later, Jedi Knight Akuna.”

“Yes, of course, I’m leading the younglings in meditation this afternoon should you need me,” Bode Akuna said easily. “I hope your padawan is well.”

Cal swallowed hard as he found he couldn’t speak, so he said nothing as Master Tapal stood and took his hand in his large one. Cal ended up wrapping his whole hand around two of his master’s fingers as they walked. It felt grounding and it was embarrassing that he needed it.

They stopped in the anti-chamber leading into the Council’s space, and Master Tapal pushed back Cal’s hood as he knelt once more in front of him. “How do you know Bode Akuna?”

“I don’t know,” Cal said. “But…he betrayed me.” He swallowed hard when Mace Windu made a shocked sound. “He betrayed the Jedi and got people killed, and I lost…I lost people that were important to me because of him. Because he was selfish and dark.” His hands curled into fists, and he took in a deep, ragged breath. “And I don’t know how I know that. I don’t know why it feels true when it never actually happened.”

“He’s a precog,” Master Windu murmured.

“Indeed not.”

Cal turned and saw Master Yoda standing in the open doors of the Council space. “Master Yoda.” Yoda motioned him forward, and after a nod from his master, Cal gamely crossed the room with Master Windu and Master Tapal at his back. “Ha.” He crossed his arms. “I’m finally taller than you.”

Yoda laughed. “Accomplishment that is not.”

Cal followed Yoda when he turned and went into the Council space and was relieved when his master’s hand settled on his shoulder. He let himself be led to a seat, and he hesitated only briefly before sitting next to his master in front of the Council.

“Master Tapal, with apologies, we know that you requested to have a personal meeting with me. But, considering the events of the day,” Master Windu said, “it was decided that the entire Council must be included in this conversation. I hope it won’t be too much for your padawan.”

Cal had grown up in the temple on Coruscant, so he was familiar with all of the Jedi Masters on the Council, and he wasn’t afraid of them. Many of them had taught him over the years before he was apprenticed.

“Early this morning, I woke because my padawan was having what I assumed was a nightmare. He’s not prone to such things, so it concerned me. I walked into his bedroom and found objects all over the room floating. His bed was vibrating with the Force, and before I could reach him, things started to fly around the room. When I woke him up, the activity stopped, but he was inconsolable. His grief was immense. I’ve not felt such emotion like that…outside of large-scale battle in all of my years.”

Cal fought the urge to apologize. He’d already done that more than once, and his master had ordered him to stop.

“When I questioned him regarding the dream, he told me that the Republic was going to betray the Jedi and murder us all,” Master Tapal continued. “It felt like the truest thing I’d ever been told. No part of me could deny it.”

Cal took a deep breath and lowered his gaze when everyone on the Council looked at him.

“And when I told him that I would bring him here to have a meeting with you, he asked if he could have a guest. He asked for Master Eno Cordova, a man he’s never met and shouldn’t have ever heard of.”

“I explained to Master Tapal that Master Cordova contacted the temple and asked about his padawan specifically. He achieved orbit not long after the Albedo Brave did and should be here soon. I’ve sent my padawan back to the spaceport to get him. He’ll bring him straight here. I expect others might arrive as well. My office is still taking comms and giving as little information as possible.” Master Windu steepled his hands and focused on Cal. “Will you speak with us, Padawan?”

“I don’t know where to start,” Cal admitted.

Master Tapal’s hand settled on his shoulder, heavy and reassuring. “Just tell us what the Force wants us to know, Cal.”

Cal closed his eyes and took a deep breath then another. His body relaxed, and the Force shifted inside of him. There was a chime, and his eyes opened quickly. Soft blue light was swirling around him, but it subsided quickly as he glanced around.

“I don’t know whether to be relieved by the interruption or not,” Master Tapal said dryly, and several people in the room laughed.

“Has he ever done anything like that before?” Master Adi Gallia questioned.

“No,” Master Tapal said.

“There are no incidents listed in his records, either,” Master Windu said.

Cal turned at the sound of a series of beeps. A little droid bumped his leg then hopped right into his lap. It rubbed its head against his chest and made a little whirring sound like a loth-cat. He picked the droid up carefully and looked around for help.

“Hmmm, whose droid is this?”

“Apparently, he’s yours,” Master Tapal said. “Or at least, he claims you to be his.”

“I’ve never owned a droid,” Cal said in confusion and set the droid gently down on the floor.

“His name is BD-1,” a voice said. “And he is a free droid. He decided several years ago to travel with me, and now he wishes to travel with you.”

Cal turned, and his breath caught in his throat. “Master Cordova!”

Eno Cordova came to him and knelt down in front of his chair on one knee. “Cal Kestis. I’ve been worried about you since I woke up this morning.” He offered his hand, and Cal took it without hesitating. “I’m very sorry for what you were made to see in your dream.”

“Did you see my dream?” Cal asked, and Cordova nodded. “Then I’m sorry as well. It was horrible.”

“I learned many things about you during that dream, young one,” Master Cordova said.

“Like what?” Cal asked.

“You are strong and brave,” Master Cordova murmured. “And I am truly humbled by your defense of your fallen master. To see such loyalty and determination in one so young was astounding, and I woke up with your grief swelling in my chest. I contacted my friend, Mace Windu, and asked after you immediately.”

“You defended me?” Master Tapal asked and touched Cal’s shoulder gently. “You said you escaped in the pod and crashed on Bracca.”

Cal’s cheeks darkened, and he averted his gaze. “The clone troopers were shooting at you, and I pushed them all away with the Force. Then you….” He trailed off and shook his head.

“You’d fallen into the escape pod, Jaro,” Cordova said. “And you’d overloaded the ship’s reactors to mask the escape. Even in your final moments, old friend, you sought to protect your padawan. You died in the pod, however, after giving him your lightsaber and it crashed on Bracca. Young Cal defended the crash site from scavengers. Then he….” Cordova cleared his throat. “He used your lightsaber to cut his braid off, and he left it in your hand. It took him hours, but he found a way to set the pod ablaze and did not leave the fire until your body was fully cremated.” The older man released Cal’s hand and stood. “And there the dream ended for me, and for that, I was grateful.”

The silence was awful. But Cal found he couldn’t speak so he focused on the droid who had crawled back up into his lap while Master Cordova had been speaking.

It beeped at him quite firmly, and Master Tapal sighed.

“What did it say?” Cal asked.

“Just another affirmation that you’re his person,” Master Tapal said and shook his head.

“Can I keep him, Master?” Cal questioned.

“As long as he does not interfere in your training and has no harmful or inappropriate habits, then he may stay with you,” his master said. “And keep you out of trouble.”

BD-1 beeped again, nodded his head, and settled down in Cal’s lap.

“Right.” Cal took a deep breath and patted the droid as he thought about what to say. “So, I’m supposed to tell you what the Force wants you to know.”

“Yes,” Master Obi-Wan Kenobi said. “Please, and if you’re willing to share any more of your dream, I would be grateful.”

“Master Tapal says I should trust in the Force,” Cal said, and all fourteen adults in the room nodded. “And I do, but I don’t understand everything she has to say so I hope I do okay with all of this. I wish she’d asked an adult.”

“The Force moves in you, Cal,” Master Tapal said. “And we trust in the Force, so we will listen.”

Cal looked at BD-1, who was looking up at him. The Force moved inside of him, and information he wasn’t aware that he knew bloomed in his mind. He didn’t know if it had come from the dream or if the Force was putting information directly into his head. It was disconcerting either way.

“Sheev Palpatine is a Sith Lord.” He paused. “The Sith Lord.” The silence was oppressive. “Count Dooku is his apprentice.” He focused on his master. “Chancellor Palpatine is going to order the clone troopers to murder the Jedi, and they won’t be able to say no because they have control chips in their heads.

“He can control all of the clones with the biochips, and they have a bunch of orders they were all forced to memorize that they must follow.” He wet his lips. “They don’t have a choice, but then they never have had choices. They’re slaves to the Galactic Republic—cloned slaves. They were created for war and it’s all they know. It’s all they’ve ever been allowed to know.”

His stomach knotted in agony as he came to terms with a fundamental truth he’d been ignoring since he’d become an officer in the Grand Army of the Republic. The clones were slaves. It made him sick.

“Do you know when?” Master Kenobi questioned.

“When the war has successfully thinned out the forces of the Confederacy of the Independent Systems,” Cal said. “They’ll kill all of the confederacy leaders and the Jedi, then Darth Sidious will build his empire on our bones.”

“A deep truth the child speaks,” Master Yoda said after a protracted silence. “Dangerous are the days to come.”

* * * *

Jaro shut the door to his padawan’s bedroom and walked down the hall through the apartment he’d been given. He’d not lived in the temple in many years, but it was a comfort all the same. The Jedi Council planned to send a replacement to his ship to undertake his next assignment and he’d no communications from the Republic regarding the situation, so he considered it handled. Perhaps they did not care which Jedi General ended up on the bridges of their ships as long as there was one. He would miss the 13^th Battalion as he’d served with those troopers since the beginning of the Clone War, but Cal’s safety came first.

He walked into the common space of the apartment and found Mace Windu, Eno Cordova, and Obi-Wan Kenobi standing where he’d left them. Cal had fallen asleep, curled up in a chair in the Council space with his new little droid companion standing as a vigilant sentry. It had darted up Jaro’s body and perched on his shoulder as he’d picked up his padawan and carried him through the empty halls of the temple. Then, once in the bedroom that would be Cal’s, BD-1 plugged himself into a wall outlet by the bed and perched on the headboard to continue his guard duties.

He focused on Cordova. “How much do I owe you for that droid?”

Cordova shook his head. “My story was entirely true, old friend. I found him in a box of junk on Zeffo. I charged him, turned him on, and he introduced himself to me. He has no documented owner and no memory from before I activated him. He’s a helpful little fellow and incredibly loyal to the one he claims. I believe your padawan will be well served by BD-1.”

“Caf?” Jaro asked and they all three said yes immediately, so he motioned him into the kitchen.

A few moments later, they were settled at the table, staring at caf in their cups in silence.

“Yoda will try to take over his training,” Mace murmured.

Jaro’s stomach tightened, and he nodded. “I knew that before I ever landed on this planet.”

“Tell him no,” Obi-Wan said. “Firmly and allow no arguments.”

“Precious few people tell Yoda no,” Mace said.

“I agree that he should be told no,” Eno said. “The boy is very attached to you, Jaro. It would be an immense wound for him to be separated from you, especially after the dream the Force gave him.”

“Shouldn’t that attachment be discouraged?” Mace said.

“I can’t turn my back on Cal,” Jaro said. “Not after what…he did in the dream. He defended my corpse, Mace.”

“The nightmare would’ve felt real to him,” Eno said. “I knew it was a dream, but I don’t think that boy did. Not until he woke up.”

Jaro took a deep breath and a sip of caf. He wished he’d offered them all something harder to drink. “When he woke up—it felt like something had broken his heart. He was crying so hard I thought he might make himself sick. He apologized to me. He said he was weak in the dream and that I died because of it. If I gave him over to Yoda, he would see it as a rejection.”

“An immense one,” Obi-Wan said. “He doesn’t deserve to feel discarded because of Yoda’s assumption that he always knows best.”

“Bitter?” Mace questioned.

Obi-Wan shrugged and drank some caf. “But you have your work cut out for you, Jaro. Moreover, no matter what the others say, I don’t think you should stay here on Coruscant with him. I don’t think any of us should stay, to be frank. I’m going to lobby to move the younglings as soon as possible.”

“Can we hide that kind of operation from Palpatine?” Mace questioned.

“Sheev Palpatine is a Sith,” Jaro said darkly. “He should be taken out as soon as possible. Dooku as well.”

“Yes, but also, we need to find and destroy the technology that governs those control chips. We need to know how they work so they can be neutralized,” Obi-Wan said. “That’s a task I’d like to be part of.”

“Why?” Jaro asked.

“Because the clone troopers are slaves,” Obi-Wan said. “And I’m ashamed of myself, Jaro. I’m ashamed of us all for never acknowledging it. They have no choice about their service and no rights. It’s disgusting, and I’m appalled to have accepted it without a single protest.”

“Cal is petrified of them,” Jaro murmured. “I’m not sure how to navigate that, even if we can free them from the control technology.”

“We need to find out as much as we can about how the chips work, how many orders there are, and what they mean,” Mace said. “Which means we need to have a very long talk with a clone trooper. One we can trust—as much as we can trust anyone with a control biochip in their head that is. Giving your padawan information is the key to restoring his comfort when it comes to the clones.”

“I want to trust Cody,” Obi-Wan said. “But, frankly, if we make the wrong choice, we’re going to have to imprison them or worse, to keep the investigation a secret. He’s too high profile to simply disappear. Anyone we’re close to disappearing might bring more notice than we can afford. It would endanger us all and most especially Cal.”

“I want to go kill Sheev Palpatine,” Jaro murmured. “Right now.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve never had a padawan impact me this way.”

“He’s a sweet boy,” Eno said. “And the Force is very invested in him. Perhaps Qui-Gon Jinn was wrong all of those years ago.”

“About Anakin?” Obi-Wan questioned, and Eno nodded. “He’s powerful but reckless, and his connection with the Force is, honestly, no deeper than my own. I don’t think individual power is enough, and never have. Shouldn’t the Chosen One have a profound connection with the Force?”

“I would think so,” Mace said. “Skywalker has proven himself valuable and talented, but his relationship with Sheev Palpatine must be mitigated immediately. He’s been influencing him for years, Obi-Wan. It might be too late.”

“No,” Obi-Wan said firmly. “It’s not too late.” He took a deep breath, and his eyes dampened with tears. “He’s like a brother to me, Mace. Please don’t let it be too late.”

“We’ll have him recalled and replaced, at least temporarily, in his command,” Mace said. “He mentioned wanting to spend some time training his padawan in the temple, so he shouldn’t be unduly surprised by the transfer of duties.”

“Ahsoka is just as reckless and headstrong as he is,” Obi-Wan muttered. “It’s like Qui-Gon whispers in their ears.”

Mace laughed.

* * * *

“I think you were in my dream,” Cal said and wiggled BD-1’s foot a little. “I’m not sure. You’ll stay with me, right? You won’t pick out a new Human next week to travel with?”

BD-1 nudged the datapad and made a series of sounds, which the device translated.

“I will stay with you always, Cal.”

Cal smiled. “I’ll work on learning your language. Thanks for getting the datapad to translate for you, though. Master Tapal will be up soon, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have to spend the day explaining myself to old Jedi. I don’t know why the Force had to pick on me like this, BD, but it’s kind of unfair. I just wanted to learn how to be a good Jedi and protect people. Now I have to deal with all of these terrible things, and I’m afraid I’ll start having visions next, and that’s going to suck. I don’t want to have Force visions. Do you think she’ll make me? I don’t know if the Force is really a lady, but it just seems like it.”

Cal wasn’t surprised when the droid didn’t have any of the answers to his questions. He huffed a little and got out of bed so he could shower and dress. He was allowed to feed himself and often had on the Albedo Brave, so after he was dressed, Cal headed for the kitchen.

BD-1 was perched on the counter, poking at the food synth when he reached the room. Cal was very relieved when a bowl of hot cereal was ejected with a glass of milk. He took both to the table after grabbing a spoon.

“Thanks, BD.” He sat his datapad down on the table next to his bowl. “I had more dreams last night. At least they weren’t all terrible the way the first one was.” The droid sat down on the table and focused on Cal like he was the center of the universe. “What kind of skills do you have?”

The screens on his datapad flickered until he was looking at the model specs for the droid type that BD-1 was. He nodded and started reading. “Okay, so you’re an exploration droid. Your map feature is pretty cool. Have you already made a map of the temple? I don’t get to explore much yet, but when I’m older, maybe we can go on adventures and stuff.” BD nodded his agreement as he displayed a multi-layered map of the temple. “We can look for cool stuff in caves.” He paused. “And in old ruins, we probably shouldn’t go into.”

“And get arrested,” Master Tapal said wryly as he entered the kitchen. “Then I’ll get a comm asking for bail money because the two of you have defiled some ancient tomb.”

Cal shrugged. “I’ll just go on the list with Masters Beck and Kymra. We’ve bailed them out of jail twice in the last six months.”

Master Tapal laughed, which he counted for a win.

“At least Wilaj Kymra was on Order business. I’m to eventually gain a reputation as the Jedi Master who trained a bunch of Jedi who look for reasons to get arrested.”

“We’ll be good,” Cal said. “Or we won’t get caught, right BD?”

The droid beeped cheerfully, and Master Tapal sighed. Soon, his master brought a plate full of various meats and vegetables to the table to eat. Cal looked over the assortment as he figured he could’ve handled that plate of food from the food synth. He glanced toward BD and found the droid scanning Master Tapal’s plate.

“He ordered my food for me,” Cal said.

“The droid is trying to be helpful, so we don’t tell him to leave,” Master Tapal said. “That particular model is rare and very eager to please since their programmed use is quite limited.”

BD-1 beeped and whirled for several seconds, so Cal checked the datapad.

“He says that he can learn new skills and would welcome upgrades,” Cal shifted the datapad. “I’m learning his language, but in the meantime, he helped me download a translation program so we can communicate.”

“He’s proactive and that’s to the good,” Master Tapal said. “Now, tell me about your dreams from last night.”

Cal frowned at his cereal. “They were interesting, but not as horrible as the first one, which just seemed to show me how people came into my life then died.”

“Did your first dream end where Master Cordova’s did?”

Cal shook his head. “I found a place to hide in one of the ships that was scheduled to be salvaged. Last night I dreamt about my life on Bracca—I stole for a while to feed and clothe myself. Then, I found a scrapper to apprentice with. He taught me how to break down ships. It was a hard life, but I was relatively safe from the Empire and their Imperial Inquisitors as long as I didn’t use the Force.” He focused on the cereal. “He was a good person—the scrapper who taught me. Prauf made sure no one messed with me and even let me sleep in his room so I’d be safe from degenerates. I don’t know what those are, though.”

“That was nice of Prauf,” Master Tapal said. “Do you know what he does for a living right now?”

“He’s an engineer, I think. I don’t know where he works currently.” Cal finished his cereal. “What are degenerates?”

His master hesitated and frowned.

“Sorry, should I not say that word?” Cal questioned.

“It’s not an inappropriate word. Your friend Prauf was protecting you from people who might be inappropriate with you,” Master Tapal said. “In the crèche, you were told that sometimes you can’t trust adults, correct? You were told that if someone asks you to take off your clothes or if they try to touch your private parts, then you’re to defend yourself vehemently and tell a trusted adult.”

“Yes.” Cal blinked. “Oh.” He nodded. “We should do something nice for Prauf.” He paused. “That’s weird, right? He wouldn’t even know me. I just dreamt about him.”

“I will arrange for you to meet him,” Master Tapal said quietly. “If you’ve dreamt of him, then he’s important, and we must know more about him.”

“Okay,” Cal said cheerfully and focused on BD-1. “I dreamt about BD, too.”

“Really?” Master Tapal questioned. “Was he with Master Cordova?”

“No, I don’t think so.” He took a deep breath. “Prauf saved me from an Imperial Inquisitor and was murdered for it. I don’t know what that is, though. I just know they were bad and that I had to run from them repeatedly. I think…I think they might have been hunting me.”

“Hunting you or hunting Jedi?” Master Tapal questioned.

Cal frowned and focused on his bowl, which was empty. “I don’t know.” He stood from the table and gathered his dishes to put in the stationary cleaning droid. There were four cups in the small sink, so he added them to the cleaner and closed it carefully to avoid knocking the glass around. “I’m worried.”

“I know, Padawan,” Master Tapal said carefully. “But I am here, and you’re safe. I’ll not allow anyone to harm you; I swear it.” He cupped Cal’s head briefly, then trailed his large fingers over his padawan braid. “Why did you do it?”

“Leave my braid with you in the dream?” Cal questioned, and Master Tapal nodded. “I wanted to leave something of me with you forever. I had your lightsaber, and you took my braid. Perhaps not a fair trade, but you…I was never going to have another true master. My days as a padawan were over.”

