Des took the last step down into the training grounds. He looked around the courtyard, he could not see his friend, but he could sense he was not far off. It had not taken him long to get the new droid setup, he still had time yet.

  While Krit might not have been visible, someone else was.

  “Greetings Knight Hadrin” he said as he approached the Zabrak.

  “Initiate Cain, here to spar with my Padawan again”?

  “Not today, no. I was hoping to speak with him and collect my droid before I left”.

  The Jedi gave him an appraising look before she replied, “I see. Congratulations on your promotion. My Padawan should be returning any moment”. She indicated the direction he had sensed Krit.

  Sure enough his friend soon appeared from behind a stairway, followed closely by M1 and a small gaggle of younglings. Des could sense the frustration radiating from them, clearly none had been able to land a strike on his droid.

  The little training remote flew ahead of the others, joining Des by his side and issuing a short burst of beeps and whistles. Complying with the request, Des reached to the pouch at his waist, opening the neck to allow M1 to slip inside.

  He had upgraded its power core to a diatium cell, the same kind of power core he would use to construct his lightsaber, so the droid had no shortage of energy. It was just lazy, but it did make exceptions for training.

  ‘Des’. Krits' voice resonated within his head, the Ithorian establishing a mental connection through the Force.

  “I’m leaving for my gathering Krit”, Des said knowing he was limited on time. “I imagine I’ll be back in a few weeks but after that”.

  ‘After that, you’ll likely be sent out on a mission with your master, like Jason and Shofo’.

  “Yeah”.

  The silence drew out awkwardly between them.

  ‘Good’. Krit nodded to punctuate his mental statement. ‘You should have already been chosen, It still puzzles me why you weren’t at the same time as the rest of us’.

  Des shrugged. Watching his friends leave on their own gathering, being the last one left behind, maybe it should have bothered him more. If he had been his body's true mental age maybe it would have, but he had not seen it as some marker of lower status or some indictment of his ability. Des knew he would be chosen eventually.

  It had been quiet those weeks without his friends, but when they returned, only for two of them to leave again almost immediately, he had begun to worry. It was a dangerous galaxy out there and it seemed to be getting worse every year.

  He mentally shook himself, not wanting to get lost in that thought process, they had been outside the temple for more than half a year now, they were fine.

  Perhaps something of his thoughts leaked because Krit asked, ‘Have you told the others yet’?

  “Not yet, no. I had some work to finish and I’ve got a Jedi knight waiting on me. I figured I would send them a comms once I was on the ship.”

  Accepting Des’s explanation Krit asked a different question, ‘Who’s your Master? Was it Jenk after all’?

  Des shook his head, “I was almost sure it would be him, but no, he said my new Master would make themself known in their own time”.

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  The Ithorian seemed to ponder that before asking, ‘Who’s your escort’?

  “Knight Kemp”

  ‘I doubt it would be him, but, I guess we’ll find out when you get back’.

  “I guess we will,” Des agreed.

  Krit reached out grasping his shoulder, like he used to do before he became more proficient at telepathy. ‘Until then Des, may the Force be with you’.

  Smiling Des replied, “and you Krit”.

  Des Walked away from the courtyard reassured at least one of his friends would be safe here in the temple.

  Along the path to the hanger he checked his holopad, everything seemed in order. He had wanted to place it in his inventory, but he did not know how the connection would react, it could just freeze up, or, it could untangle the particles entirely. Given his limited time, he thought testing it could wait till he returned.

  When he exited the turbolift the first thing he noticed was the ship. It was parked on the runway, being too big for any of the bays to handle. To his eye, it looked like a fat beetle with a hooked nose and an oversize car spoiler attached on the rear. As ships go, it was rather ugly. Des liked it.

  A movement by the gangway at the rear drew his attention, he saw Knight Kemp descend the ramp then approach. “Are you ready”?

  He nodded.

  “Good, let's get going then”. The Jedi turned, retracing his steps with Des following along behind.

  Des looked around the hangar as he approached the vessel, hoping to see Chief Booth or Jane as he was leaving, but neither were present, so he ascended the gangway and boarded the ship.

