The Jedi Temple slept lightly.
Even at rest, it breathed — a low hum of distant speeders, the quiet circulation of air through ancient halls, the pulse of the Force itself flowing through stone and memory. Kaelen Shan walked those halls alone, Bastila's holocron secured beneath his arm, his footsteps echoing softly as he descended toward the lower meditation chambers.
He had not told Obi-Wan where he was going.
Not because he was hiding — but because this journey felt… personal.
The chamber he chose was old, carved deep into the Temple's foundations. Fewer initiates used it now. The walls bore faint carvings worn smooth by centuries of meditation — Jedi who had sat here before wars, during wars, after wars.
Kaelen knelt at the center.
He set the holocron down.
It did not activate.
He breathed in.
Then out.
Only when his thoughts slowed — when the echoes of battle, politics, and prophecy faded — did the holocron stir.
Light unfolded like a gentle sunrise.
Bastila Shan appeared before him, hands folded, posture poised yet relaxed. Her presence was immediately different from how she had appeared before the Council. Less formal. Less guarded.
More… present.
"You return willingly," she observed.
Kaelen nodded. "I wanted to learn. Not because I'm afraid — but because I don't want to become something I don't recognize."
Bastila studied him carefully, as though weighing not his words but the space between them.
"That awareness alone separates you from many who walked this path before you."
Kaelen hesitated. "You've said that kind of power can change people. Battle Meditation. Leadership. Influence."
"Yes," she replied."Because it amplifies what already exists."
The chamber shifted.
The stone walls dissolved into a vast, open plain beneath a twilight sky. Thousands of distant lights shimmered across the horizon — not stars, but presences. Living minds.
"This is how it begins," Bastila said, stepping beside him."Not with control. With connection."
Kaelen felt them immediately — fear, resolve, hope, exhaustion — layered together into something overwhelming.
His breath caught.
"I can feel all of them…"
"And you always will," Bastila replied gently."The question is whether you carry them… or let them carry you."
She gestured.
The lights shifted — some brightened, others dimmed.
"Touch nothing," she instructed."Simply listen."
Kaelen did.
The sensation was staggering — the pull to fix, to guide, to align was immense. Every instinct told him he could make things better if he just reached out.
His hands trembled.
"I want to help them."
Bastila's voice softened.
"So did an old friend of mine."
Kaelen looked at her sharply. "Friend?"
She did not answer directly.
"He believed that if the galaxy could only see clearly — if fear and doubt were stripped away — peace would follow."
Something in her tone was not sorrow.
It was remembrance.
"But clarity without humility becomes certainty. And certainty… can become tyranny."
Kaelen swallowed.
"You're talking about someone who failed."
"I am talking about someone who tried," Bastila corrected."And paid the price."
The vision faded gently, returning them to the stone chamber.
Bastila regarded him quietly.
"You remind me of him," she said at last."Not in destiny. In temperament."
Kaelen's heart thudded. "Is that… bad?"
A faint smile touched her expression.
"It depends entirely on your choices."
Training with the Living Order
The next morning, the Temple's primary training hall echoed with the snap-hiss of lightsabers.
Kaelen faced Ahsoka first.
She bounced lightly on her feet, blades spinning playfully. "Okay, new rule — no weird Force stuff unless I say so."
Kaelen smirked. "You're just afraid I'll make you trip."
She lunged.
Kaelen barely avoided the strike, rolling aside and countering — not with speed, but timing. He let the Force guide rather than push.
Ahsoka grinned mid-exchange. "You're slower."
"More patient," Kaelen replied, locking blades with her.
Anakin watched from the edge, arms crossed. "Yeah, yeah, philosophy later. Fight now."
Ahsoka disengaged, flipping back. "He's different, Skyguy. Not weaker — just… calmer."
Anakin snorted. "That never lasts."
He ignited his saber and stepped in.
Their duel was louder. Faster. Anakin pressed relentlessly, forcing Kaelen back again and again.
Kaelen felt the pull.
Stabilize. Guide. Influence.
He resisted.
Instead, he adjusted — redirecting Anakin's momentum, forcing him to overextend, exploiting impatience rather than overwhelming it.
Anakin skidded back, blinking. "Huh."
Obi-Wan approached, eyebrow raised. "Well. That was… restrained."
Kaelen shut off his blade, breathing steadily. "I'm trying not to solve everything with power."
Obi-Wan studied him, then nodded approvingly. "A difficult lesson. And one many never learn."
From the doorway, HK-47 observed silently.
"Analytical Comment: Master Kaelen is improving. This is concerning. Improved Jedi typically survive longer."
Kaelen groaned. "HK…"
"Clarification: This is a compliment."
Ahsoka laughed. "I think."
That night, Kaelen returned to the chamber.
Bastila was already waiting.
"You held back today," she said.
"I wanted to do more," Kaelen admitted. "But I didn't."
"Good," Bastila replied."Power that obeys restraint becomes wisdom."
She stepped closer, voice quieter.
"My old friend struggled with that."
Kaelen hesitated.
"…Do you miss him?"
Bastila's eyes softened — just slightly.
"Every day," she said."Which is why I will not let you repeat his mistakes."
The holocron dimmed.
Kaelen remained kneeling long after the light faded.
The Force felt vast.
But for the first time…
Not heavy.