Master Tapal cleared his throat and released him. “There will come a day when you will kneel before me, and I will knight you. But I will have your back all of your days.”

“Even when you take another padawan?” Cal asked curiously.

“I will not train another padawan in your lifetime, Cal. My duty to you is clear.” Master Tapal focused on his food. “Now, go run our laundry from yesterday through the cleaner while we wait to be summoned by the Council.”

“Can we train today?”

“If there is time,” Master Tapal agreed. “BD-1, please stay with me a moment. I wish to have a conversation with you.”

Cal hesitated but then offered BD-1 a smile and darted off to take care of their laundry, which was never much since they did it daily. Cal only had three sets of clothes, and his Master traveled with the same amount. He didn’t know if Master Tapal had more or if he was content with so little variety. Cal was kind of hoping to get a rain poncho. He had credits to buy it since they hadn’t gone to a shopping center since boarding the Albedo Brave.

Jaro stayed where he was, fork in hand, as his padawan left, muttering under his breath about a poncho. He had no idea why Cal would want such a thing, but he made a mental note to take the boy shopping. He focused on the droid and found BD-1 sitting patiently in the middle of the table. It was a cute little thing, but there was something different about it that he couldn’t quite figure out.

“BD-1, what is your base function?”

“To protect Cal Kestis.”

“When did this become your base function?”

“Thirty-seven point eight hours ago.”

“Who made this your base function?” Jaro asked.

“Processing. Unknown. Base function changed while charging.”

“What was your previous base function?”

“Accept master. Help master explore.”

“Who gave you that function?”

“First base instruction upon activation.” BD-1 wiggled his feet, and his lights flickered briefly. “I’m a good droid.”

“Yes, it appears that you are. The Force tells me I can trust you,” Jaro said thoughtfully as he ate. “And I am pleased with your primary function.” He held out his left hand and revealed a thin bracelet. “This is a location device. I’m going to give you the encryption key so that you may track me. This is to help you locate me if Cal and I are separated. I’m going to put another on Cal so you can find him as well. The best way you can protect Cal is to make sure no one separates him from me.”

“Good.”

Jaro activated the bracelet and sent the code to the droid. “Will you accept a program that will prevent anyone from altering your primary function again?”

“Yes. I need it immediately. Protect Cal. Be loyal to Cal always. I made a promise to the Force.”

Jaro exhaled sharply. “Then I will help you keep that promise, BD-1.”

Cal returned at that point and stood expectantly at the end of the table. “The clothes are clean, and I put yours back in your satchel since you haven’t unpacked, Master.”

“Have you unpacked?”

“No, sir,” Cal said and bounced a little.

Jaro nodded. “I’m expecting a delivery shortly. Do not answer the door when the chime sounds. In fact, do not answer the door under any circumstances until I say otherwise. You are to go nowhere with any adult without my explicit permission. When we are in rooms together, make sure I’m in your line of sight at all times. You are small, and I don’t wish to lose you in a crowd.”

“Are you worried that someone will take me?” Cal questioned.

“I am being cautious. I know of no explicit threats regarding you,” Jaro assured, and Cal’s shoulders relaxed. “Go retrieve my datapad from the desk. I’m going to update BD-1’s programming with his permission.”

The door chimed just as he finished his last piece of nerf steak. He stood from the table and Cal picked up his dishes as he walked away. “My thanks, Padawan.”

One thing about Cal that was different from all of his other padawans was that the boy was obsessively neat and felt most comfortable around order. It had been an adjustment as Jaro wasn’t always the neatest of people and would toss his clothes about any which way at the end of the day. The boy had been aghast the first time Jaro had left a towel on the floor in front of the shower.

He opened the door, and Master Cordova inclined his head and offered a slim box. “I was able to retrieve a duplicate device to the one you showed me last night from the quartermaster with no issues. I took the liberty of checking the program, and it has not been tampered with. The encryption key can be changed easily, so I recommend you do that before you close it and put it on the boy.”

“Thank you, Eno,” Jaro murmured. “I’ll be reprogramming it entirely like I did the one I’ve already tested on myself. It’s something I’ve been working on for several weeks. I just felt prodded to do it, and I’m beginning to see why. Fortunately, it won’t take more than a week to do it again now that I understand how it works.” He put the case on his desk.

“I’m to also tell you that the Council is ready for us to return,” Eno said and sighed. “There may be some politics to deal with.”

“I can run circles around most when it comes to politics,” Jaro admitted, and Eno laughed. “It’s a natural talent for my species. We enjoy being complicated, enigmatic, and casually vicious.”

Chapter 2

“Take over his training, I will,” Yoda said.

“No.” Cal shifted closer to Master Tapal. “I am honored, Master Yoda, but no thank you.” He wet his lips as everyone on the Council stared at him. “I made my decision over a year ago, and I won’t change my mind.”

Master Yoda stared for a moment. “Reject me you have.” He sat back in his chair. “Unprecedented.”

“I hope I haven’t hurt your feelings, Master Yoda,” Cal said earnestly, and Master Kenobi coughed into his hand.

“Please sit,” Master Yoda said.

Master Tapal guided Cal to a chair low on the floor in front of the Council.

BD-1 hopped gamely up on the chair beside Cal and sat down.

“Will you tell us why you’ve refused Master Yoda’s tutelage?” Master Windu questioned.

“Master Yoda has a very high profile in the Order and his padawans get a lot more notice from the public at large than any other. While Master Tapal is well-known as a general and for his war record, no one really cares who his apprentice is outside of the Order. He is expected to have one, so he has one.

“On the ship, I’m the little commander, and that’s how I’m treated. The clone troopers indulge me and treat me like a child they are currently required to protect when I’m off-duty. I know that will change if something isn’t done, and that is a situation the Council should be managing. Moreover, I’m happy where I am. I trust Master Tapal to teach me everything I need to know.” He folded his legs together as he got comfortable in the chair. “Last night, I dreamt of Dathomir.”

Several people outright gaped at him, which was kind of scary, so he looked toward his master for support.

Jaro stared for a moment. “It’s fine, Padawan. You cannot control what the Force gives you in your dream. Tell us about Dathomir.”

“The people on Dathomir live a deep, yet simple, spiritual life,” Cal said.

“They’re dark Force users,” Master Oppo Rancisis interjected.

“A few of them, yes,” Cal agreed. “Just like other Force-positive individuals all over the galaxy who are neither Jedi nor Sith. There is good and bad in every population and in every person, Master Rancisis. But many of the Dathomiri merely practice their magick within the Force with no ill intent. The dark side has a strong presence on the planet, and the Force doesn’t disapprove—she sees the necessity of their dark craft and hope for us all within their power.

“You say with Dathomir, the Jedi should align,” Master Yoda said and stared.

“Well, no, not me.” Cal shifted BD-1 around in his lap. “It’s what the Force wants. I don’t know what it means—in any way. I’m not even sure where Dathomir is. I do know that Chancellor Palpatine is at odds with a powerful witch from Dathomir, which means we should enable her in every way that we can to undermine him. I dreamt that Count Dooku will attack Dathomir with the goal of genocide. We cannot allow this—such a thing would offend the Force greatly.”

Yoda nodded and inclined his head toward Master Windu.

“We will send an envoy to Dathomir. It is a matter that will have to be handled carefully as the Nightsisters rule there, and they are known to be hostile,” Master Windu said.

“Perhaps I should take that mission,” Master Cordova interjected. “My former padawan is traveling to me as we speak, and she is accomplished in her own right. She could accompany me.”

“Mace?” Master Yoda questioned.

“It’s a good plan. Master Cordova has a low profile within the Order and is known as a researcher. No one would be surprised that he would have the audacity to go to Dathomir and seek an audience with the Nightsisters.” Master Windu shrugged at the looks he received.

Cal noted that Master Cordova seemed pleased with the assessment. He wondered when he’d be allowed to have audacity, though he’d settle for an attitude problem currently. Since he knew already he wasn’t allowed to have one of those, he figured audacity was a long time coming, too. Master Tapal had been quite explicit regarding the subject of attitude problems.

“What did you see in your dream about Dathomir?” Master Tapal asked.

“There was a beautiful temple and a large city built on the side of a rocky mountain. They have interesting rituals,” Cal said. “The Force says that Dathomir provides balance. It just needs a little help to even things out.”

“Balance,” Master Yoda repeated in the silence that followed. “Use that word the Force did?”

“Yes,” Cal said. “Is that bad?”

“It’s interesting,” Master Kenobi said when Yoda remained silent. “Is Dathomir all you dreamt of?”

“No, I also saw how I would live on Bracca,” Cal said and focused on BD-1. “It was scary, but I found a friend to take care of me and protect me from degenerates. He taught me how to scrap ships and earn credits so I could eat.” He patted the droid when he beeped at him since the tone sounded sad. “He didn’t know it, but he also protected me from being discovered by the Empire.”

“What is the Empire exactly?” Master Kit Fisto questioned, and Cal focused on the Council member who seemed to speak the least in any meeting.

“It’s what Palpatine turns the Galactic Republic into—the Empire was tyrannical, heartless, merciless, and the Jedi were being hunted to extinction. They used the Force against us. I think they even used our own kind against us, and Palpatine gave us no quarter. Even a single Jedi was seen as a threat to his disgusting campaign of subjugation and destruction. In the end, no one would be spared, and entire worlds were routed. He will enslave, control, and destroy anything and anyone he can. He is so dark that the Force cannot stand to look upon him. Palpatine and Dooku must be taken out—as quickly as possible.”

“Assassination is not in the wheelhouse of the Jedi,” Master Windu said dryly.

Cal shrugged and ran his finger along the top of BD-1’s head. “Hire someone.”

Master Kenobi snorted and then cleared his throat noisily. “My apologies.”

“Master Tapal says it’s always appropriate to hire someone to do a job that you cannot do yourself,” Cal said. “And to pay them a fair wage for their work.”

“This is that moment Yaddle warned me about,” Master Tapal said idly. “When my own words coming out of my padawan’s mouth would serve only to haunt me.”

Cal considered that but had no idea how to respond. “How much does it cost to hire someone to kill a Sith?” He paused. “Or two?”

“We have no idea,” Master Adi Gallia said with a small smile. “But it will be investigated as an option as our current purpose as an order is to defend the Republic from all threats.”

Cal nodded. “I think you underestimate your fellow Jedi. I’m sure many of them are talented enough to take care of the Sith problem as secretly as possible.”

“Believe assassination work of dark side, Cal Kestis?” Master Yoda questioned.

Cal saw the test in the question as Master Tapal often prodded him on moral issues with plain and blunt questions that had many layers and answers. “To kill any sapient being should only be done in the defense of others or yourself. I believe self-defense is the fundamental right of all creatures that are created in this galaxy. Chancellor Palpatine threatens the lives and cultures of millions. The Jedi Order cannot ignore that. His right to live cannot supersede the rights of millions to live and thrive within the Republic. We must always strive, as Jedi, to do for others what they cannot do for themselves.

“Master Tapal teaches you well,” Master Plo Koon said from Cal’s left, and he focused on the Kel Dor with interest as he’d never met anyone else from the planet of Dorin. His breathing mask was especially interesting. “Your non-answer was pointed and eloquent.”

Master Tapal laughed.

“If Master Yoda wishes to know if there is darkness in my heart, then he can look,” Cal said quietly. “I have no secrets. I don’t think I’m old enough to have big secrets, at any rate.”

Yoda left his seat crossed, the space between them, and unceremoniously reached out for Cal. BD-1 beeped sharply, stood up, and extended a little arc welder menacingly.

“Oh, no, BD.” He grabbed the droid and prodded him to put the little welder away. “Master Yoda won’t hurt me.” He passed the droid to Master Tapal with wide eyes.

“The droid has decided his primary function is to protect my padawan,” Master Tapal said. “And he’s serious about it.”

“Good droid,” Master Yoda said and offered BD-1 a pat before focusing once more on Cal. “Look deep, I will.”

Cal merely nodded, and his eyes fluttered shut as the Grand Master of the Jedi Order put a small hand on his chest. The Force moved between them, and behind his eyelids, light sparked. The silence around them was neither worrisome nor oppressive as he understood the other Jedi in the room where just giving Master Yoda the respect they believed he deserved.

“Happened something has,” Yoda murmured. “Bright within the Force this child is.” He lifted his hand away, and Cal opened his eyes. “The Righteous One.”

“What’s happened to him, Master Yoda?” Master Tapal questioned.

“Touched him the Force has. Gifted by the light side the boy is,” Yoda said quietly. “Immense the duty to such a child is.”

“I made my decision over a year ago as well,” Master Tapal said. “And I’ve not changed my mind, either.” He put BD-1 back in Cal’s lap.

“Well suited you are,” Yoda said with clear reluctance and returned to his seat. “Ever Light Cal Kestis is.”

“Ever Light?” Cal questioned. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a very rare distinction in this day and age,” Master Tapal said quietly. “It means the Force is so invested in you, personally, that the dark side cannot touch you. The Force is with you, Padawan, and she will never leave you.”

“That’s…nice,” Cal decided. “Being alone was awful in my dream. You’ll stay, too.”

Master Tapal put a firm hand on his shoulder. “As I already said, Cal. I will be within your reach all of your days. Your path within the Force is also mine as that is what I feel our Lady has asked of me, and I’m grateful for it.”

Master Cordova stood as silence settled on the room. “My former padawan has arrived. May she be admitted?”

“Yes,” Master Windu said. “We’ll discuss the mission to Dathomir.”

“Did you encounter many other Jedi in your dream after the Order fell?” Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure how many survived the betrayal, but it wasn’t many,” Cal said and turned as a woman joined them with Master Cordova. For a moment, he just stared as tears welled in his eyes. “Cere.” The woman smiled and came to him. She knelt in front of the chair and stilled when he touched her shoulder with a trembling hand. “You died.”

“I’m so sorry, Cal,” Cere murmured. “It was never my intention.”

“Did you dream with me, too?” Cal questioned. “I’m sorry.”

“I dreamt of….” She trailed off and frowned.

“Jedha,” Cal answered, and she took a deep breath. “The Empire attacked your hideout, and Vader came for us because we were betrayed. He murdered you.”

“Yes,” Cere said with a sad smile as she cupped his face gently. “I still mean it—you’re the truest Jedi Knight I’ve ever known, Cal Kestis. You won’t understand this…I hope you never do…but your sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Everything will be different now. There is nothing I won’t do to prevent the rise of the Empire.”

He lurched forward, tumbled right out of the chair, and into her arms. Cere just held him tight when his quiet tears turned to sobs. Cal couldn’t contain it. The loss and the grief that the dream had settled on him like a blanket just swelled up in him and spilled out. He barely recognized his master’s hand settling on his back or BD-1 attempting to wiggle between him and Cere.

“He cannot continue to hold onto his grief over the dream,” a voice said. “It’s not healthy.”

“It’s not his grief,” Cere said and held him tighter. “It’s the broken hearts of every Jedi that died because of Palpatine. They’re still with him from his dream. He carried them for years in the dream, held them close, avenged them when he could, and stood so bravely against insurmountable odds that he inspired nearly everyone he crossed paths with to be better. To do better.”

“Yes,” Master Cordova said in agreement. “This is the path of the Righteous One.”

* * * *

“I’ve never missed Yaddle more than I do at this very moment,” Jaro said. “When she offered to train me, I was honored, humbled by her care and thoughtful path within the Force. She was cunning, wise, and fierce in her resolve. I would’ve lingered at her side until the day one of us passed had she not tossed me out into the galaxy and told me to get over myself.”

“Master Yaddle was wise,” Eno said. “And honest in her use of the Force. A genuine hero of the Republic.” He sighed and focused on his student. “Cere, please speak frankly with us. You know Cal in a way that transcends a dream.”

“Yes,” Cere said. “I can’t fully explain it without violating the privacy of another.”

“Tell me what you can,” Jaro said carefully. “I need to know what I can do to protect my padawan.” His hand clenched against his thigh as he sat down at the table. “You called him a Jedi Knight. Why?”

“Because I knighted him,” Cere said, and Jaro reared back in shock. “And it was my great honor, Jaro, to take your padawan into my care when I found him. If I’d known he was on Bracca as a child, I would’ve retrieved him as soon as I could’ve. He was a survivor—strong, dedicated, and fierce in his resolve to protect the family he made for himself. I was honored to be included in that.”

“Make us understand,” Eno said gently. “Please, Cere.”

“A ritual was done by a Force-sensitive witch in the future,” Cere said. “I can’t reveal any more on that subject so please don’t ask. The participants made promises to the Force in exchange for the chance to send their memories back in time to a younger version of themselves. I was already dead, but I participated in the ritual with the Force’s permission.”

“The Republic really did turn on us?” Jaro questioned.

“Palpatine used the clone troopers to kill us, yes,” Cere said. “By the time Cal was an adult, there were less than 150 Jedi alive in the galaxy.”

“But there are over 10,000 of us right now,” Jaro said hoarsely.

“The Empire was relentless, and they had our records from this temple. They knew our names, our pasts, and even had psychological profiles on us. They were able to hunt for us relentlessly. The fact that Cal managed to grow up on Bracca basically free of discovery is thanks to your destruction of the Albedo Brave and his friend Prauf. You were both reported dead on that ship.” Cere took a deep breath. “They called it Order 66 and Palpatine used it to brand every single living Jedi a traitor. The clone troopers were forced to kill us because of the biochips. The chips can be removed, but there are far too many of them to undertake that kind of operation without Palpatine’s notice.”

“How was the order distributed?”

“Palpatine sent a verbal command, or at least that’s what I was told. It filtered through the fleet like a wave, and so did the murders of our kind.” Cere cleared her throat. “I’ve submitted Trilla for her trials.”

“Is it too soon?” Eno questioned. “She’s only been your padawan for eight years.”

“She’s ready. Maybe more than ready, as I’ve held her back a little because she’s my first padawan, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. In the future, I failed her, and it left a wound inside of me that lingers due to the memories I’ve been given. Even looking at her hurts, and she doesn’t deserve that from me. She didn’t deserve anything that happened to her,” Cere said and took a deep, shuddery breath. “Besides, I’ve made promises to the Force that I must see to. I can’t do that with a padawan at my side.”

“And if she wishes to stay with you after being knighted?” Eno questioned. “She’s very fond of you.”

“She has ambitions of her own and wants to work intelligence,” Cere said. “So, I’ve recommended her to Mace Windu for his operations. She’ll make an excellent operative as she’s very good at sussing out a situation or a person and figuring out what makes them tick. She’ll be thrilled with the placement and proud that I recommended her.”

“That’s good,” Jaro said. “It’ll make her feel valuable to the Order.” He took a deep breath. “Tell me about my boy, Cere.”

“I found him because the Imperial Inquisitors, dark Force users working for the Empire to find and kill Jedi, were hunting him specifically. I managed to get him on the ship I’d hired in the midst of him fighting an Inquisitor. It had been five years since the Purge, and I hadn’t seen a sight like him since the height of the Clone Wars.

“As we traveled together, he reconnected to the Force and became everything I would expect of one of your padawans, Jaro. He was graceful as he fought, like a dancer, and the Force embraced him like a beloved child. Cal faced every challenge, every task, and even his defeats with a fierce resolve. He found strength in his pain and in the love of the friends that he gathered around him.” She smiled then. “And you’ll be happy to know that there was a time when Cal Kestis was the most wanted man alive in the galaxy for the trouble he caused the Empire and Darth Sidious. The boy all but bared his ass to that Sith Lord without a single hesitation every single chance he got.”

“I am immensely proud,” Jaro admitted, and Eno laughed. “He’s said nothing about memories traveling through time.”

“I hope he doesn’t remember that part for a very long time,” Cere admitted. “Because he was in love, Jaro, and he might not ever know that love again. The Force is clearly trying to spare him the pain and loss of her. We should allow it to do so.”

“The Jedi Council heavily discourages that,” Jaro said pensively.

“He chose to give his memories to the past in a ritual for many reasons, but one of them was his love for her,” Cere said. “And their desire to have a family without the Empire looming over them like a nightmare. She promised to have babies with him.”