  He entered a spacious cargo bay, there were some crates stacked to the side but the hold was mostly empty. On the wall opposite the entrance, Des could see a doorway leading deeper inside the ship.

  He heard a series of beeps as Kemp operated a control panel, then the gangway retracted behind them sealing the entrance. That was followed by the crackle of a comms system, then the Jedi informing someone that they were all on board and free to leave.

  Confused Des asked, “It’s just us”? Through the Force, he could sense that it was only them and the presumed pilot onboard the ship. “Don’t we need more than one Initiate”?

  “A good question. Follow me”. The Knight walked off, heading towards the doorway leading deeper into the ship.

  As Des moved to follow he felt the floor shift beneath him, the starship beginning its take off. Easily maintaining his balance, he caught up with Kemp, then the Jedi resumed talking. “You’re right of course, a gathering requires more than one Initiate”. They stopped at a ladder in the corridor, Kemp climbing up and Des following into what looked like the ships common room.

  “Two others will be joining us on Ilum, it’s still a small group but it will be sufficient”.

  Des gave a questioning look and asked “They’re not from the temple”?

  “No, it does happen on occasion, a Jedi finds someone already grown with a strong connection to the Force. They are far too old to be grouped with normal Initiates, but too talented to be ignored, so they are taken in as Padawans”.

  “Is that common”?

  “Not usually, no. During times of great conflict however, testing every child born within the Republic becomes untenable. Too many are missed, so field recruitments become more commonplace. This way”.

  He led them through another doorway, then pointed to either side of the corridor they had entered. “Bunks are on both sides, I’ve taken one at the far end near the cockpit and the pilot has the other, you can choose any of the four remaining. Below us, as you’ve already seen, is cargo space and the engines”.

  Des nodded, signaling his understanding of the ships layout.

  “It’s recommended that you meditate until we reach our destination, and do not disturb our pilot, the route to our destination is a secret, even from us. Any questions”?

  “Am I free to use the comms”?

  “You are. Anything else”? Des shook his head. “Then I’ll leave you to choose your bunk”. With that the Jedi turned, heading back into the common area.

  Not caring which room would be his, he chose the closest door and entered. The space was only marginally larger than the bed that occupied it but it would be enough for him to meditate.

  Wasting no more time he activated his holopad, seeking a connection to the ships comms relay. He sent out the first call and waited for a response.

  The face that emerged from the holoprojector was not the one he had been expecting.

  “Knight Yule. I was trying to reach Shofo”

  “Hello Desmond, yes I’m aware, but I’m afraid my Padawan will be unable to chat for the next few hours at least”.

  Concern rising within Des, he asked, “Is she okay”?

  “She’s fine, be at ease. The girl managed to exhaust herself aiding the medical corps with some healing, she should be recovered in a few hours”.

  Relieved, Des considered the implications of the Jedi’s words. “Another raid”?

  “Sadly yes, but that’s not why you called. Judging by your surroundings, you are on your way to retrieve a kyber crystal, congratulations Des, it’s an important step for every Jedi”.

  “Thank you”.

  “I’ll inform Padawan Avlon of your call, but you really should be meditating in preparation”.

  “I have one more person to speak with then I will be ready to begin”.

  “Good, then I’ll bid you farewell Desmond, may the Force be with you”.

  The call ended, Knight Yules holograph fading from vision. It still amused him that Shofo had ended up with Yule. When he thought back to that first time they had met, how she had been afraid of the scarred Jedi, and now she called him Master.

  Des pushed aside the thought, focusing on the task at hand. He initiated the next call and waited for a response, but none came.

  Jason was far less reliable when it came to keeping a comms device handy so Des was not entirely surprised. He would try again later when he broke for food, but for now he would take Yules advice.

  Des sat on the floor and crossed his legs, ready to meditate. By some odd coincidence of timing he felt the ship jump to hyperspace at the same moment.

  Deciding to take it as a good omen he closed his eyes and began.

  Sinking deep, he embraced the Force, preparing himself for what was to come.