Jaro sighed. “Who could deny a man such love? He threw his very soul across space and time to protect that sweet dream.”

“I don’t know that we’re meant to deny it—even for ourselves,” Eno said. “The lack of family ties….”

“When the Republic turned on us, we had nowhere to go,” Cere said. “There were no personal connections outside of the Order or the Galactic Republic for me. I ran with nothing, scavenged, and scraped to get by for months, and nearly starved on several worlds as I ran from the Empire. Our isolation didn’t serve us then, and it doesn’t really serve us now.”

Eno put a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry for what you remember. I wish I remembered more so I could be of some comfort to you, Cere.”

She put her hand on his. “Having you here is all that I could ask for, Eno. You were killed in front of me and Cal. He certainly remembers it even if he’s not said anything about the details. He didn’t know you well and had only met you a few weeks before. But he honored us together with a proper funeral fit for the Jedi.”

“So, he cremated all three of us,” Jaro said and took a deep breath. “Should I seek a counselor for him?”

“Who could we truly trust with him?” Eno questioned. “I’m not sure we should trust the Council with the full breadth of this situation. They’re steeped in tradition, and Yoda wants to train Cal. Don’t think he’s given up the idea entirely. He certainly didn’t expect Cal’s explicit rejection.”

“I won’t allow such a thing to be forced on my padawan. I will take him and leave before that happens,” Jaro said. “Even if Cal never remembers the sacrifice he made, I cannot ignore it. No one will take his choices from him. Ever.” He cleared his pause. “The droid said he made a promise to the Force.”

“Yes.” Cere smiled then and picked up her caf. “BD-1 insisted on participating in the ritual, and the three living participants agreed that he could try. He promised to keep Cal safe and to be a good droid. I’m assuming that the Force used the spell to change his base function. I don’t know if he remembers anything, but he’s very loyal to Cal and was even in the future. He saved Cal’s life more than once over the years that they traveled together.” She focused on Jaro. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m just wondering if BD-1 has the processing power to handle hunter droid programming.”

Eno laughed. “Do you plan to get him a grenade launcher or something?”

Jaro shrugged. “Whatever he needs to keep my padawan safe.”

BD-1 hopped up onto the table and planted a little foot on Jaro’s datapad. The device lit up, and a blank note opened up, and a list was produced. BD-1 beeped his satisfaction, hopped off the table, and trotted back toward Cal’s bedroom.

“What did he request?” Cere asked with an amused tone as Jaro picked up the datapad.

“Upgraded storage, a supply of ten stims, a laser cutter, a hacking probe, a bigger memory chipset, a better power supply, and an upgraded scomp link.” Jaro paused and set the datapad down. “And he admitted at the end that he probably needs a survival protocol due to his curiosity.”

“He is a very curious little thing,” Eno admitted. “And prone to scanning things that could and probably would step on him if he were to be noticed. I had to drag him out of a tar pit last month, where he got tossed. Took me a while to get that stuff off of him, too.” He focused on Cere. “Will you go with me to Dathomir?”

“I’ll need to oversee Trilla’s trials,” Cere said. “Master Windu said it would take a couple of weeks to arrange. She’s created a meditation and review schedule for herself, and I’ve told her I’m available to her each morning for three hours. I doubt she’ll take all three hours available to her. But I won’t take a minute from Trilla that I’ve given her away if I have a choice.”

“Tell me about Bode Akuna,” Jaro said, and Cere flinched. “Cere?”

“I have no idea what he’s like currently, but the Purge changed us, Jaro. Those of us that lived did whatever we could to survive. I’m ashamed to say that in the hardest moment of my life, I fell briefly to the dark side.”

Eno huffed in shock. “Not you, Cere. Never.”

“Yes,” Cere did. “That’s what the Sith wrought in me—what they wrought in the survivors time and time again. Bode Akuna was no exception. He was a spy for the Empire, and we didn’t know it. They were using his child against him as he’d hidden and tried to make a life for himself as an ordinary man. The Empire murdered his woman and took his child hostage. He befriended Cal, went on missions with him, and did not reveal he was a Jedi until he betrayed us and murdered Eno in front of us. He also revealed our sanctuary to the Empire, which led to me fighting and dying at the hands of the Sith apprentice—a very powerful dark Force user who called himself Darth Vader.”

“That’s Dooku’s Sith identity?” Jaro questioned.

“No, he’s known as Darth Tyranus,” Cere murmured.

“So, Dooku died at some point and was replaced with Vader,” Jaro said. “Did his death help or hinder Palpatine’s plans?”

“I don’t think it bothered him at all, but it did a number on the Confederacy,” Cere said.

“Do you know who Darth Vader was? A former Jedi?” Jaro questioned.

Cere shook her head. “It was not public knowledge, and I wasn’t a spy. I’m not sure if the rebellion forces ever considered that information important enough to seek. They did everything they could to avoid being anywhere near Darth Vader. I crossed paths with Obi-Wan several times after the Purge, so it wasn’t him. He was hunted and hid to protect others. Many of the masters that I’m familiar with were reported to have died on the very day that Order 66 was activated. Most of the Jedi Council was wiped out. That could’ve been propaganda, but the Council itself never reached out to the survivors to organize any kind of resistance.

“There is a situation brewing right now in the temple that we can prevent. Barriss Offee is probably already corrupted, and if she’s not stopped, she’ll basically plant a bomb in the temple and cast blame on Ahsoka Tano. Eventually, Tano was cleared, but she was so disillusioned by how she was treated by the Council and the Republic that she refused to rejoin the Order. We lost a great Jedi to the wilds of space because of Offee, and we can change that. We can prevent the deaths of many by getting Offee in hand now.”

“Cal won’t know anything about that,” Jaro said. “So, you’ll have to reveal it to the Council.”

Cal appeared at his side then and yawned. “I can say her name and say that she’s been influenced by the dark side. If she might bomb the temple in the future, then she’s dark or getting there. It won’t matter that it came from Cere’s dreams instead of my own.” He leaned on the table. “I dreamt about a beautiful girl, but I don’t know her name.”’

“What happened in the dream?” Jaro questioned.

Cal laughed. “She kept threatening me and disappearing. It was so fascinating and challenging that I just kept following her. I couldn’t help myself. Then we flew together through a large battle using the Force and her magick. We fought the Empire together. She was amazing. I can’t wait to meet her.” He focused on Cere. “Do you know who she is?”

“Yes, do you want me to tell you?” Cere questioned.

“No,” Cal said and smiled. “I want to find her for myself. It feels important. BD-1 is charging, and this is going to sound weird, but it’s like he’s talking in his sleep. I know droids don’t really sleep, but he’s beeping a little every now and again. I had my datapad translate it. He really wants a laser-cutting tool. One that will cut through any metal, even the stuff used to make shackles.”

Cere laughed. “I’m not remotely surprised about that.”

Cal shrugged. “I don’t have any plans to be a criminal. But two out of the four padawans that Master Tapal trained do get arrested frequently. I told BD-1 that, so maybe he’s just planning for potential problems. We can’t really blame him considering the likelihood that I’m going to end up in a jail cell on some backwater Outer Rim planet.”

“I’ll keep you out of jail,” Jaro said in amusement. “Go back to bed.”

“Here’s hoping the Force doesn’t lead us right down a path straight into a jail cell together. Then who will bail us out?” Cal shook his head and focused on Eno Cordova. “You in?”

Eno grinned. “Sure, Cal, I’d be honored to bail you and Jaro out of jail should the need ever come to pass.”

“Why him and not me?” Cere questioned with a surprised laugh.

“We’re already gonna be demoralized by an unfair prison experience,” Cal said. “No need to get a lecture on top of it.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Jaro said. “Bed, Padawan.”

“Yes, Master.” Cal trotted off toward his bedroom.

Jaro shook his head. “Should we let him lie to the Council?”

“Well, nothing he proposed to say is a lie,” Eno said casually. “He can squeeze that information in the midst of other data he shares from his own dream if he wishes. We can encourage that or not. Either way, we’ll figure out a way to make sure that Barriss Offee doesn’t get a chance to plant a bomb in the temple.” He focused on Cere. “Unless you’d like to manifest some visionary abilities at your age and confound the entire Council for decades to come.”

“No, Cal’s enough for them, surely,” Cere said.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t share the time travel information with them?” Eno questioned.

“It’s not safe for her,” Jaro said. “And Cal might not ever remember her in full. Maybe he’ll never meet her, but revealing that a witch cast such a spell would have deep ramifications. Was she good, Cere?” He glanced toward the hall and prodded the door shut to Cal’s bedroom with a thought.

“So good that she risked her life repeatedly to help those persecuted by the Empire escape. She fought at Cal’s side, protected him, loved him, and in the end, she helped him save us all,” Cere said.

“Then protecting her is paramount,” Jaro said. “Let’s resolve right now not to discuss her again unless Cal asks.”

Cere nodded and Eno took a deep breath as he nodded as well.

“The situation seems insurmountable,” Eno said. “And overwhelming. I woke on Zeffo after the dream, and it felt like something fundamental had changed in me. I packed everything up and canceled my plans to explore a Zeffo site in favor of coming here as fast as I could. I can’t explain it, but I feel as if the dream I shared with Cal altered my destiny.”

Cere looked down at her cup, and Jaro watched her think. She wet her lips and took a deep breath. “Originally, you had a vision, Eno, which foretold the downfall of the Jedi Order. There wasn’t enough information in the vision to gather the evidence to validate it. The Council dismissed the vision as a vague prediction, and you devised a plan to protect force-positive children that have yet to be brought to the temple.”

“We do need to see that information protected,” Jaro said. “And we need to lock down all of our facilities for security purposes. The Council is fascinated with Cal, and I’m not sure how proactive they’ll be without prodding. They clearly can’t deny the truth of this dream any more than I can. Every word out of his mouth feels like the most profound truth I’ll ever hear.

“We can’t delay in our actions. Master Windu is the most grounded of all the members of the Council, so he’s our best hope for quick action. The others get lost in their heads, lost in the potential and beauty of the Force. I think that’s why they end up on the Council.”

“Even Master Kenobi?” Cere questioned.

“He’s on the Council, so they can keep an eye on Skywalker in some way,” Jaro said. “They’re still looking at him and seeing one mistake after another. But they also hope to see the Chosen One in him. I imagine they’d all been relieved if Yoda had declared Cal the real Chosen One instead of Anakin Skywalker, whom he never wanted trained to begin with. As if Jedi training was the only path to a Sith. Sheev Palpatine has hidden under our noses for decades, never trained as a Jedi, and yet remains the biggest threat we’ve ever known. Not a single one of them acknowledged that today.”

“No, agreed,” Eno said. “They were so fascinated by Cal that they never really put any thought into explaining how Palpatine became who he is. I wonder if they even truly believe he is a threat.”

“He’s an immense threat, and if he finds out about Cal’s dreams or his connection to the Force, then he will target him the same way he’s been so focused on Anakin Skywalker all of these years,” Jaro said. “Obi-Wan should’ve never allowed that kind of interaction. I know the Council didn’t back him up on preventing Palpatine’s access to Anakin. It’s another reason why I’d like to remove Cal from Coruscant sooner rather than later. I’ll gut that bastard if he comes near my padawan.”

* * * *

There was a traitor in the temple and Jaro intended to find them as soon as he got free of his current situation. Cal was pressed against his leg, almost burrowed into his robe as Chancellor Palpatine all but pranced around the room. It was galling, and he wondered if the Sith Lord even noticed the horror that some of the people in the room couldn’t keep to themselves.

“Ah, there’s our little special one,” Palpatine said as he approached. “Master Tapal, is it? I’ve heard your padawan is extremely sensitive to the movements in the Force.” He focused on Cal. “Do you know who I am, Padawan?”

“Yes,” Cal said and stepped away from him as he did so, shoulders squared.

It made Jaro proud, but it also freed him up to move, and he wondered if Cal understood that.

“I know all about you, Chancellor Palpatine.”

“Do you?” Palpatine questioned, and his gaze narrowed. “Tell me something interesting then—something that you couldn’t have read on the HoloNet.”

Jaro’s hand fell to his lightsaber.

“I know when you’ll die,” Cal said, and blue Force energy shimmered over his padawan as BD-1 peeked at Palpatine over Cal’s shoulder. “But you probably don’t want to know that. It would be disconcerting.”

Palpatine stared in shock, but Jaro could see the fascination and obsession bloom in full across the Human’s face. No, he thought, absolutely not. His lightsaber dropped into his hand. He lifted it, activated it, and shoved it straight through Palpatine’s torso in the same instant. He watched shock, horror, and fury filter briefly in the man’s eyes. He pulled his saber free, and Palpatine fell to the floor dead.

“Wow.” Cal took a deep breath. “I was right.”

“Jaro,” Mace Windu began and looked at Palpatine’s body. “Well done.”

“Mace.” Obi-Wan Kenobi took a deep breath. “How will we explain this? Dozens of people saw him come into this room, and moreover, hundreds of people know he came to the temple.”

“I’ll take the hit,” Master Eeth Koth said, and they all turned to look at him.

“I can’t allow….” Jaro trailed off when the Zabrak raised a hand. “Eeth.”

“I am tired,” Eeth said. “And I’ve considering retirement for sometime. Moreover, and not to be inappropriate, my kind have intrinsic needs to breed. I’ve pushed it away for decades, but the urge grows stronger and stronger. I lasted longer than most assumed I would in the Order. Due to the tenets currently guiding our kind—I cannot be a Jedi and have a mate. Our mate bonds are quite intense and would split my loyalties.”

“Cal, sit down over there and close your eyes,” Jaro said quietly and pointed to Obi-Wan’s chair far from them as he stared at Eeth.

They’d been at the Jedi Academy together, often worked together as padawans, and gravitated around each other during their knighthoods and were far more than friends, at least in secret. The circumstance settled on the room as he and Eeth stared at each other. Love had never come easily to him, but he did love Eeth and had since he was little more than a boy. That love had grown and changed over the years, matured and deepened into something romantic and certainly carnal.

Cal looked between them; concern was written all over his face, but he nodded and hurried across the room.

“Don’t look, Padawan, no matter what you hear.”

“Yes, Master.”

Jaro took a deep breath and offered Eeth his hand. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Eeth said easily. “Don’t look at me like this is my end, dear friend, as I have an adventure ahead of me.”

Jaro pulled Eeth into a hug, and the Force shuddered between them. The Force bond they shared, which they’d kept muted since they were children, swelled inside of him. “It was always my intent to grow old with you.”

Eeth turned his face against his and took a deep breath before they separated. “The Force has always given us both exactly what we need, Jaro. I can’t see anything different for us in the future.”

They all focused on Yoda at that point, whose gaze traveled between them. His ears turned down gently and nodded with sad eyes. “Sacrifice the path is of a true Jedi.”

Jaro took a deep breath. “You’ll need to injure most of us in some fashion in your escape. I’ll take the worst of it, and I’ll accept no arguments. Take my arm below the elbow. Then fight your way out of this room through the window as far from my padawan as possible.”

Eeth smiled then. “I think we’ve all learned a lesson today about how inappropriate you’d consider it to be to approach your padawan without permission.”

Jaro frowned as several of them laughed. “Yes, well, he looked at Cal like he was an object to be owned.”

“Obi-Wan, you’ll pursue me,” Eeth said. “I must injure you all enough that none of you look like conspirators then Cal will run from the shouting for help. Can you do that, Padawan?”

“Yes, Master Koth, the Force thanks you for your service. She will protect you all of your days,” Cal said quietly.

Jaro looked at his padawan and found the boy glowing with the Force. Both of his hands were covering his face. He held out his arm to Eeth. “May the Force be with you, my beloved friend.”

“And with you,” Eeth said and gave a short bow before he drew his lightsaber.

Jaro swallowed hard as the shocking pain as his forearm and lightsaber fell to the floor. The room descended into chaos at that point as the others gave Eeth the fight they all needed to take place for it to look real. He sank to one knee as Yoda was thrown roughly against a wall and knocked unconscious. It could’ve been a death blow if the Grand Master himself hadn’t been the one controlling the movement more than Eeth.

He focused on Cal and found the boy was holding his little droid tight against his chest with his eyes still shut. Glass shattered and Eeth left the building with Obi-Wan Kenobi not far behind him. Jaro trusted the resulting chase would be ardent enough to aid their cover-up.

“Come, Padawan, it’s your turn.”

Cal immediately left the chair, darted across the room to the door, and unlocked the door. “Help us! Help! A Separatist spy just hurt the Chancellor! He ran away! Master Kenobi is chasing him!”

“Smart boy,” Jaro said as shock started to set in.

Medics and other Jedi started to stream into the room. He looked around and noted that not a single one of them was without injury. Eeth had certainly understood exactly what he needed to do.

“Jaro, my friend,” Eno said as he joined a medic looking at his arm. “How can I help?”

“Eno, I entrust my padawan to you while I’m in the hands of medical staff,” Jaro said gravely. “We have no idea how far this Separatist plot has spread. Keep him safe.”

“With my life, Jaro,” Eno said gently and gave a nod.

Jaro was relieved that Eno Cordova hadn’t been in the room for the meeting.

Chapter 3

Cal peered at the new hand and forearm with pursed lips. “I’m sorry.”

“This was my choice and I do not regret it,” Jaro said and flexed his fingers. “It will feel normal within a handful of days. Now, I must focus on who told Palpatine about you.”

“Well.” Cal frowned. “I don’t want to be biased because of the dreams I’ve had.”

“Tell me,” Jaro instructed.

“He said he’d heard that I was sensitive to movements in the Force. That’s what you told Bode Akuna when I recognized him,” Cal said, and Jaro took a deep breath. “It’s probably nothing.”

“No, Cal, I think you’re exactly right. Perhaps the actions you dreamt about were just the last in a long line of betrayals against the Jedi for Bode Akuna. Maybe the Sith saw something in him we missed and preyed on that darkness this whole time,” Jaro said. “But nothing that has happened on this day is your fault.”

“Is everyone else okay?” Cal asked.

“Master Yoda has a concussion,” Jaro said. “To be expected and something he certainly engineered. Master Windu had to have surgery to repair organ damage.” Cal winced. “It was a necessary injury. He was the strongest of the Council outside of Yoda and a significant injury was required to protect him from suspicion. Master Kenobi has been recovered from the crash and will be fine as well.”

“What crash?” Cal asked, wide-eyed.

“Ah, I see that Master Cordova kept you completely secluded.”

“Yes, he even confiscated my datapad,” Cal said with a frown, and Jaro laughed. “What crash?”

“Obi-Wan and Eeth had themselves a merry chase across the sector, through several levels heading for the spaceport,” Jaro said. “There is a lot of security footage of the whole thing. They ended up fighting in an open aircar that Eeth stole. It crashed and exploded. Obi-Wan was recovered from the wreckage, and Eeth is believed killed—disintegrated in the crash due to the heat of the explosion. In truth, he dragged Obi-Wan from the crash before everything exploded and has already met Master Mundi so he can be given a new identity.”

Cal relaxed. “I don’t know how…he made an immense sacrifice for us.”

“He’s a genuine guardian of the Republic,” Jaro said. “And we will honor his sacrifice in all that we do going forward.”

“He’ll be branded a traitor.”

“And that was his choice,” Jaro said. “And we must honor that as well. If we expect those around us to respect our choices, then we must do the same for them.”

Cal nodded. “Does he have enough credits? He can have my allowance from the temple.”

Jaro smiled. “Please trust that we will take care of him, and you needn’t sacrifice your allowance. Is your datapad in my desk?”

“Yes.”

“Then you may retrieve it and retire to your room,” Jaro said, and the boy ran to the desk, grabbed the device, and went to his room.

He focused on Cere Junda, who had stayed when Eno Cordova had departed from his apartment. “Something concerns you?”

“Many things. The Vice Chancellor of the Republic Senate, Mas Amedda, has put out a perfect statement expressing his outrage over the assassination of our beloved supreme chancellor and blaming the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In an interesting development, Count Dooku has claimed responsibility proudly amongst his compatriots. He’s quoted as saying that credits can buy anyone. It’s obscene, but it more than serves our purpose.

“Amedda knew that Palpatine was a Sith. Fortunately, his term as interim chancellor will be very short since he was removed from that office once due to a no-confidence vote. No one in the Senate is going to want him to do little more than warm the chair briefly.” Cere sat down on the sofa where he pointed, and he took a seat. “I’ve planted a few ideas, in some less than ethical ways that I don’t regret, recommending Bail Organa from Alderaan.”

Jaro nodded. “The best choice?”

“He’s a sound politician, and he respects the Force. He’d also personally fund a full-scale rebellion if he needed to fight a dark empire.” She said with a shrug, which meant to Jaro that the man had done exactly that in the now-defunct future.

“Dooku seems to have taken Palpatine’s death well.”

“He probably considers himself the Sith Lord now, and he’s looking around for an apprentice,” Cere said. “The galling part of this is that Sheev Palpatine will get a state funeral as an honored hero of the Galactic Republic like he wasn’t an immense, evil monster. Master Yoda chose Eeth’s replacement—Master Agen Kolar.”

“A pointed selection since Agen is also a Zabrak,” Jaro nodded. “It will bring home the point that being a Zabrak wasn’t the cause of Eeth’s…corruption.”

Cere took a deep breath. “I’m having a hard time saying things like that in public. It’s difficult. I know it’s necessary, but it’s galling.”

“Bode Akuna.”

She grimaced.

“When Cal recognized him, I told Akuna that Cal was sensitive to the movements of the Force, and Palpatine approached Cal for that reason, per his own words. I think he came to the temple to meet Cal specifically. I don’t regret reacting to his interest at all.”

“No, I wouldn’t either,” Cere admitted. “Honestly, had I been there, I’d have done no differently. The idea of that monster being in the same room with Cal is disgusting. I might have gotten between them even if Cal were an adult, despite how highly competent he will be.” She rubbed her hands on her robes. “So, Bode is already acting against us.”

“He might have merely spoken of the information with someone else due to lack of discretion,” Jaro said. “He’s young.”

“Then we need to have a conversation with him,” Cere said with a frown. “But not anytime soon as he might discern our interest and wonder about Palpatine’s death. We can’t afford a single rumor, so we must appear very transparent regarding Eeth Koth’s guilt and that investigation, which is being manufactured even as we speak. Eno is doing that work and he’s already started investigating everyone in the temple as part of that. He put Barris Offee on his private list of targets. I can assume that Bode Akuna is as well, but I’ll make sure. If Barris has not completely gone off the rails, then we’ll figure out some way to get her back on the path or out of the Order altogether.”

Jaro nodded and flexed his fingers.

“How does it feel?”

“Weird,” Jaro admitted, and Cere smiled. “Also, my padawan is a bad influence on my vocabulary. Regardless, it does feel bizarre, but the med droid assured me that my body would accept the new part within a few days, and it will feel like my natural hand. Do you know how they plan to hide Eeth?”

“He’s been given a new face, horn arrangement, and hair already by a surgical droid that volunteered to have the entire day removed from his memory,” Cere explained. “I took care of his new identity personally to avoid adding another conspirator to the situation. It took a bit of skulking around, but it was accomplished.”

“Something else on your mind?” Jaro questioned.

“In some ways, the death of Palpatine should be seen as a victory, but it feels like we’re on the edge of a cliff,” Cere murmured.

“Because the future is now unwritten in your mind,” Jaro said. “There’s no real predicting the events to come or what Dooku will do in what he perceives to be a power vacuum. But he’s a hard target now for the Republic and claiming responsibility for Palpatine’s assassination is only going to make things more difficult for his security personnel.”

“Why did he do it?” Cere wondered aloud. “What did it actually give him?”

“It might have shored up morale for the Confederacy,” Jaro said. “But we don’t know the full measure of his circumstances and what Palpatine’s death has cost him. Plus, he couldn’t pretend to be ignorant of the plot when the Republic is blaming the Separatists for the assassination.”

“Do you regret it?” Cere questioned.

“No, and I wouldn’t have even if I were going to be put on trial for it,” Jaro said. “I would ask something of you, Cere Junda.”

“You don’t have to,” Cere said quietly. “I already promised the Force that I’ll honor the sacrifices made for us, and it’s not just…about Cal.”

“Her?” Jaro asked.

“Yes, she…I love her like I love Cal,” Cere admitted. “And I’d do anything to protect them. And if you fall, I will take Cal and run. No one will ever make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. He’s a sweet boy, and he will become a very good man. That’s to your credit.”

“I’ve only trained him for eighteen months.”

“It was nearly two years by the time you died, and he carried you with him in his heart and in his use of the Force,” Cere said quietly. “Just like he carried your lightsaber since he’d lost his own in the escape from the Albedo Brave.”

“He never made another for himself?”

“No,” Cere said. “He had to replace the crystal eventually, but he kept the saber. I don’t think he’d have ever parted with it, Jaro. Maybe that was about the trauma of losing you or about the fact that your last act was to give him your lightsaber. I don’t know for certain why he kept it, but I do know that you had everything to do with the man he became.”

“I’m grateful for your words, my friend,” Jaro said. “The girl…is she safe where she is?”

“For now, and I’ll make sure she is in the future as well,” Cere promised. “For her and the dream they sacrificed for us.”

* * * *

“Don’t lecture him,” Obi-Wan warned even as Jaro sat down in the chair he’d been motioned to. “Frankly, if I’d known what that monster was, I’d done it the first time he asked Anakin to have lunch with him outside of the damned temple. I’m furious with myself, and with all of you, for the liberties we allowed him when it comes to Anakin.”

He’d been forced to leave Cal with Cere Junda and was honestly relieved to have someone he could trust with his padawan completely. Jaro folded his hands in front of him and waited while he received several raised eyebrows. The seat where Eeth Koth once sat was empty.

“The only person I owe an apology isn’t in this room,” Jaro said evenly and shrugged when most of them frowned at him in some fashion or another. “Well, I am sorry about the new kidney, Mace.”

Mace shrugged. “It’s fine—it was a cloned organ and was due to be replaced next year anyway with a better model.”

“The worst part is that Anakin is actually upset and grieving over the bastard’s death. I can’t tell him the truth, and I’m worried about what might already be brewing in him. He had a hard life before he came to Coruscant, and I recently learned that his mother was murdered on Tatooine.” Obi-Wan took a deep breath. “I was hoping that reuniting them would help me discern how much damage Palpatine has done.”

“Have you considered talking to him?” Jaro questioned. “Why don’t you just ask him, Obi-Wan?”

“Ask him what?”

“Ask him what his dreams are. Ask him if he wants to fall in love. Ask him if he’s worried about the war. Just treat him like a man rather than a student.”

“We’re supposed to actively discourage falling in love,” Obi-Wan said sourly with a glance toward Yoda.

“Perhaps the path of keeping him from the dark side is giving him something that would make the dark side’s power pale in comparison,” Jaro said. “Even if it means that he walks away from the Jedi Order. What would you do for love, Obi-Wan?”

“Walk away from the only woman I ever wanted because being a Jedi meant more to me,” Obi-Wan said frankly, and the other members of the Council turned to stare at him. “Becoming a Jedi gave me purpose, and I love the Order. I love who I am and what I’ve become.”

“Do you regret it?”

“No,” Obi-Wan said. “Maybe part of me wishes that I could’ve loved her the way she wanted, and while I did care for her, it wasn’t the way I’d been told romantic love should feel. This is an inappropriate conversation.”

“I disagree,” Mace said. “It is the paternal love Jaro has for his little padawan that brought us to our current circumstances. It’s not exactly his fault. The males of his species are very protective of their children. He’s been overprotective with all of his padawans when they were young. We never should’ve invited him into the same room with Palpatine if we were going to have a problem with his paternal response to such a threat.”

“It didn’t cross my mind,” Adi Gallia said. “But it clearly crossed yours.”

“Perhaps,” Mace shrugged said. “And I’m not displeased with the results.”

“Spend time with Skywalker, I will,” Yoda said. “Arrange it, you will, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan nodded.

“And right Master Tapal is,” Yoda said. “Better Skywalker for love leave.” He paused. “Bad at love I am. Can no help offer.”

“He’s an attractive young man,” Shaak Ti interjected. “He won’t have a problem finding his own romantic partner.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “And let’s not turn into a bunch of matchmakers. I avoid my homeworld for that exact reason, I’ll have you all know.” She cleared her throat. “I wish to speak about the clone troopers.”

“You know the most about them,” Mace Windu said neutrally. “Jaro’s padawan said they have control chips. Is that true?”

“It’s a biochip built into their genetic code,” Shaak Ti said. “I’ve examined a trooper to confirm it. I also removed the chip for study with permission. He was horrified to learn that the chip actually existed, and he also revealed the orders he’d been required to memorize by the Kaminoans during his training. I’ve never seen these orders. They were clearly hidden from me. I made a handwritten list, but the one that concerns us is Order 66.”

She pulled a piece of paper from a pocket inside of her robe and unfolded it. Shaak took a deep breath and recited, “In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established.”

“So, any sitting chancellor could give the order to kill us all without a trial process or any sort of explanation,” Mace Windu said. “And because of the chip, the clones would obey immediately.”

“In times like this, I doubt our service to any organization,” Jaro said and more than one of the Council nodded their agreement. “How do we defeat the chip? It could take years to remove them from the clones in secret.”

“We needn’t remove them,” Shaak said. “They’re designed to disintegrate and disappear. It’s why they’re organic in design—to hide them. I was able to inspect a clone trooper’s body after death, and the chip was gone.”

“It died with the trooper,” Mace surmised, and Shaak nodded. “So, do you have a plan for forcing the chips to essentially die without killing the troopers?”

“Yes,” she said. “It will take a while, but I can do it. In the meantime, we need to make sure the Senate elects a new chancellor who isn’t a monster in disguise. Unfortunately, we can’t interfere or lobby for a candidate as a body. It would be a violation of our agreement with the Galactic Republic.”

Jaro decided that Cere Junda’s little campaign in the Senate was left undiscussed, so he steepled his fingers. “Will destroying the chips cause behavioral problems or issues with the clones?”

“Some might experience a headache,” Shaak said. “But nothing extreme, and it would fade quickly. I will start working on the anti-inhibitor technology immediately and do my best to remove several more for testing with as little notice as possible. I think we have more time than we might have with Palpatine in play. We need to know what Mas Amedda knew about Palpatine and what he’s capable of.”

“Leave that to me,” Mace said, and she nodded. “He’s a coward, but I won’t discount him as a threat. Amedda will be neutralized one way or another. Let’s just hope the election doesn’t lead us down a different but still dangerous path. Making sure the clone troopers don’t turn on us en mass is just one thing in a long list of issues for us.” He focused on Shaak. “Are any of the other orders the troopers were forced to memorize as troublesome as Order 66?”

“No, most of them are procedural and pertain to established Galactic Republic law. I think that’s why there are so many.” Shaak made a face and shook her head.

“An effort to hide the one that would doom us,” Obi-Wan said and took a deep breath. “When will Master Kolar join us?”

“Within the week, he’s been recalled from his posting,” Mace said. “He’s quite upset by the circumstances and has asked if Eeth Koth was being controlled or manipulated in some fashion. No answers we provide will ease that situation, so I’ve merely told him that we don’t know Eeth’s true motives and that we confirmed that he died in the explosion.”

* * * *

Cal took a deep breath and relaxed his muscle groups one by one. The Force moved around him and drifted on his skin. It felt like mist as if his skin should be getting wet, but it wasn’t. BD-1 was seated next to him on the meditation mat, seemingly thrilled to be included. Cal wondered what the little droid was processing. There were others in the meditation garden—younglings, other padawans, and Jedi Masters who were seeking a moment or two of quiet. Silence wasn’t required, however, as each area had sound dampeners, so privacy was easier to find.

“How does it feel, Padawan?”

“Easier, Master,” Cal said and flexed his fingers against his knees. “Calmer.”

“You or the Force?” Master Tapal questioned.

Cal considered the answer and touched the Force gently as it moved in and around him. “Both.”

“Good,” Master Tapal said. “Relaxing your mind and body as you process the information that the Force gives you. I need you to learn to separate your own emotions from the emotions the dreams give you.”

“But….” Cal frowned and opened his eyes to stare at his master, who was seated directly across from him. “They seem like my emotions.”

“I’d like you to start to see the dreams as something that might have happened,” Master Tapal said. “Not something that will happen or did happen. Your dreams are valuable, and I’m not telling you to discard the information the Force is sharing with you—just to let go of the grief that is not truly yours to hold.”

“Okay,” Cal said. “Sometimes the emotions are overwhelming. It’s like being in the center of a storm, and I have no way to escape.”

“Do you know why?” Master Tapal questioned.

Cal shook his head. “I think people try too hard to ignore the things that hurt them because that’s easier than dealing with it.”

“Do you understand why someone might do that? Why would you do it?”

“Expectations.”

“Yours or mine?” Master Tapal questioned.

“Maybe both,” Cal said with a shrug. “I’d never want to shame you.” He paused. “Though I think that bar is pretty high considering….”

“Considering what?”

“Well, you just shook your head at Master Beck when we went to get her from that Hutt prison. I don’t even think you were surprised she was there.” Cal made a face. “I don’t see how I could ever do anything that’d get me put in a Hutt prison. Who’d cross Jabba the Hutt on purpose? Master Beck, that’s who. She didn’t even try to appear contrite, which told me a lot about what kind of master you are.”

Master Tapal hummed under his breath. “I hesitate to even ask what you think you learned from that experience.”

“Well, I certainly learned you’d come to get me if I got arrested,” Cal said thoughtfully. “But I think I already knew that. And also, you believe a person’s intentions are most often the important part of a situation as long as the ramifications aren’t extremely harmful.”

“Intent is very important,” Master Tapal admitted. “And I do believe that if you seek to act with the best of intentions in all the things that you do, then you’ll live a good and just life.”

Cal nodded. “Finally, I learned that you believe that irritating Jabba the Hutt is always worth doing, but I don’t know why.”

“He’s a criminal, and I find him very objectionable,” Master Tapal said. “He never has good intentions, as far as I can tell.”

“So, if he were to invite me to lunch, I should say no.” Cal laughed when Master Tapal made a horrified face. “Just kidding.”

“All kidding aside, if that monster invited you to lunch—you’d be the food,” Master Tapal retorted, and Cal’s mouth dropped open.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Master Tapal said. “He’s known for eating Humans—whole and alive.”

Cal huffed. “What other species eat Humans?”

“More than you probably suspect,” Master Tapal said. “You can look it up on the HoloNet later if you desire nightmare fuel. Where would you rate your stress level right now?”

“Out of ten?” Cal questioned, and his master nodded. “About a six, I guess. I’m worried about stuff I can’t control, which I know is wrong.”

“It’s not wrong, it’s just not productive,” Master Tapal corrected. “Since you can’t control the things that you’re worried about. How will you process and release that worry from your mind?”

“I already went through all the things and recognized that I can’t change any of it,” Cal said and frowned. “It’s hard to do that because you want to be able to change the bad things, but I don’t have the power to change much at all.”

“Tell me one thing that you’d change if you had the power to do so,” Master Tapal instructed.

“I’d free the clones,” Cal admitted. “They’re slaves, and the Galactic Republic acts like they’re against slavery when they’ve literally enslaved millions of clones. The clones don’t know anything but war, so I don’t know what they’d do with freedom, but it seems like they should have a choice because they’re…not non-sentient machines.” He took a deep breath. “Yet, they get treated like that. I’ve seen droids treated better than the clones are.” He reached out and touched BD-1. “He’s free, Master Tapal, and BD-1’s never fought to defend the Republic. Commander Meza has been training to defend the Republic his entire life, and now he fights actively to protect the very lives of the people who created and enslaved him. It’s awful.”

“I agree,” Master Tapal said. “It’s something that needs to be said loudly and often. I believe you would find a compatriot for your campaign in Master Kenobi.”

Cal smiled. “Really?”

“Really.” Master Tapal stood. “Let’s go do some physical training. If I can’t make your mind behave, then I will simply make you exercise until you’re exhausted.”

“I’ll sleep better,” Cal said and stood. He plucked BD-1 up, and the droid got comfortable on his back.

“Is he too heavy?”

“No, it feels like he belongs there.” Cal shrugged. “He’s very good at holding on, too.”

“In that case, you should keep him right there during training. We’ll see how he responds to various exercises to see if he is a hindrance or not for you in combat.”

“Sounds good.”

* * * *

“What would you say his weakness was?” Jaro questioned.

Cere Junda joined him in the observation area above the training room he’d reserved and locked down as much as he could. He’d had to retrieve Cere and Eno when they’d tried to join him without asking in advance. Neither appeared to be put off by his security options, even within the temple.

“He was…hunted,” Cere said quietly. “We all were, and it made us reactive to threats. There were times when it seemed like everything and everyone wanted to kill us. So, he was hypervigilant and that often led to unnecessary confrontations. His first inclination was to fight first and not talk at all. Honestly, it was almost always the right choice. We lived in a violent, ugly galaxy that had little in the way of luxury or safety.”

Jaro nodded. “I hate to think of him like that.”

“When I first met him, he admitted to me that his connection with the Force had been damaged by the Purge. It might have been grief, or it could have been the fear of being caught. At any rate, it took him several months to fully reconnect with the Force once he started to use it again. But he did, and it was a fascinating transition. As his confidence grew, so did his power and movement in the Force. He saved so many lives,” Cere said.

“I once watched him hijack an AT-AT from Imperial troops, turn it against them, and decimate their ground forces. We were on Kashyyyk. Cal worked with the rebellion to free the Wookiees who had been enslaved by the Empire. In truth, my own relationship with the Force was damaged when I met Cal, but through him and his journey, I found my way back.”

“I wish I could tell the Force not to give him those dreams,” Jaro admitted.

“It’s your nature to shelter him from such strife, my friend,” Eno said. “But the dreams are his to have—built on his journey and his sacrifice. It would be cruel to deny him anything, even if it hurts.”

Jaro nodded and focused on his padawan, who was darting around the obstacle course he’d set up with his little droid clinging to his back without a single problem. He’d thought the droid would throw off his balance and cause him issues as he adjusted, but that wasn’t the case.

“Was he this coordinated before the dream?” Eno asked.

“Yes,” Jaro said. “He’s a very determined and attentive student and has absorbed every single word I’ve said to him since he became my padawan. I’ll be shifting to work on his mental control—emotional decision-making is his current weakness.”

“Common,” Cere said. “I suffered much the same. Still do, on occasion. A Human failing, some would say.”

“I’ve always found the Human capacity for emotion one of the better qualities of your species,” Jaro said thoughtfully. “Your ability for compassion, for instance, is quite rare. I asked Cal what he would change if he could. He told me he’d free the clones. I don’t know if he’s always felt this way or if the dream shifted his perspective, but he said they were slaves. He pointed out that his little droid is free and never fought for the Republic, yet every clone does fight for the Republic every day, and they’re not.”

“I never really thought about it,” Eno said. “Which is shameful. I know precious little about the military service the rest of you are engaging in. Master Yoda said I should continue my research as I didn’t have the mentality for war.”

Jaro agreed. “It’s a hard and unforgiving life, Eno. You are much better off with your ruins and tombs.”

“Are you preparing Cal for war?” Eno questioned.

“I’m preparing him for life,” Jaro answered. “Should he make war, it will be his decision and no one else’s.”

Below them, Cal ran down the length of a wall, jumped, spun in mid-air, and with a burst of speed, moved to the opposite wall seven feet away, climbed up the surface with two jumps, and sat down on a narrow ledge. BD-1 popped a piece of candy into the air, and Cal caught it easily and unwrapped it with a grin. Jaro watched for a moment while Cal ate his treat then tucked the wax paper in his pocket.

“Since when did they start teaching us to run on air?” Eno questioned quietly.

Jaro laughed. “Not exactly that. Just a little push after a jump with telekinesis.”

“On his own body?” Eno asked. “Can you do that?”

“Yes. Yaddle taught me. It was a technique that she developed in the last years of her life,” Jaro said. “I could teach you.”

“At my age?” Eno questioned, and Cere laughed. “Come now, Jaro.”

Jaro grinned and focused on his padawan as Cal stood, flipped off the ledge he’d been sitting on, and continued to use the various ledges, walls, and protrusions to dart and climb around the room.

“What’s his goal with this?” Cere questioned.

“Exhaustion so he can sleep well,” Jaro said. “If this doesn’t work, then I’ll be forced to take shots at him with a rifle.”

“He’s thirteen, Jaro!” Eno huffed.

Jaro shrugged. “It’ll be on the lowest setting. So, just a little sting if he misses.”

“That’s one lesson that definitely served him well in the future. Imperial stormtroopers were always taking shots at him. He also learned to dual wield and mastered the saberstaff,” Cere said. “Something to keep in mind, I guess, as you move him through various lightsaber fighting forms.”

“Thank you,” Jaro said. “Good information to have. His saber has a single blade currently, but we can expand his options as he improves. I have to take him shopping. For some reason, he wants a poncho.”

Cere laughed.

“What?”

“It’s just….” She shook her head. “He had a large collection of them in the future. I suppose, in a way, it was the closest he could get to our robes without actually looking like a Jedi, which became a dangerous thing to do. I didn’t wear robes again after the Purge. It was like losing part of my identity.”

“It wasn’t enough that he tried to kill us all, but he destroyed our culture as well,” Eno murmured. “Perhaps because he was never one of us. Who knows?”

“I’m not sure I care about his motivations,” Jaro admitted. “Amongst my kind, those that prey on children are given no quarter, and that is exactly what he did and would’ve done again if given a chance. Not just Anakin Skywalker and my padawan. Tell me, Cere, how many children died in the temple on the day of the Purge?”

“All of them, as far as I know,” Cere admitted, and Eno made a soft, horrified sound.

Jaro watched the man sit down with an ashen face. He took a deep breath as he considered what she’d said. “There are ninety-three children in the crèche, another 146 in the academy, and just over a thousand padawans in the field right now with their masters. Plus, I can assume that afterward, being Force-positive was a death sentence.”

“Yes,” Cere said. “It certainly was, and our efforts to protect them were often in vain. I think it’s why Dathomir was reduced to ruins, and the population annihilated. They were a threat to the emperor, and he couldn’t allow that.”

“I wish I’d taken my time killing him,” Jaro muttered. “Which I know is not our way, but I don’t care.”

“Taking a Human padawan has been a very interesting influence on you, my friend,” Eno said with a wry grin. “I like it.”

“Seventy pounds of boy,” Jaro said and shook his head. “He’s rearranged my entire view of the galaxy, my old friend. I’m very grateful for it.”

In the training room, Cal had rearranged the entire course when Jaro hadn’t been looking and was bouncing between two walls to climb up a simulation of a shaft. He’d never trained him to do that specifically, but it was a fascinating use of skills he had taught him. He prodded one of the walls, and it started to move. Cal adjusted quickly, leapt out of the way, and ran across the surface of the unmoving wall until he reached the end then jumped onto a grate in the ceiling that wasn’t technically part of the course.

He swung easily on the grate, and Jaro started moving the course in response. It was fascinating watching his padawan respond to each change and adapt his strategy. The boy used the grate to cross to the middle of the room, let go, landed on one of the platforms, and watched the pieces change around him until everything stilled.

Jaro activated the intercom. “Come to me—it’s time for dinner.”

“Yes, Master.”

Chapter 4

Cal hesitated as Master Kenobi called out his master’s name and came to a stop when he did. He watched Masters Kenobi and Skywalker approach them, and the Force thrummed gently inside of him. Not a warning, per se, but more of a pleased sensation as if Cal was about to make a connection that she needed him to make.

“Jaro, you’ve met Anakin?”

“Yes, the day he was knighted,” Master Tapal said. “Well met, Jedi Knight Skywalker.”

Anakin Skywalker accepted the hand that Master Tapal offered with no hesitation, which put Cal at ease. Not everyone was comfortable with his master due to his species and size, and it could be overt. It always pissed Cal off, but he kept that to himself as much as possible. His master didn’t need or want that kind of interference from him or anyone else. Cal figured that having lived as long as he had, that Master Tapal knew best on the subject.

Anakin Skywalker focused on him. “We watched your exercises from the top observation deck. Your use of the facility was interesting and unique. As a padawan, I never considered creating my own puzzles like that.”

Cal bit down on his lip and glanced toward Master Tapal briefly before responding. “I didn’t, exactly. The Force gave me the picture of the puzzle in my mind, and I manipulated the room to set up what she wanted since Master Tapal had left it open for me to push and pull on the obstacles.”

“That’s fascinating,” Anakin Skywalker murmured. “Master Tapal, do you feel as if the Force is intruding on the training of your padawan?”

“No, I’m honored by the Force’s attention,” Master Tapal said easily.

“I would be as well,” Master Kenobi said. “We were hoping you’d both join us for dinner.”

Master Tapal focused on Cal briefly and nodded. “If you don’t mind eating with us in our quarters? We’ve had a long day and wouldn’t want to navigate the city at large.”

“Sounds perfect,” Master Kenobi said with a warm smile.

Cal liked them both, and the Force seemed to agree, which was a relief. He wasn’t in the mood to be on guard through a whole meal, which he desperately wanted. He hadn’t even realized he was hungry until dinner was mentioned.

They quickly made it through the temple and to his master’s apartment. Cal used the vac, washed his hands, and when he returned the table was being set by Master Skywalker. He was kind of appalled and wanted to take over the task but didn’t know how to do it politely. As if he knew it, Master Skywalker smiled at him.

“I know that look well enough. I’ve taken over a chore that is yours?” He laughed when Cal exhaled sharply. “Sit, Padawan. You’ve worked very hard this afternoon and could use a break.”

Cal sat down in his chair, and BD-1 left his shoulder in favor of the back of the chair. “Thank you, Master Skywalker. How long will you be on Coruscant?”

“My padawan is entering a stage in her training that requires my full attention,” Master Skywalker said. “We’ll be here in the temple for some time to come. I expect to have extra duties assigned while I’m on the planet. With the loss of Chancellor Palpatine, we must worry about how the Separatists will respond and adjust our plans accordingly.”

Cal nodded and couldn’t help but wiggle in his chair when his Master put a plate of nerf steak and vegetables down in front of him. He was absolutely starving. He picked up his knife and fork as the others sat down at the table. The Force prodded him a little, and he focused on Master Skywalker.

“What will you do when you retire from the Order, Master Skywalker?”

Anakin Skywalker paused in the cutting of his steak. “Retire?”

“Not everyone stays until they die of old age,” Cal pointed out. “Or in battle. So, I’m just curious what you might do if you retired after the war.”

“I hadn’t considered such a thing if I’m honest,” Master Skywalker said. “What would you do?”

“Oh, I don’t know…find a nice girl and make a family,” Cal said with a shrug, and Master Kenobi grinned at him. “Or maybe I’ll stay in the Order and wander around the galaxy like Master Cordova. BD-1 wants to explore ruins and stuff, which doesn’t seem like a big credit maker. I might need my temple allowance to fund his exploration efforts.”

“What would make you retire?” Master Skywalker questioned curiously as he started to cut up his own steak.

“Priorities change, right?” Cal questioned, and Master Skywalker nodded. “And sometimes I think you have to pick yourself first and figure out what kind of path you want to follow within the influence of the Force. Serving in the Jedi Order isn’t the only way to do that, and the principles currently governing us are very restrictive. Maybe too restrictive because they isolate us. At the end of the day, we only have each other to depend on, and if something happened to the structure of the Order…where would we be? Where would we go? How would we survive?”

Master Skywalker exhaled slowly. “Obi-Wan warned me that you’d surprise me, Cal Kestis.”

“It’s a bad habit. You should’ve seen Master Yoda’s face when I declined his tutelage,” Cal said and made a face. “Kind of awkward.”

Master Skywalker laughed. “I bet. Why did you decline?”

“I have weird Force dreams,” Cal said casually. “And maybe he thinks he needs to…monitor that? But I don’t see any reason for his individual attention. I can’t be made to dream something specific, and I don’t need to be taught how to go to sleep. I totally mastered that ages ago.”

Master Kenobi laughed and drank from his wine glass. Cal had gotten a large glass of water and a small glass of milk. He wondered when Master Tapal would let him try wine but didn’t ask since it wasn’t all that appealing.

“What do you dream about?” Master Skywalker asked. “If you don’t mind saying.”

“Weird stuff,” Cal said with a shrug. “Sometimes it’s future stuff that might happen. I tell Master Tapal about those if they’re dangerous or concerning. The Force talks to me, too. Not all the time because that would be a lot.”

“Too bad it didn’t warn you about Eeth Koth,” Master Skywalker said roughly and shook his head.

“The Force felt weird all morning, but I didn’t know why,” Cal said. “There was something dark in the room that I couldn’t see. None of us could see it. I didn’t know the dark could hide from us like that. I wish I could’ve seen it more clearly.”

“What happened isn’t your fault,” Master Skywalker said firmly after sharing a glance with the other two adults at the table. “I learned long ago that we can’t demand more from the Force than it wants to give, no matter how great our need.”

“That makes sense,” Cal said as he started to eat the beans on his plate. “There are a lot of us, and I guess it must be hard to keep track of what we’re doing and what we might need.”

“Look, Anakin, a padawan who eats his veg,” Master Kenobi said dryly, and Master Skywalker made a face.

“I like veg more than meat,” Cal admitted and shrugged at the looks he got from their guests. “Some of the vegetables from Master Tapal’s homeworld are very good, especially the blue potatoes and these beans. Plus, they tend to have a lot of protein in them, which I definitely need since I don’t always want meat at all.” BD-1 beeped his agreement.

“Cute droid. He did well on the obstacle course,” Master Skywalker said. “Have you trained long with him?”

“No, today was our first day together on the obstacle course,” Cal said. “He liked it a lot, but he also doesn’t have a self-preservation protocol. We’re definitely going to get him one of those.”

“Neither does Anakin,” Master Kenobi said dryly and shrugged when his former padawan glared at him. “You know you don’t.”

“Seems to me that is something his master should’ve installed,” Master Tapal said dryly.

The door chime sounded, and Master Tapal stood. Cal focused on his food since he wasn’t allowed to answer the door.

“Padawan, Master Cordova has come to say his goodbyes. He’ll be traveling for a recon mission,” Master Tapal said.

Cal left his seat quickly and trotted across the open space to the door. “Will you be gone long, Master Cordova?”

“Less than a week since the main mission will likely require Master Junda. I’m just going to have a look around, check the sector for monitoring, and a few other matters.”

“You’re taking a good, safe ship?” Cal asked.

“Yes, of course, Cal,” Master Cordova said with a smile. “I’ve come to say my goodbyes and to ask you if there is anything that should concern me on my travels.”

Cal considered that, and the Force shifted around him as a series of images filtered through his mind. Memories, he realized, from the dreams that remained vague in his mind’s eye. “Avoid contact this time around—they’ll prefer to speak with Master Junda, I think.”

“Because of her gender,” Master Cordova said.

And Cal nodded.

“Yes, I thought as much.” Master Cordova nodded. “Return to your dinner, Cal, and I shall see you upon my return.”

“May the force be with you, Master Cordova.”

“And with you, Cal Kestis.”

He returned to the table and picked up his milk.

“You’ve interesting associations for a padawan,” Master Skywalker observed. “Including my own master.”

“We met because they’re all curious about my Force dreams,” Cal said easily because it was the truth after a fashion and wouldn’t feel like any sort of deception. “But you’d understand that, considering.”

“What?” Master Skywalker questioned and glanced toward Master Kenobi.

“Chosen One, meet the Righteous One,” Master Kenobi said dryly, and Master Skywalker groaned.

“I’m so sorry, kid. You’ll never live that one down. Did Master Yoda say it?”

Cal nodded.

Master Skywalker made a face. “If I’d known, I’d have brought you an immensely sugary dessert as an apology.”

“I like cake,” Cal said as his master rejoined them.

“You’re a lucky one on that front,” Master Skywalker said. “I had to answer the door for Obi-Wan and often entertain his guests while he claimed to be busy the whole time I was his padawan.”

“Cal’s not allowed to answer the door due to security concerns,” Master Tapal said. “We can’t be certain that Eeth Koth was the only conspirator in the temple. There is an ongoing investigation, and I imagine that Cal would be a hard target for a man like Dooku, who’d probably invest himself in acquiring a child with such a unique connection with the Force.”

“He’ll probably try to cultivate us both,” Cal said as he focused on Master Skywalker. “He’s a Sith, right?”

“That’s the rumor,” Master Skywalker said. “If it’s true, then there are two.”

“I think he’s alone now,” Cal said. “The Force told me I should never allow Count Dooku to come near me. She’s worried that he’ll try to touch me with the dark side. She’s probably worried about you, too. But we’ll be strong for her, right?”

“Right,” Master Skywalker said quietly. “Protecting the balance is the duty of all Jedi.”

“We should be vigilant,” Cal said and reached out. He put his hand on Master Skywalker’s forearm and the man stilled under his touch. “Especially you. If you fell to the dark side, you’d destroy everything you value and love. It’s what the dark side is, you know, corruption and destruction. It’ll spread through you like a virus until you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror.”

Master Skywalker stared at him and put his hand carefully on Cal’s. “I can feel the Force moving in you. Is it scary?”

“No, the Force is safe, and if we let her guide us, then she’ll never lead us astray. Sometimes, we lose people we love, but trusting in the Force will help us heal from those losses. Your mom was killed. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Master Skywalker swallowed hard, and tears welled in his eyes. “It was a very difficult experience, but I’ve healed as much as I can.”

Cal shook his head. “No, you haven’t. I can feel it, so you should allow yourself to really grieve her loss—to honor her and the Force.” He paused. “Do you resent the Force for not saving her?”

“She had no connection to the Force,” Anakin said. “And neither did those that murdered her. Where the Force has no purchase, it has no influence.”

Cal nodded. “It’s a good distinction. My parents abandoned me at the temple when I was too young to even remember them because I was already using telekinesis, and it upset them. Maybe it even scared them.”

“Do you resent them?”

“No, I’ve wanted for nothing my whole life,” Cal said. “I had a good life in the crèche, and now I’m learning how to be a Jedi.”

Master Skywalker lifted his hand off Cal’s, and Cal picked up his fork again. “In truth, Cal Kestis, you are more of a Jedi right now than some masters of our craft five times your age. Your connection with the Force is astounding.” He cleared his throat and took a sip of his water. “And don’t worry, I’ll never follow Count Dooku. He betrayed the Jedi Order and facilitated the assassination of Chancellor Palpatine, who was a true guardian of the Republic.”

Cal had rarely heard anything more offensive in his life, but he just ate some beans in the hopes that it wasn’t showing on his face. Anakin Skywalker had a vastly different perspective regarding Sheev Palpatine than Cal did, and that was fine since the old man was dead. He hoped he wouldn’t be required to attend the funeral. Maybe he could use his trauma to get out of it.

“Have any of your dreams come true?”

“Yes,” Cal said. “In a way. I’ve met people in my dreams that turned out to be real. I knew I’d see you again soon, Master Skywalker.”

“We’ve met before?”

“We weren’t introduced, but I came to the temple for your knighting ceremony with Master Tapal,” Cal said.

“Then I shall make sure to attend yours,” Master Skywalker said. “Only fair.”

Cal nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Do you ask everyone what they’ll do when they retire from the Order?” Master Skywalker asked.

“Not yet, but I’m considering it as part of my subversive campaign to change the current thinking,” Cal said frankly and shrugged when Master Kenobi looked at him in shock. “The Force thinks we’re on the road to imploding with the way we do things. Also, she thinks that children should stay in contact with their families through their formative years unless the parents basically throw them at the temple. She thinks that family ties and proper relationships would ground us in the light side of the Force. Also, the Force believes that isolation and suppressing emotions is just the road to the dark side.

“But maybe the root of it is the fact that fighting for the safety of a government organization isn’t as inspiring or loyalty-inducing as fighting for those you love.”

“The Righteous One,” Master Skywalker murmured. “I’m sorry for it, kid, but I can’t discount it. The Force tells me to trust you completely, and I’ve never had that experience before.”

“Neither have I,” Master Kenobi said. “And your master is wise to be very concerned about security, Cal. Never stray from his side in public and defend yourself should anyone attempt to separate you from him. It is your duty as his padawan.”

“I understand,” Cal said and stabbed one of the potatoes on his plate. “But most people don’t pick fights with Master Tapal.” His master grinned. “For obvious reasons.”

“If you ever come across someone who picks a fight directly with him, get us security footage,” Master Kenobi suggested.

“Might need the evidence,” Cal agreed, and BD-1 beeped his agreement as Master Tapal sighed. “For historical record keeping.”

* * * *

It was weird not having BD-1, but they’d dropped him off with a tech that Master Tapal trusted to get upgrades and a new power source. Cal wanted his new little friend to have all the upgrades, but he hadn’t wanted to leave him behind with the tech. Master Tapal had prodded him twice to get him out the door, and the tech had practically sworn a blood oath to treat BD-1 very well.

Then they’d left the temple entirely, which was pretty exciting as he’d rarely seen any part of Coruscant at all. They’d gone to a clothing store and purchased traveling clothes that looked nothing like a Jedi would wear and Cal realized that his master was preparing to hide, if necessary. He appreciated that and had fun picking out one but two ponchos, which his master had indulged in a way Cal had been surprised by.

They’d also gotten backpacks to replace the satchels they’d been using for their things. Cal had never had one and wondered how BD-1 would react to it on his back. It would give him a place to sit, and he’d pointed that out to Master Tapal, who had laughed.

Master Windu’s apprentice, Suo Greta, was flying them around in an aircar so at least they didn’t have to carry their purchases back to the temple. Fortunately, they were going back to the temple for lunch because Cal hadn’t wanted to eat in public. There were a lot of people in Coruscant, and the shopping district near the temple had been very crowded. He doubted that any restaurant would’ve been better.

He stared at the temple as they came to a stop in front of it. The stairs leading up to the front doors had a few people on them. Some academy students were sitting outside to read. Cal had never understood the desire to do that. The steps were hard, and he preferred a couch or his own bed in the dorms when he’d lived in the temple.

Cal half-listened as Suo Greta persuaded Master Tapal to allow him to carry their shopping into the temple after he stored the aircar. Master Tapal argued for form, but then gave in with a gracious thank you that seemed to amuse Suo a lot.

The Force shifted around them, and he reached out for Master Tapal’s robe without a thought, only to be swept off the ground just as his master was hit head-on by two men wearing jetpacks. Cal screamed as he was lifted off of his feet and into the air by another man wearing a jetpack. He struggled as much as he could, but the kidnapper had an iron grip on him.

He had no choice but to stop fighting as they gained too much height to make a fall safe by any measure. Shortly, he was thrown into a military transport vehicle, and he crawled to the other side and tried to grab the door handle, only to be picked up and thrown on a seat.

“Don’t move!”

“Let me go!” Cal shouted back as he stood and pulled out his lightsaber. “Land and let me go!” He activated the saber, and the man swore.

“Damn it! The little shit is armed! I didn’t know the little ones carried fucking lightsabers!”

“Let me go!” Cal shouted again. “Right now!”

“Give me that thing before I shoot you!” He pulled a blaster and pointed it at him.

Cal took a defensive stance. “No! Make him land and let me go, or I’m going to start cutting off your body parts!”

“You little bastard!”

“Watch your mouth. I’m just thirteen,” Cal said huffily. “Your language is the worst! Does your mother know you talk like this to little kids? Does she know you kidnap little kids? Are you a degenerate? Because I’m allowed to kill a degenerate if they try to touch my private places!”

“Whoa, kid, I’m not…I don’t do that. Okay? Someone paid us to snatch you. That’s all.”

“Great! You’re going to turn me over to a degenerate? How is that any better?” Cal glared. “You sick freak!”

“He’s not going to….”

“Hell, we don’t know that,” the pilot said. “Look, I don’t want to give the kid to a pervert. My own little brother is just ten. I didn’t sign up for that shit.”

“The client is not a pervert. Just get us to the meeting place!” He pointed the blaster at Cal. “Give me the lightsaber, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Come near me, and I’m going to use it on you,” Cal said and pressed his back against the wall. “I mean it!”

“Fine, I’ll just have to shoot you in the leg.” He pointed his blaster and fired.

Cal deflected the laser bolt, and it hit the pilot in the back of the head. The transport jerked and started to spin.

“You little…. Fuck!” He ran up to the front of the transport and pushed his dead friend out of the pilot seat.

“Again, with the inappropriate language!”

Cal ran to the doors, opened them, and noted with relief they were pretty close to a building with a large balcony that ran the entire width of the structure. He tucked his lightsaber away, jumped, flipped in the air, and pushed his body with the Force. He barely caught the edge of the balcony, dangled for a few seconds, and pulled himself up then over the railing. Then he ran because the kidnapper was probably going to come back or there might be more.

He needed to get back to the temple and to Master Tapal. Cal took a few moments to orient himself and tried to find a landmark that would give him a place to start. In the distance, he was relieved to see the top of the temple. He was much further away than he’d expected to be but took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay, I got this.”

He ran down the length of the balcony and tried a few doors here and there until one of them opened. Cal slid into the room, looked around the empty office, and found a vent. He pulled a chair over to the vent, opened it, pulled himself up into it then closed the cover.

Immediately, he felt safer, and the Force inside him calmed down. He checked to make sure his lightsaber was where it was supposed to be, and he started to crawl through the shaft in the hopes of finding maintenance access. He really wished BD-1 was with him because a map would come in handy.

Still, he could feel the pull of the Force as members of the Order mobilized to search for him. He just had to stay hidden from the kidnappers and get to the temple where he would be safe. Cal wondered if he was the first padawan to ever be kidnapped and kind of figured he might be. Most people really didn’t even pay attention to padawans at all unless they were making a mess or a big mistake.

* * * *

“Where is he?” Jaro demanded as he shoved the man up against the transport. He yanked off the helmet and threw it aside. “Where is my padawan?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know! He killed the pilot, and I had to take control of the transport. The little brat jumped out, okay? He’s gone. Hell, he might be dead on the lower level for all that I know!”

Jaro set him on his feet but kept a hand on him. “How did my padawan kill the pilot?”

The man averted his gaze.

“Tell me!” Jaro roared.

“I took a shot at him, okay?” the man blurted out. “I was just going to shoot him in the leg, so I could take his stupid laser sword, and he deflected the fucking laser bolt. It hit the pilot, who was already freaking out because the kid accused us of being degenerates.”

“Did you touch my boy?” Jaro demanded with a furious growl.

“What? No! I’m not a pervert, okay? For fuck’s sake. I tried to calm him down, but he got really worked up.”

Jaro threw him at the feet of a pair of security officers he’d been compelled to take with him. They were probably worried that he was going to kill him, as he’d already killed the two men who had attacked him as a distraction.

“Do what you will with him,” Jaro snarled and went to the transport. He touched it but felt nothing of his padawan on it. Cal hadn’t been in the vehicle long and hadn’t been unduly traumatized by his brief confinement in the transport.

Cal was smart, and he made good decisions, even under duress. He didn’t think his padawan had made a poor decision when jumping from the transport. Their bond was still strong and flexible, so Cal was very much alive. Jaro stalked back toward the aircar, which was one of many that had been deployed by the temple in search of Cal. Coruscant security personnel were out in vast numbers as well. Which meant over a hundred people were searching for his padawan. It should’ve made him feel better, but it didn’t.

“Suo, take us back the way we came. I need to figure out where Cal jumped out.”

“Certainly before we started chasing it,” Suo said as he maneuvered them into traffic. “He’d have picked a sturdy target if he had a choice.”

“Yes,” Jaro agreed. “He’s limber and very good at aerial maneuvers. Even eight feet from the traffic lane would’ve seemed reasonable to him.”

Suo huffed. “Wow, I need to learn how to do that.”

“Ask Master Windu, and I’ll make time to show you when I can,” Jaro said as he continued to scan the buildings. “Slow down. He’s so small.”

* * * *

Cal pushed at the hatch with the Force after he unlocked it since he didn’t have the physical strength to open it. The heavy iron hatch thunked against the roof, and he climbed out. Two hands grabbed him as soon as he was on both feet, and he couldn’t help the yelp that burst out of his mouth.

The man tossed him roughly onto the roof. Cal rolled over and scooted backward on his butt as the helmeted man loomed over him. The man followed until Cal was pressed against the parapet that surrounded the roof. The man squatted down in front of him and grabbed a fist full of his tunic.

“You’re going to tell me everything I want to know.”

Cal shook his head and tried to push the fear away. The Force was trembling inside of him. He knew it was warning him that he was in serious trouble.

“You will,” the man assured. “Tell me what you told the Jedi Council about your gifts. Tell me all about your little dreams, Cal.”

“How do you know about that?” Cal asked.

“As your unfortunate luck would have it, I was assigned to clean out Eeth Koth’s desk in the temple.” The man shook him a little. “And he had a note on his desk. It said that you dream of the future. He wanted to research your gift. I want to know everything. Did Eeth Koth kill Chancellor Palpatine because of your Force dreams? I know he wasn’t a Separatist spy.”

He’s going to kill me, Cal thought, and his blood started to rush. The Force started to quake inside of him as the man’s grip on his tunic tightened. His thoughts briefly strayed to the nightmare he’d had the night before, and he wondered how much time he had before Master Tapal found him.

“Tell me,” the man hissed. “Don’t make me get rough with you, kid.” He pulled him close. “It doesn’t have to hurt, Cal. It can be quick and painless. That’s what you’d prefer, right?”

“I told them the truth, Bode,” Cal said quietly. “I told them you’d betray me.”

His lightsaber slapped into his hand, and he thrust it against Bode Akuna’s chest then activated it. The blade went straight through the man’s armor and the jetpack he was wearing. Light, sound, and heat exploded around them as Bode’s body fell over him. A sob thickened in Cal’s throat. He’d just killed a fellow Jedi, and it was horrifying. He tried to squirm out from underneath the body, but it was too heavy. With no choice left, he used the Force to throw the body off of him.

Force energy heaved around him, and he crawled away from the body, taking his lightsaber with him. He turned it off and clutched the weapon to his chest as he pressed himself into the corner of the building and curled into a ball to hide. Cal shuddered and tried to calm the Force down, but it was so upset, and he didn’t understand because Bode was dead, and that meant he was safe.

“Cal!”

He couldn’t move, not even at the sound of his master’s voice. Everything felt too big, too much, and Cal couldn’t take it. Big, warm hands touched him then and picked him up. He clung to his master, far beyond being ashamed of the childish behavior.

“I’ve got you, boy.”

“Jaro?” Master Windu asked.

“He’s going into shock,” Master Tapal said. “Have a med droid sent to my apartment.”

Jaro glanced only briefly at the body as he walked past it. The helmet had been removed, revealing the face of Jedi Knight Bode Akuna. There would be an investigation, and it would be far more public than he was comfortable with, as the kidnapping had taken place in front of well over fifty eyewitnesses.

He went to the closed aircar that Mace Windu was now driving and tucked Cal into the back seat as carefully as he could. The boy curled up on the seat and buried his face against his arm. Jaro took a deep breath and looked around the roof of the building.

“Padawan, do you have your lightsaber?”

Cal held out the weapon with a shaking hand, and Jaro took it. He carefully hooked it back into place on his student’s belt.

“It wasn’t my intention to take it from you, Cal. I merely wanted to make sure you had it,” Jaro said and took a deep breath before he slid into the aircar beside his padawan.

Jaro put a hand on Cal’s back and kept it there the entire trip back to the temple. He picked the boy up and carried him out of Mace’s private garage and onto an elevator. He listened to Mace and Suo clear a path so they wouldn’t encounter anyone on their walk to his apartment without saying anything. He was furious and working hard to put it in a proper place.

Cal had told him that Bode Akuna was a threat, and he’d stupidly assumed it was a future threat. He’d treated it as such and had already started to consider ways to mitigate and change Akuna’s path despite the assumption that the younger man had shared information he’d learned with Palpatine.

Cere Junda was waiting outside of his apartment, arms crossed and face pensive. She’d already heard about Akuna’s involvement then. He nodded as he stopped, and she opened the door. He was glad to have given her the code while she’d been taking care of Cal for him.

“He’s asleep.”

She nodded. “Not a surprise once the adrenaline wore off.”

“There’s a guest room in my apartment,” Jaro said. “It’s yours for the time being.”

“How is he?” Cere questioned as she followed him into the apartment. “And yes, I’ll take the guest room.”

“His heart rate is normal, and the Force has calmed down. It was like a storm when I found him,” Jaro said. “He killed two people, Cere. I’m not sure…how much damage that has done. He’s very young.”

“If he defended your body from scavengers, then he killed in his dream as well,” Cere said. “We’ll see how he feels when he wakes up. There are techniques to blunt the edges of such memories as you know.”

Jaro would rather not do such a thing to his padawan, but Cal’s mental health meant more than his stance on such practices. Human mental stability was different than in his own species, and he’d read a great deal about it before offering to apprentice Cal. For once, he was glad for all the studying he’d done on the subject, as he wouldn’t want to misstep during such a trying time.

He put Cal down on his bed and removed his boots.

“His little droid should be finished in the tech lab, Cere. Would you retrieve him? I think he’ll feel better to get him back.”

“Yes, of course,” Cere said as she put a blanket over Cal and touched him gently just once before leaving.

Chapter 5

“Master Yoda has sent me to get a status report,” Obi-Wan said as he entered the apartment and shed his cloak.

“The med droid came and went while he slept. He’s fine physically but emotionally upset,” Jaro said. “He’s sleeping very deeply, and I can’t tell if he’s dreaming. It concerns me a lot because I feel like the Force could’ve picked a better time to give him more dreams.”

“Perhaps the Force is soothing his emotional turmoil, which was immense. Every Jedi on the planet felt it, Jaro.”

“The first kill is never easy,” Jaro said. “I’ve never had a single padawan respond well to it—though the previous three were much older when it happened.”

“I cried after my first,” Obi-Wan said. “I felt like I’d changed something about myself, and I’d never be the same. But also, I felt justified as it was for the Republic, and that meant everything at the time.”

“And now?”

“Now, I know that mindless devotion to the Republic isn’t in the best interest of myself or the Jedi,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I heard he’d reacted badly to Bode Akuna, but I…I never expected it to come to this.”

“Bode Akuna must have worked for Palpatine the whole time. Cal said he’d betrayed him in the dream,” Jaro said. “It could also be why he survived the Purge when so many of us did. He frankly wasn’t the most talented of Jedi. I reviewed his file when I was picking my padawan before Cal. Frankly, I wasn’t impressed with his use of his connection to the Force.

“I was actually surprised he didn’t end up in one of the Service Corps as he clearly wasn’t knight material, in my opinion.”

“I believe we will discover that Palpatine had a hand in that,” Obi-Wan said. “Akuna has been serving as the XO to Commander Lank Denvik, per the commander’s request, in the Galactic Republic Security Corps. He reported that Akuna was very suited to security and spy work.”

Cal’s bedroom door opened, and he came out of his room. BD-1 was tucked on his back, head peeking over Cal’s shoulder as if he was on alert. The droid had been quite disagreeable when Cere had returned him to the apartment, as he’d already heard about the kidnapping and was put out with Jaro as a result. Jaro had found himself apologizing to the droid, which would remain one of the more surreal moments of his long life.

“Count Dooku trained Bode Akuna,” Cal said as he sat down and pulled his legs up against his chest.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said reluctantly. “His last apprentice. Bode Akuna was knighted just a month before Dooku left the Order. He was subject to an extensive interview once his former master’s darkness was revealed. There were no issues to be found. He’s worked with security and intelligence ever since as it was determined he wasn’t suited to the battlefront.”

“He didn’t have the power,” Cal surmised. “I dreamt of him again, and he was very powerful in the future—with the dark side.”

“Those that fall often are,” Jaro said carefully. “What happened in the dream?”

“He wouldn’t surrender,” Cal said. “So, I had to kill him. He was so selfish. Is that a trait of the dark side as well?”

“Ultimately, yes.”

Cal nodded, and BD-1 dropped down off his shoulder then trotted into the kitchen with an insistent beep. “I got up because I was hungry.”

“Then we can go into the kitchen,” Jaro said and gently prodded his padawan out of his chair. “How do you feel?”

“Awful,” Cal admitted as he was guided toward the kitchen and into a chair.

Jaro retrieved the food and drink that BD-1 had selected for Cal. It proved to be a big salad full of veg and diced nerf steak, and a glass of water. Cal took the fork he was offered and dug in. Gratified that at least the boy had a good appetite, he sat down and motioned for Obi-Wan Kenobi to do the same.

“Master Yoda trained Dooku,” Cal said. “Dooku trained your master, Qui-Gon Jinn.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan said.

“Master Yoda favors you,” Cal said simply. “He probably favored Bode Akuna as well, so his judgment regarding you both is unreliable. Bode said he was sent to clean out Master Koth’s office and found a note about me having Force dreams. Master Koth wanted to research the ability. If Bode knew that much, then we can safely assume that Dooku knows as well.”

“Yes, we can,” Tapal said and frowned.

“I reviewed the materials taken from Master Koth’s office,” Obi-Wan said. “He did have notes about the dreams, but he wrote down nothing specific about what you said. Bode Akuna was part of the team due to his position with the Republic’s security office.”

Cal nodded. “Bode was demanding to know what I’d said to the Council, so he didn’t find anything specific. He just knew I was having prophetic dreams. He essentially admitted he was a Jedi, and that’s when I realized he was going to kill me. Bode said he’d make it quick and painless if I just told him everything that I’d told the Council. He asked me if the information I gave the Council was the reason that Master Koth killed Chancellor Palpatine. He also said he knew that Master Koth wasn’t a spy for the Confederacy, which, I think, confirms that he had contact with Count Dooku.”

“Yes, I agree,” Jaro said. “Eat, Padawan. All of our purchases have been cleaned, and I put yours on the dresser you aren’t using.”

“I packed everything in my new bag,” Cal said. “What about Commander Denvik?”

“Commander Lank Denvik works in the Galactic Republic Security Corps,” Obi-Wan said without commenting on Cal’s knowledge of the name.

“He eventually served in the same role as an Imperial and was Bode Akuna’s handler then, as well,” Cal said. “He’s probably acting as a spy for Dooku now because he doesn’t have a choice. Denvik is a traitor to the Republic, and the only chance he has of surviving all of this is if Dooku succeeds.” He huffed. “I wish I didn’t know this stuff. Bode would’ve never come after me if I didn’t have these dreams. I don’t want any of it to come true. Just why couldn’t it all come to someone who is older?”

Jaro settled a hand on Cal’s shoulder. “What is the first thing I asked of you when we began training?”

“To trust in the Force,” Cal said quietly. “And I do. I just think maybe she trusts me too much in return.” He paused. “It was also one of the last things you said to me in the first dream. I tried really hard to remember it always.”

“I think she couldn’t have picked a better person to speak for her,” Jaro said. “You have a wonderful and pure heart, Padawan. In the end, all we have is our faith in ourselves and in the Force. Everything else will fade away in our final moments. Trusting the Force to guide you means you will always be on the right path.”

Cal nodded.

“The Senate voted on a new chancellor this morning,” Obi-Wan said. “Bail Organa from Alderaan was chosen.”

Cal’s shoulders relaxed. “Good.”

“Really?” Obi-Wan questioned. “He’s relatively young. Some people are surprised by it.”

“In my dreams of the future, he was so influential in the fight against the Empire that some of the rebels called him the Father of the Rebellion,” Cal said. “Saw Gerrera was another somewhat notorious rebel—an extremist by the standards of most. But we can trust him to put the Republic before himself.” Cal paused. “At this point, he’d probably be more loyal to his homeworld, but he won’t support Dooku for any reason.”

“Chancellor Organa would like to meet you, Cal,” Obi-Wan said, and Jaro grimaced. “But the decision is yours.”

“Can it be Master Tapal’s?” Cal asked. “Because I don’t know.”

“It must be yours,” Jaro said quietly. “If you don’t wish to meet him or anyone else, I will certainly state it and take on any sort of ramifications of the decision on your behalf. But I would know what you really want in this, Cal.”

Cal huffed a little. “Why does he want to meet me? Has he heard about the dreams?”

“Not officially,” Obi-Wan said firmly. “If Bode Akuna told someone who then told Chancellor Organa, then he might have questions. At this point, he stated that he wishes to meet you and see for himself that you’re okay after the kidnapping. He’ll be able to make an announcement to the Senate itself and quell any questions about the situation with authority if he’s met you and can state that.”

Cal nodded. “Okay, but only with Master Tapal present. We can go to his office, right? I don’t think we should let…outsiders into our temples anymore. At least, not casually and without a vetting process.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Master Yoda that you believe it is a mistake to have our temples open to the public. Considering your high-profile kidnapping, no one will question our desire to protect the younglings and padawans in our care with stronger security measures.” Obi-Wan took a deep breath as he spoke. “We’ll contact Chancellor Organa’s office to arrange a visit. For the time being, you and Master Tapal will have extra security. Though considering the fact that only one of the five people involved in your kidnapping survived, I would think anyone inclined toward such idiotic behavior would think twice.”

Cal nodded and focused on his food. Jaro didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. He dreaded the conversation they’d have to have about killing and duty. It was one he’d eventually had with his other padawans, but they’d all be much older than Cal was. As it was, all three of his former students had reached out to him since the kidnapping, offering their assistance in protecting his padawan.

He’d briefly considered saying yes but had declined eventually as he feared it might draw more attention to Cal. The situation barely felt within his control, and every single person added to the situation merely increased the avenues of access to Cal.

Jaro focused on Obi-Wan as the man stood. “It’s important that the Jedi Council and Chancellor Organa understand that I won’t allow Cal to be treated as some kind of political tool. We’ve been down this road before, Obi-Wan, and we’ve yet to know what damage was truly done to Anakin due to Palpatine’s attention and influence.”

“Master Skywalker will be okay as long….” Cal trailed off.

“As long as he what?” Obi-Wan questioned, and Jaro appreciated the other man’s gentle tone.

“He just has to accept what he wants and how it differs from the path that Qui-Gon Jinn put him on. Master Skywalker resents being taken from his mother. He resents that she was left in slavery. Part of him wonders if he could’ve protected her if he’d stayed with her. But he also feels like he owes the Jedi Order for freeing him from slavery, and that debt is heavy.” Cal frowned. “The Force needs the Jedi Order to change and to adapt to the needs of its members. Not everyone is meant to live alone, and those intrinsic needs should be honored.”

“The tenets were created to protect us from the dark side,” Obi-Wan said.

“And yet all they really do is create situations that are ripe for the dark side to manipulate and corrupt,” Cal said with a shrug. “It’s like slapping the same size bandage of every wound and hoping for the best. That’s ridiculous.”

Jaro laughed. “Finish your food, and we’ll mediate, Padawan. Obi-Wan, I’ll walk you out.”

Obi-Wan said nothing until he was at the door. He paused and cleared his throat. “Be careful, Jaro, and be prepared to leave Coruscant at any moment. There are politics at play here that could rapidly get out of control.”

Jaro nodded. “I know, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I hate this. The war, the politics, and everything in between. All I ever wanted to do was serve the temple and follow the Force.”

“War can weigh on anyone heavily. Take time to take care of your mental health as much as possible,” Jaro said and squeezed the man’s shoulder gently. “I mean it. It can’t always be about everyone else. Sometimes it must be about you.”

“I wish you’d trained me,” Obi-Wan blurted out, then flushed. “Or someone like you. I feel adrift sometimes as I never got a proper grounding in the Force with Qui-Gon. I didn’t know at the time and wouldn’t have known how to seek it out, at any rate. He was on a path of his own, and ultimately, I think his goal was to find and train the Chosen One. All of his padawans were merely stepping stones.”

“You should spend some time with Mace,” Jaro suggested. “And tell him what you’ve just told me. It would be to your good.”

“Okay,” Obi-Wan said and rubbed his face. “I think I’ll go stare at Anakin for a while.”

“Cal would’ve already told us if Anakin were actively in trouble. I think he’d feel it, and maybe now you would as well. I do think you should discuss his mother’s death with him and actively listen to everything he has to say.”

“Agreed,” Obi-Wan said.

Jaro watched his fellow Jedi walk away and wondered what he could do for him. He shut the door and activated the security then returned to the kitchen to get himself some food. Cal was still plowing away on the large salad that the droid had programmed for him. It was not something Cal had ever ordered out of the food synth on his own. Though it did seem to be nutritionally very well balanced.

“Would you like a piece of fruit?”

“No thank you, Master. I’ll be really full if I get this all down.” Cal took a drink from his water glass and took a deep breath. “I will know if Master Skywalker starts to struggle. The Force promised she’d tell me. She said that she owed him a better future. I don’t know what that means exactly, and I didn’t ask. If he died horribly during the Purge, I’d rather not know about it.”

Jaro nodded. “I’ll convey that to Obi-Wan when I have the chance.” He brought his food to the table and took a deep breath. “Let’s talk about your actions during the kidnapping.”

Cal made a face. “I fought him when he picked me up until we were too high for me to survive a fall. He threw me in a troop transport, and I tried to get out the other side. But he picked me up and threw me toward the back. I drew my lightsaber, which he was surprised I had. He ordered me to put it down and used some really ugly language.”

“He told me that you accused them of being degenerates,” Jaro prodded.

“Yeah, to throw them off, and it worked on the pilot. He was really freaked out and even suggested that they let me go because he had a little brother and maybe their client was a degenerate.” Cal shrugged. “He threatened to shoot me, and I deflected the laser bolt. I didn’t mean for it to hit the pilot, but it did.” He paused. “I need to practice under duress. The trajectory was really off and I’m good at that kind of deflection normally.”

“You are,” Jaro said. “I had no idea it wasn’t intentional.”

“Well, killing the pilot of the craft I’m on wouldn’t have been the best choice,” Cal muttered, and Jaro laughed. “But the one who actually kidnapped me ran up and took control of the transport, which worked just as well because I opened the door and jumped onto the balcony of the building you found me on. Then, I went into an office, crawled into a vent, and made my way through the system to a maintenance tunnel. I thought I could transverse the rooftops pretty easily since the buildings are so close together, and I wasn’t far from the temple.”

“Smart,” Jaro praised.

“But Bode Akuna was on top of the building,” Cal said. “He must have been following the transport with his jetpack and couldn’t get to me fast enough on the balcony or merely thought waiting until I was on the roof would be easier for him. Either way, he grabbed me once I reached the roof, and it was clear he intended to kill me because one of the first things he did was basically admit to being a Jedi.”

Jaro focused on his food so he could work on controlling the anger he couldn’t keep off his face. “Then?”

“He grabbed me and shook me. He wanted to know what I’d told the Council. He promised it wouldn’t hurt if I just cooperated. I drew my lightsaber, pushed up against his armor, and turned it on. I don’t think he ever saw it coming. It destroyed his jetpack, and there was a flash of heat. I think it burned him, but since the body fell on me, I didn’t get burned. I had to push him off of me with the Force.”

“I saw the flash of the jetpack exploding,” Jaro said. “It’s how I found you.”

Cal nodded as if that made sense to him. “Okay.”

“It’s difficult to kill—it seems contrary to the will of the Force, which tells us to respect and honor life,” Jaro said.

“Yes,” Cal agreed. “But, Bode was going to kill me, and I have…I owe the Force more than that. I made promises to her, and I have to keep them. I can’t do that if I’m dead.” He frowned at his salad. “And there’s something else…something I need to live for. I don’t know what it is, but it’s important to not just me. I wouldn’t want to disappoint the other person.” He paused. “Whoever they are.”

Jaro smiled. “No, I’d think not. It’s important to keep your promises.” He cleared his throat. “The first time I killed, I was devastated.”

“It hurt a lot,” Cal said. “I know he was bad in the dream, but I thought maybe we could fix him. But he was probably bad all along, right?”

“It seems so, yes,” Jaro said. “Or he was merely left open to corruption due to Dooku’s apathy near the end of his time as a Jedi.”

“I’m glad I picked you, Master,” Cal said. “And not just because you’ll live a long time.”

Jaro grinned. “You know the two other masters you turned down still have no clue as to why. I wonder what they would think of the fact that you held their life spans against them.”

Cal laughed. “It was more than that.” He dug around in his salad for a piece of steak. “Your service record was good; you’d been trained by Master Yaddle, and despite your size, you never loomed over me during our meetings. I felt safe with you. Not that the others made me feel unsafe. It’s just I felt safest with you.”

“I’m glad for it.”

“Me, too,” Cal said.

“And I’m sorry that I failed to keep you safe today,” Jaro said.

“Well, no one expects jetpacked bandits, Master.”

“I certainly will in the future,” Jaro said dryly, and Cal laughed.

“And you did keep me safe,” Cal said. “I escaped and survived because of what you taught me. That’s true for the dream, too. Everything I learned from you—kept me safe and helped me survive.”

* * * *

The building that housed the Galactic Senate was large and busy. Cal was basically surrounded by Jedi as they moved through the lobby and toward a large set of steps. Master Junda had started using their guest room, which Cal thought was great, and BD-1 had been thrilled with having her close as well. She’d also agreed to accompany him to meet Chancellor Organa. Masters Windu and Kenobi had shown up in the atrium of the temple to be part of his escort to the Senate, which had been kind of embarrassing.

Surely, having two members of the Jedi Council act as his bodyguards was a bit much, but his own master had accepted their inclusion without a single word of complaint. So, Cal was trying to be good about it and the fact that he’d been instructed to put his hood up before they’d even left the temple. Apparently, his bright red hair was far too recognizable. Which, he supposed, was fair. He’d always kind of stood out because of it.

They went up several flights of stairs before reaching another large lobby area that led to a series of big doors. Cal figured it was the Senate floor and was glad when they didn’t approach the doors. The big room seemed like too much exposure from what he’d seen of holovids on the HoloNet. They entered an administrative area that seemed busy and much more interesting since everyone seemed to be actually working rather than standing around talking.

Master Windu handled the appointment details, and Cal wondered about the politics involved in the visit and what it meant to everyone else. He knew that Master Windu was second in command of the Jedi Council, but the Master of the Order itself was Master Yoda, who was semi-retired due to his age. Cal assumed that had a lot of play in their current situation when it might not in other circumstances, considering the alliance between the Jedi Order and the Senate.

Shortly, they were shown into a large, airy office that looked very expensive. He’d always lived well at the temple, even if their lifestyle was seen as simplistic. Cal wasn’t very materialistic, though he did enjoy his datapad and considered it a big luxury. Also, it was the first gift he’d ever been given by anyone, so it meant a lot to him. He’d had one at the academy as they were all issued the device for academic purposes but had never bothered to buy one for personal use.

“Supreme Chancellor Organa, may I introduce Jedi Master Jaro Tapal and his padawan, Cal Kestis. This is Master Cere Junda, and you’ve met Obi-Wan.”

“I’m honored to meet you all,” Bail Organa said with a bright and sincere smile. “Please sit.” He motioned toward a grouping of chairs and a sofa.

Cal thought that was well done because his master was twice the size of their companions, and not many would’ve recognized the need for sofa-sized seat. He sat down on the sofa with his master. BD-1 peeked over his shoulder at that point.

“This is BD-1,” Cal said and motioned toward the droid.

Bail Organa smiled. “Cute fellow. How long have you owned him?”

“He’s a free droid,” Cal answered. “But we met a bit ago, and he asked if he could stay with me. Master Tapal said he could as long as he didn’t have any bad habits or interfere with my training. After yesterday, I fear that I don’t have any chance of talking him out of acting like my bodyguard.” Then, he decided to lean into his big goal. “It’s interesting—his freedom.”

“What do you mean?” Chancellor Organa said.

“Well, BD-1 is free. Since he’s a droid, he’s not a citizen despite the fact that he’s sapient and he’s never fought for the Republic. Yet, he’s free and recognized as such by the law because he has a chain code to prove it.” Cal shrugged. “The clones aren’t citizens; they work, fight, and die for the Republic, and they’re not free. In fact, they don’t even get paid. But then slaves don’t get paid, right?”

Bail Organa was pale when Cal focused on him, and he kind of regretted his bluntness. “So, it’s interesting. I’ve been studying the Galactic Republic, and the various laws for citizens. When I was little, I thought all the planets in the whole galaxy were part of the Republic. But that’s, of course, not true. Even without the Separatists, there are many worlds outside of our influence that are lawless and filled to the brim with atrocities—like slavery. Even child slavery.”

Bail Organa took a deep breath, but before he could speak, a chime sounded, and a side door opened. The man stood and frowned as another person entered the room.

“I told my people that this was a private meeting, Vice Chancellor Amedda.”

The Chagrian male’s gaze drifted over them then settled on Cal. “The last time the Supreme Chancellor met with the Jedi, he was murdered.”

“Rude,” Cal muttered, and Bail Organa glanced at him with a quick grin before schooling his expression.

“And every single Jedi sitting here fought the assassin, and one was instrumental in causing his death—thus preventing more damage,” Chancellor Organa said simply. “And not to be unkind, Vice Chancellor, but you’re not exactly a physical deterrent should my guests turn murderous.”

Mas Amedda focused on Cal then. “Is that the child? The visionary?”

His master stiffened beside him and shifted forward slightly.

“What?” Chancellor Organa questioned and focused on Cal with a frown.

“No, my padawan is not a visionary,” Master Tapal said stiffly.

“Really, Master Tapal?” Mas Amedda questioned. “I heard, from a source that I trust, that your padawan sees the future.”

“Two in ten Jedi have Force visions,” Master Tapal said. “But my padawan does not. Your trusted source spoke out of ignorance, perhaps.”

“Two in ten?” Mas Amedda said and frowned. “But there are many thousands of Jedi.”

“The Force guides all of us, and some of us have visions,” Master Windu interjected smoothly. “But such visions are nearly always deeply personal and have no bearing on the future of the Republic. There have been occasions when a member of our Order has seen something in a vision that pertained to the Republic, and it was shared appropriately. We are as much servants of our great Republic as you are, Vice Chancellor Amedda.”

“The boy is different,” Mas Amedda said stubbornly. “He knows the future. I’m sure of it, Chancellor Organa. He shouldn’t be left with the Jedi. He’d be better off in the custody of the Senate going forward.”

Cal frowned and was relieved that Chancellor Organa looked horrified.

“Are you insane?” Chancellor Organa demanded, and Mas Amedda reared back in shock.

“No, I assure you I’m quite sane. And as your advisor, Chancellor Organa, I’m telling you that this boy would be a valuable tool in your rule over the Galactic Senate.”

“I’m a natural-born citizen of the Galactic Republic,” Cal said, and they all focused on him. “Thus, it is illegal to seek to enslave me.” He crossed his arms. “And I’m a person, not a tool.”

“Amedda, leave this room,” Chancellor Organa snapped. “I’ll speak with you later.” He waved a hand when a man started to speak.

“The Force says he just wants to gain control over me before someone figures out that he’s a Separatist spy,” Cal said and shrugged when they all focused on him. “But that’s obvious, right? His trusted source was either Eeth Koth or Bode Akuna.” He paused when no one moved. “If we let him leave, he’ll probably go delete all the evidence of his bad acts.”

Ameda turned to leave, and Master Windu followed with a sigh.

Master Junda laughed under her breath as the door shut with a sharp snap.

“Are you always like this, Padawan Kestis?”

“Yes,” Master Tapal said before Cal could deny it. “He’s always exactly like this and is absolutely not a visionary. If he were there would be no need to hide it as that is not an especially uncommon gift within the Jedi Order.”

“Indeed not,” Master Kenobi said. “I’ve had Force-induced visions since I was a child in the crèche.”

“I’ve had two,” Master Junda murmured. “And both were deeply personal. One when I was a youngling and another just recently. The visions were clearly designed to ensure that I stayed on the proper path as a Jedi.”

“But the Force talks to him,” Chancellor Organa said as he sat down and focused on Cal. “Is that unique?”

“It’s not common,” Master Tapal allowed. “Grand Master Yoda has often reported conversing with the Force. But it is not a gift that can be managed or controlled for the good of anyone, much less the Republic. In truth, the Force does not care one way or another about our government. She concerns herself with the individuals who are gifted enough to move within her power. Her investment in my padawan is personal to him. His connection seems to be hyperactive since the kidnapping.”

Master Windu returned through the main door at that point and sat down with a frown. He looked really disgruntled.

“Problem?” Master Kenobi questioned.

“Mas Amedda poisoned himself shortly after he was taken into custody,” Master Windu said shortly. “I couldn’t get a med droid to attend to him fast enough to stop the poison. I’ve had his office locked down and put two guards on it until we can conduct a security sweep. His staff isn’t to be trusted at this point due to his own actions.”

“Certainly, his actions are a sure sign of his guilt,” Chancellor Organa said faintly and focused once more on Cal. “Would the Force be willing to tell me anything else about my administration?”

Cal shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of. I’m sure she’ll tell me if she does.” He paused. “I truly have no control over it, and that’s for the best. Such power would be corruptive in the long term.”

“Yes, I agree,” Chancellor Organa said. “For all involved, and I’m glad you recognize that. You’re a very wise young man.”

“Your wife is the queen of your homeworld,” Cal said. “It must be interesting.”

“Interesting how?” Chancellor Organa said.

“Powerful women are fascinating,” Cal responded with a shrug. “Compelling.”

Chancellor Organa laughed. “I see your master is teaching you all the important lessons.” He grew serious then. “I asked to meet with you so I could extend my personal apology concerning your kidnapping. One of the duties of the Galactic Senate is to oversee security for the Jedi’s temple on Coruscant. That security should obviously include the air space around the temple itself. The men who kidnapped you should’ve never had a chance to get anywhere near the temple. I’ve insisted on an internal security review because of what happened to you. The children housed in the temple should be safe here on Coruscant, and your circumstances proved that false.”

“I suppose my circumstances are special since I’m technically in the service of the Grand Army of the Republic,” Cal said, and Chancellor Organa blinked in surprise. “All padawans whose masters serve are part of the GAR. Jedi Commander Kestis at your service, Chancellor Organa.”

“Ah, I had no idea that…applied to even someone so young as you.”

“All padawans are essentially equal in the temple until the day they kneel to be knighted,” Master Tapal said. “My padawan is well-versed in military law and code. His training includes not only the use of the Force but the command of troops in battle. He’s an excellent tactician already. Which is evidenced by the fact that he essentially rescued himself from being kidnapped.”

“Yes, I’ve read the report,” Chancellor Organa said. “And I’m sorry that it came to that.”

“Bode Akuna was a traitor to the Jedi and to the Republic. He deserves none of your pity,” Cal said and glanced around the office. “And I hope to never earn such a thing from anyone.” He frowned a little and looked at the chancellor. “Do you intend to rule over the Republic?”

“No,” Chancellor Organa said. “I’ve served the Republic my entire adult life and I see the duty as chancellor as yet another method by which I will serve. The role of chancellor is not like a king, though some who have served in the past certainly treated it like it was.”

“Good. I think we’ve had a great meeting,” Cal said and folded his hands together with a smile. “Lunch?”

Chancellor Organa grinned. “Lunch sounds wonderful.” He stood and motioned them all to follow. “Believe it or not, I have a private dining room. My wife declared it pretentious.”

“I suppose the queen of a whole planet would know pretentious when she sees it,” Cal said and followed the chancellor, which served to make his Jedi Master circle of protection follow as well.

“The food synth has a large selection—bigger than I had in my previous office.” He motioned for Cal to join him. “What would you like?”

“A bantha burger and potato wedges would be good. Master Tapal doesn’t consume bread as a rule but doesn’t mind root vegetables. Master Junda appears to prefer mostly vegetables and the occasional piece of meat. I think Master Windu probably eats his meat while it’s still alive, and Master Kenobi might be helping him hunt for it.” He grinned at the laughter that earned him.

“We shall let them fend for themselves,” Chancellor Organa decided.

Cal took his plate to the table and tucked into a seat he was pointed to by Master Tapal. He wasn’t alone at the table for long, and his predictions regarding Masters Tapal and Junda proved accurate. Master Windu brought a plate with a large, rare steak to the table with a raised eyebrow in his direction.

Cal shrugged. “Not everything the Force tells me is epic. I don’t think that bantha herd on Kuat will ever be the same, and I know exactly who to blame should anyone ever question it.”

“Something tells me that the last thing any senator would want is this one on hand to tell everyone about their shenanigans,” Chancellor Organa said wryly, and Master Tapal laughed. “Which means that you, Jaro Tapal, might be the bravest Jedi I’ve ever met.”

Chapter 6

Jaro would’ve told anyone who bothered to ask that he didn’t feel particularly brave. The responsibility of a padawan had always weighed heavy on him, but Cal Kestis was a unique worry. He didn’t begrudge the boy his attention or time, nor did he question his duty to the Force when it came to the gift that Cal had been given. Yet, he could say without any sort of stipulation that he’d never felt more challenged.

Cere Junda looked up from her reading as he stood from the desk. “Problem?”

“That obvious?”

“You have a generally calm presence in the Force, but you appear to be in a difficult place.”

“The Council wishes to speak with me alone.” He smoothed down his beard and took a deep breath. “You’re in for the evening, correct?”

“Yes, I’ll keep watch,” she said simply and went back to her reading.

“Tell me one thing,” Jaro murmured.

“Of course.” Cere focused on him.

“Should I try to talk Cal into accepting any level of instruction from Master Yoda?”

Cere made a face and glanced toward the hall leading to the bedrooms. Jaro prodded Cal’s bedroom door shut and sat down on the sofa across from her chair. “He’s asleep, and his door is shut.”

“Master Yoda survived the Purge,” Cere said. “And went into hiding. He never aided us—not in protecting the knowledge of the Jedi and not in the rebellion. He was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful Force users left alive, and he did nothing to fight the Empire, as far as I know, Jaro. Perhaps the Purge was the final blow for him, but it doesn’t matter to me because it took the most it possibly could from all of us, and I did everything I could to honor what I was taught.

“Darth Vader killed me—thrust his lightsaber straight through me, and I didn’t regret a single thing that led me to that moment. I chose to try to save the knowledge of the Jedi. I chose to help the Hidden Path, a group dedicated to protecting the Force-sensitive from being executed, in every single way I could.

“Master Yoda chose to live in seclusion. I don’t know where. I can’t say I wouldn’t have sought him out for the sole purpose of giving him a piece of my mind. Some Jedi ran and hid. Others fell to the dark side and became Imperial Inquisitors. But how many could’ve been saved if Master Yoda had been the leader we actually deserve rather than the one we’re stuck with because of his age?”

Jaro took a deep breath. “Been keeping that in for a bit.”

“Yes, well, I don’t really have anyone I can share it with. Eno wishes to think the best of everyone, and I don’t want to hurt him more than I already have with information from a terrible future that will no longer happen. Granted, the future might still be horrible, but it won’t be that brand of horrible.” Cere exhaled slowly. “So, no, I don’t think you should give in and allow Master Yoda’s ego to hurt Cal. All he does is dream, and he knows how to go to sleep. In fact, I’d like you to list me as his secondary master in the event of your death.” She paused. “Unless you’ve made a different choice.”

“Mace Windu has been my choice since the death of Yaddle,” Jaro said. “But I will speak with him and update Cal’s records because I believe he would be best served with you. He trusts you far more than he trusts anyone else in the temple. I think Mace would be a good second choice for you, however, for Cal.”

“I’ll make sure to update my records,” Cere murmured. “Because I agree. We need to make sure Mace understands that he shouldn’t give in to Yoda either.”

“I will.” He cleared his throat. “You should work on your resentment. I realize you know that already, but I wanted to say it. Also, I want to tell you that you’re entitled to all of it. I’m furious on behalf of every single Jedi that survived the Purge. The Grand Master of the Jedi hid while our people were hunted, tortured, and executed.” Jaro took a deep breath. “It’s fucking outrageous.”

“Foul mouth,” Cere said and grinned when Jaro huffed. “Go tell Master Yoda no again. It’ll do him good.”

Jaro grunted, stood, and left his apartment before he got the urge to send someone an inappropriate comm about summoning him to a Council meeting a half hour before his bedtime. It had been several years since he’d lived in the temple, but he would’ve thought the seventy-plus years he had lived there would’ve been enough to ensure that everyone remembered his schedule.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was leaning on a wall not far from the main doors when he finally entered the hall leading to the Council’s chambers. He raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You’ve got yourself a very savvy little politician, Jaro. Chancellor Organa sent the Council a message singing Cal’s praises. He was pleased to meet such a well-spoken and educated child.”

Jaro sighed. “Is this meeting going to create enemies for me?”

“Uncertain, but I won’t be one of them,” Obi-Wan assured.

Jaro just nodded and entered the Council chamber with Obi-Wan following to close the doors. He took the seat left open for him and noted that Agen Kolar, Eeth’s replacement, had arrived. It wasn’t a comfort through no fault of Agen’s. He still wasn’t comfortable with the sacrifice that Eeth had made. He wondered what the rest of them really thought about what had happened and what the two of them had revealed about their feelings for one another in those final moments.

“Your meeting with Chancellor Organa went very well, Jaro,” Even Piell said with a nod. “I’m not surprised. I’ve always found your padawans to be socially savvy and politically minded.”

“Cal is an avid student, and he’s well-versed in the workings of the Republic,” Jaro said. “He pays close attention in his lessons no matter the subject matter and during rest hours reads to study rather than for pleasure nearly every day. He also requires a great deal of physical activity and will go until he drops. I’m not sure if that’s related to his species or him specifically.”

“Anakin was…still is exhausting,” Obi-Wan said. “I’d be content to sit and read all day. He’d be running laps around the temple if I didn’t give him exercises to do when he was Cal’s age.”

Jaro refrained from checking his chronometer because he was exhausted, and Cal would be up in just ten hours expecting a full day of training. He focused on Yoda, and he couldn’t help but think about what Cere had said. The resentment she felt was easy to understand, considering the life she’d lived and the losses she’d eventually taken due to isolation and lack of support.

“Concerned I am,” Yoda said. “Influence the child the Force does.”

“The Force influences us all,” Jaro returned evenly. “You’ve often spoken of it yourself, and that influence has been used to make decisions for the entire Order in the past. Were you not influenced to continue to pledge us to the service of the Galactic Senate?”

Yoda stared. “Trust me, you do not.”

“I trust you, Yoda. I’ve known you since I was a child, which is longer than most of the people in this room. I remember your lessons, and I understand your profound relationship with the Force. That being said, I do not and never have considered you to be infallible. I also know you’ve never expected blind faith from those around you.”

“Serve the Jedi Order, I do,” Yoda said. “Cal Kestis’ duty to Order first come.”

“Are you questioning my ability to teach him to serve as a Jedi Knight?” Jaro questioned.

“No.” Yoda waved a hand. “Your padawan more than a Jedi Knight is. More than visionary. More than any other before him. Owe him we do.”

“Do you owe him the right to make his own choices?” Jaro questioned, and he received several grimaces.

Even Piell cleared his throat. “Jaro, surely you realize that his gift and connection with the Force requires a different training path.”

“And I’m incapable of mentoring him on the path you assume he wishes to walk?” Jaro questioned, and Piell exhaled sharply as if he realized he had no response that wouldn’t be deeply insulting. “I won’t release my padawan to you, Yoda. He’s already made his wishes very clear, and I would never disrespect him by attempting to undermine his choice.”

“Understand your attachment, I do,” Yoda said. “Serve your padawan not.”

“What does the Force tell you about your ambitions, Yoda?” Jaro questioned. “Does she agree that you should take her little prophet in hand so you can shape him into whatever tool you think he should be? Do you see in him a better relationship between the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order? Is that why you allowed Sheev Palpatine so much unfettered and unsupervised access to Anakin Skywalker?”

Yoda said nothing. Jaro could feel the shame swelling in the room, and more than one of them probably played an active hand in the issues with Anakin Skywalker and Sheev Palpatine.

“Palpatine was a Sith,” Jaro said. “Did you feel his darkness? Or even his use of the Force? Because I didn’t, not until the day he stood in front of me and coveted the child in my care.”

“He was most certainly a traitor,” Mace Windu said. “And Chancellor Organa has confided in us the fact that he found evidence of Palpatine’s collusion with Dooku. They were working in tandem to weaken the Confederacy and prepare the Republic for a hostile takeover. As he entered this room, his darkness all but choked me. I think the Force was making me recognize it, and until that point, I didn’t know that the dark side could outright hide from us on such a scale.

“We have no idea what kind of influence he left in Anakin Skywalker,” Mace continued and took a deep breath. “It’s worrisome.”

“Cal believes that Anakin Skywalker can yet be saved,” Jaro said. “And was comfortable with him when we had had dinner with him and Obi-Wan, and honestly, that is where this Council should be focused. If the Chosen One falls, then what will become of the balance? Moreover, is anyone working on a contingency plan if our relationship with the Galactic Republic sours? Where will we go? Do we have safe houses set up? Have we started distributing private codes for a communication network exclusively for our use?”

“Not as far as I know,” Mace said evenly. “The rest of the Council is seemingly more concerned about the dreams of a boy.”

“The dream prevented our deaths,” Shaak Ti interjected. “What else could he tell us?”

“I can assure you that if you work to circumvent his choices, he will tell you absolutely nothing,” Jaro said, and they all focused on him. “If you break faith with him—there will be no coming back from it. He trusts us because we’ve never led him astray. We’ve never betrayed him. We’ve never lied to him. We’ve never taken his choices from him or abandoned him like his parents did.” He took a deep breath. “Do you know why he chose me, Mace?”

“No.”

“He liked my service record and the fact that I’d been trained by Master Yaddle. He also liked that I never loomed over him in our meetings, as he doesn’t like that. Finally, and I honestly think most importantly, my species live longer than Humans. He takes comfort in the fact that I will be with him his whole life unless I die in battle.” He cleared his throat in the silence that followed. “We like to pretend that the younglings adjust quickly and don’t really concern themselves with the families they leave behind. Or the ones that leave them behind.”

“Trying to change his apprenticeship would be mentally damaging,” Obi-Wan said. “Emotionally devastating as well, and that could damage his relationship with the Force. We’ve seen that happen more than once.”

“I won’t allow it,” Jaro said. “I don’t mean to lecture you like children, but surely you have matters that actually require your attention. My padawan has been very generous with his time and attention since we came to the temple. I assure you, he will share any information he has.”

“You intend to take him from Coruscant,” Even Piell said. “It doesn’t serve the Order.”

“Dooku knows his name,” Jaro snapped. “He knows what Palpatine knew and what Bode Akuna knew. Both of them came at him the first chance they got. Every single one of you is looking at him like he’s a resource instead of a person. Even you, Yoda, are trying to figure out how to best use him for your vision of the Jedi Order. That means that my padawan is not safe on this planet; of course, I’m taking him from the temple.” He stood. “And for the record, Even, at his age, the Order should be protecting him, not trying to whore him out to the fucking Republic!”

Jaro checked his chronometer. “It’s now thirty minutes past my bedtime, and I’m going to sleep. Tomorrow, my padawan will wake up with the sun and expect my undivided attention since we aren’t in command on a ship. I should wake up all of you and make you observe every minute of his training as punishment.”

He waved a hand in fury and stalked out of the Council chamber without another word. Jaro returned to his apartment, and Cere Junda left with a nod. She’d return, and he probably didn’t want to know whatever she might be up to just to have some deniability because he believed wholeheartedly that she’d meant it when she said she’d do anything to prevent the return of the Empire. He set the security on the door since she’d be able to return with her own code.

Jaro downloaded his comms to his datapad, went to his bedroom, and shut the door. He tossed the device on the bed and went into the refresher to wash his face. The fury boiling in his gut wasn’t foreign to him, but he’d learned long ago to control his temper. He was bigger than most of the people around him, and he’d understood from a young age that his sheer size could be intimidating and cause unnecessary fear.

He sat down on the bed and used the datapad to check his comms. There was nothing from Eeth, and he hadn’t expected it. He just desperately wanted it. It had been decades since they’d been in circumstances where even communication was impossible. Their relationship had always skirted the edge of both of their lives and had never been exclusive. Part of him wished for more, suddenly, and he didn’t know what to do with that.

Everything was different, and whatever he’d once had with Eeth Koth had been destroyed by their own choices. His best friend and lover was now a stranger with a face he did not know. Jaro touched on their bond and received a gentle, reassuring response. He closed his eyes briefly and set the datapad on his nightstand. He’d never lingered on their bond before, but he gave into the luxury of it for just a little while. No one but Eeth would know, and that was fine.

* * * *

Cal put away his dishes and tried not to be worried as he checked his chronometer. Master Tapal was nearly forty-five minutes late getting up and it was starting to make him nervous. For want of anything else to do, he grabbed his datapad and checked his comms. There was a newsletter from his initiate clan outlining all the activities members were up to. His kidnapping was featured, which made him want to avoid the clan’s discussion forum on the temple server for the rest of his natural life.

He was from the same clan as Master Kenobi, so there was an update on him as well. He’d been elevated to the High Jedi General of the Grand Republic Army, and it was considered an honor. Cal wondered if Master Kenobi thought it was an honor. The Kybuck Clan had some pretty popular members and was one of the newer initiate clans at less than a hundred years old.

The weirdest thing about his in-box was the lack of comms from the Albedo Brave, and that had been the bulk of his communications for over a year. He hadn’t gotten a single report since they’d left the ship, and that was probably good. It was, however, kind of disconcerting. He wondered what the troopers were up to. He wondered if Master Tapal was also curious or worried about what their troopers were up to.

He considered trying to meditate but was worried the Force would mess with him, and Cal was just really tired of seeing a bunch of murders and didn’t want to get a vision. Cal hoped that the Force would give him a break on that front and confine herself to dreams. He got a little surge of amusement and reassurance that didn’t feel like his master at all, so that was startling as he only had one Force bond.

Master Tapal left his bedroom, putting on his chronometer. He was already dressed for the day, and his Force presence was oddly muted as he went into the kitchen and retrieved a meal bar from the synth. Cal frowned and pulled his legs up against his chest as he considered what could’ve happened in the night to put his master so far off his stride. He hadn’t even had any bad dreams the night before and didn’t think he’d woken his master up.

“Come, Padawan, we’re going to spend the day training.”

“Okay,” Cal said quietly and stood. “You didn’t get any caf.”

“I’ll get some at the training facility,” Master Tapal said and focused on him. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream last night?”

“Not really,” Cal said. “I dreamt I was on a world exploring a temple and I got captured by some guys. Me and BD-1 escaped and had to fight a bunch of creatures in an arena. It was a little irritating because it was clearly entertainment for the people watching, and the man running the arena was certainly torn between killing me and letting me kill all of his creatures to make money on gambling. He set some bounty hunters down after me, and the dream shifted. Suddenly, I was on Zeffo following in Master Cordova’s footsteps, trying to rebuild his research.”

Master Tapal nodded. “Then why are you out of sorts?”

Cal frowned. “Master, I’m not out of sorts.” He paused. “You are.”

His master exhaled slowly and sat down on the sofa with his meal bar. “Right.”

Cal sat down with him as his master unwrapped the bar and started to eat it. “Did you have bad dreams?”

“No,” Master Tapal said. “It’s nothing.”

Cal frowned. “When you offered to train me and take me as your padawan, you said that we were a command team and that I would join you on your ship as your executive officer.”

Master Tapal nodded. “You’ve done very well in that role, Cal. I honestly couldn’t have asked for more from a padawan. You went above and beyond from practically the first hour.”

“Thank you, sir,” Cal said and shifted around on the sofa until he was facing his master. “I know I’m just a child to you….” He trailed off when his master unexpectedly glared at him.

“You are not just a child to me, Cal,” Master Tapal said firmly. “You never have been.” He frowned and took a deep breath. “I’ve watched over you your entire life, Padawan.”

“Have you really?”

“Yes,” Master Tapal said. “For years, I avoided the temple here on Coruscant and worked out in the galaxy as a guardian and peacekeeper. Then Yaddle was murdered, and I returned to Coruscant to find out why. I never did find out…it hurts even now to think about how she was murdered and left where she fell. Yoda was devastated and his grief settled on the whole temple.

“I was here in the temple teaching at the academy when you were delivered to the crèche. For days after your arrival, I felt this pull toward the crèche. I ignored it because I was grieving, and I didn’t have room for anything else. Then, the Force started to get pushy with me, and I gave in.

“Matron Sheva was pretty frustrated with me because she’d been expecting me to arrive for days.”

Cal laughed.

“And she just shoved this baby into my arms and told me to feed him. There were you, Cal, with curly red hair and bright blue eyes staring at me like I was unbelievably rude for taking so long to arrive. So, I gave you a bottle. It seemed like the Force wanted me to know you existed. I checked on you often over the years, taught at the academy in Yaddle’s place, and waited until you were ready to become a padawan. I always knew you were special, but it was a little irritating when I realized that several masters were going to offer to apprentice you.”

“I wish I could’ve met Master Yaddle,” Cal said. “Everyone always talks about how nice she was and how she had this amazing connection with the Living Force. I also wish she was here to help you because you’re clearly struggling with something that you don’t want to share with me.”

Master Tapal finished his meal bar, and BD-1 snagged the wrapper and left them. “He’s a bigger neat-freak than you.”

Cal laughed. “He lectured me about keeping the wrappers from the candy he gives me in my pocket when I stuck my robe in the cleaner.” He leaned on his master and relaxed when the older man put an arm around him.

“I had a difficult conversation with the Council last night,” Master Tapal murmured. “And I lost my temper with them.”

“They must have been doing or saying something really inappropriate,” Cal said. “Because you have self-control for days.”

“Their behavior was very frustrating,” Master Tapal said. “But my reaction remains a problem.”

“Was it about me?”

“Yes.”

Cal nodded. “What can we do about it?”

“I don’t know,” Master Tapal said carefully. “They have a different perspective, and it’s the job of the Council to protect the entire Jedi Order. They have goals and plans that will put us at odds often going forward as I won’t be backing down where it concerns your rights to pick your own path.”

“Thank you,” Cal said.

“It’s my duty to protect you, Cal,” Master Tapal said carefully.

“Plenty of masters in your place would’ve given me up. They wouldn’t be arguing with the Council. They wouldn’t even be sitting here with me because a large portion of the Order believes that the Force itself practically sits in the palm of Master Yoda’s hand.” Cal made a face. “And I’m not trying to disparage him, but he’s old, and his movement in the Force is slow…and uninspired.”

Master Tapal exhaled slowly. “How long have you thought that?”

“Since I was little,” Cal confessed. “I’d never say such a thing in public. I understand how important he is as a figurehead for the Order and for the war itself. That’s why Master Windu is no longer the Master of the Order, right?”

“Right,” Master Tapal said. “He needed to be free for field operations and Master Yoda has a special sort of place in the hearts of Jedi all over the galaxy. All of us have been taught by him in some fashion or another.”

“I learned a lot from him when I was in the crèche,” Cal said. “But I also learned to not speak of things he doesn’t agree with because he doesn’t allow for thoughtful debate on some topics. And it can get really frustrating because he can be incredibly stubborn.”

“You were very quick to decline to be his apprentice,” Master Tapal said.

“It was deeply disrespectful to us both that he would just assume such a thing was going to happen with no discussion,” Cal muttered. “It was like suddenly the choices we made in the past were no longer important. What I want matters.”

“Yes, of course, it does.”

Cal sighed. “How are they going to fix the clones? I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone in the Senate to know about the control chips.”

“They’re working on the problem and have already removed the control chip from one clone trooper. And Shaak Ti is creating a non-invasive method to destroy the chips that won’t hurt the troopers. I think you made Chancellor Organa think about the troopers in a way that will cause positive change for them.”

“I hope so,” Cal said. “I won’t accept another master. Not ever. I lived without you in that dream that seemed to last forever, and I know what that feels like. What Master Yoda wants isn’t fair to me, and I know that life isn’t fair, but I’ve already sacrificed enough.” He paused. “Except, I don’t know what I sacrificed. I just know that I did, and I’m not giving anything else up, ever.” He huffed. “Now I’m out of sorts, too.”

BD-1 joined them and beeped.

Master Tapal sighed.

“What did he say?” Cal questioned.

“He has declared himself out of sorts as well,” Master Tapal said fondly. “We might as well go to the training arena and work out your frustrations at the very least.” He paused. “Why did you ask about the clones?”

“Because if the Council is going to stress you out, then we should go back to our ship and fight Separatists. At least we can blow them up,” Cal said tartly, and his master laughed sharply.

“Do you think you could return to the ship?”

“I liked our troopers before the dream,” Cal said. “And the betrayal hurt. It’s not as bad now, as I’ve come to understand they truly had no choice. If all of their chips are removed, then I can work my way through that part and be on the ship again. I trust Master Ti’s work.”

“I do as well,” Master Tapal said. “We should work on your deflection in training today since you mentioned being concerned about it.”

Cal huffed. “They put my kidnapping in the clan newsletter.”

Master Tapal laughed.

“Now it’s in the archives forever.”

“I assure you, it was already going to be in the archives,” Master Tapal said wryly. “I killed two wanted criminals on the temple steps in front of over a hundred witnesses.”

“Wow, plus all of those initiates from the academy were out there. They’re probably all in mind healing.”

“I should probably put you in mind healing.”

Cal huffed. “I don’t need that stuff.”

“Oh, Padawan, you need all that stuff more than you could possibly know.” Master Tapal sighed. “But I know I can’t trust just anyone with such a thing when it comes to you. So, we’ll work on it together, and I want you to know that you can speak to me about anything.”

“I know,” Cal said simply. “I trust you, Master.” He took a deep breath. “I worry that it’ll be too much pressure for you.”

“In what way?” Master Tapal questioned.

“In every way,” Cal said with a shrug.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Master Tapal said quietly. “And I’m not going to give into anyone’s demands, Cal. I won’t allow anyone to take you down a path that you don’t want. I won’t give up your apprenticeship. I won’t allow anyone to separate us. I promise.”

Cal relaxed. “You woke up late. You’ve never done that before. Is it because the Council stressed you out?”

“Frankly, yes. I had a hard time going to sleep,” his master confessed. “But I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“Well, that’s silly,” Cal blurted out, and his master huffed. “Of course, I’m going to worry about you. I care about you, and I’ve already watched you die once. It was awful and I don’t think I’d have ever gotten over it if it were real. Isn’t that how you feel about Master Yaddle?”

“I feel like someone tore something out of me,” Master Tapal admitted quietly. “If she’d died peacefully in her sleep, I could’ve dealt with it. But she was murdered, and no one has ever paid for it. I can’t think about it often because it’s so infuriating.”

“It ticks me off, too,” Cal admitted. “I’m missing out on a great grandmaster because some awful dark jerk killed her before I ever got to meet her.” He paused. “If we get stuck here—we should investigate it again and ruin people’s lives until someone tells us the truth out of self-defense.”

“Yes, we should,” Master Tapal said. “Consider that a deal, but I don’t expect to get stuck here.” He stood and stretched. “Come along then.”

Cal followed his master from the apartment and through the temple. The older man kept his pace moderate, so Cal didn’t have to walk fast to keep up. “Can I work with drones?”

“We’ll see,” Master Tapal said. “You’ve a lot of energy to burn, and your attention wanders a bit when that’s the case. I’d prefer to control the shots, so I might use a blaster as well. We’ll play it by ear.”

“Sounds great. I need to do some running around first. I’m about to bounce out of my skin.”

“I noticed,” Master Tapal said wryly, and Cal laughed.