Moments of Truth/Part 9

The first full day on Guudria, Tirien spent as much time with Boss Mukka and the other village leaders as he could, learning about their society and the role the Guudria Jedi had played in its evolution. The day after that, determined to set a better example of Jedi as the servants of all rather than their masters, he had gone from one spot of Marekka to the next, doing small tasks and assisting with repairs while Narasi met the Guudrians. He and Narasi had been guests of honor at the festival that night—Zaella had been conspicuous by her absence, though the Guudrians had asked few questions—but Tirien had given Boss Mukka the high seat, accepting one at her right hand only when she all but begged it of him. The third day was much the same, though Narasi joined him for repairs on a mill at the river after lunch, even dragging Zaella along. Each day began with meditation in Jebba's shrine, and Tirien took the opportunity to meditate further throughout the day whenever he could. There had been no word of the Guudrian Jedi, though the Guudrians continued to expect them any day.

The fourth day, however, was different.

As they climbed the steps from the shrine into the morning sunlight—Jebba had been keeping them longer after each meditation session, discussing and debating Jedi philosophy and the history of the Republic—a Guudrian child met them at the top of the hill. "Uh…Master Tirien? Hi Narasi!"

"Hi Byffa," Narasi answered. "Master, this is Byffa Wurk's son."

Tirien bowed. "Hello Byffa. What may we do for you?"

Like most of the Guudrian children he had encountered, Byffa spoke clearer Basic than any of the adults save Jebba and Boss Mukka. He suspected Byffa had been born after the Jedi queen's arrival, when Basic had been…shared? Forced upon them? He had yet to get that story out of Mukka or anyone else.

"Boss Mukka wants to see you, Master Tirien."

Refighting the battle about the honorific anew with every Guudrian he met had started consuming time better spent elsewhere, so Tirien had accepted his discomfort and conceded. "Thank you. We'll go now."

Byffa tagged along, telling Narasi one of the village stories—Tirien gathered it was a budding trend—and they found Boss Mukka awake and holding court with some of her advisors despite the early hour. She rose when the Jedi entered, ignoring Tirien as he tried to wave her back down to her seat and bowing. "Good morning, Masters Jedi."

"And to you." Robbed of any other means of objection, Tirien riposted by bowing back instead. "How may we serve you?"

"Well, it's like this…" Boss Mukka trailed off, and Tirien sensed she wasn't sure whether he had slipped a jab past her guard or not. But she elected to look past it. "Normally we'd save this for when the queen and her Knights came, but things have been piling up, and since you're here anyway…"

"What do you need from us, Boss Mukka?"

She swung one thick, warty hand to the three thrones on the dais. "Judgment."

"Judgment?" Narasi asked. "Of what?"

"Dis…dis…arguments between the villagers." She turned her checkered eyes up to Tirien with an imploring frown. "Dis…?"

"Disputes," he supplied. She beamed and nodded, but Tirien frowned. "Why turn to us—or the queen—for this? You're the village boss, you must know these people and their concerns better than any of us do."

"Well…well, yes," Boss Mukka said, wringing her hands. "But the queen held some things for Jedi judgment. Land disputes, death cases, and—"

"Death cases?" Narasi repeated.

"We don't have any of those today," Boss Mukka assured her. "Just some disputes. Of course, Jedi can always resolve any conflict, so if you don't mind taking some of the little cases too…?"

Tirien had heard of Jedi being called to mediate local or even individual disputes, but he had never done it himself or seen it done; every dispute for which he had been appointed mediator had been at the planetary level or higher, and that with the authority of the Jedi Council and the Senate. He had none of that fiat here, and it made him hesitate. But if the queen and her Knights were oppressing the Guudrians, Mukka had handed him an opportunity to show the people truer justice than they might have experienced in years, and he dared not drop it.

"We're happy to be of service, Boss Mukka."

"Great. Thank you.  We'll begin after morning meal."

When she had bustled away, Tirien turned to find his apprentice's eyes still wide. "Death cases?!"

"What's wrong with that?" Zaella asked. "Ryloth puts people to death."

"As does the Republic," Tirien noted.

"Well, yeah, but those are real governments! This is Jedi!  We shouldn't be executing people, should we?"

"Better, perhaps, to ask Mali that than me." Narasi blanched while Tirien tried not to make a face; he rather thought she had forgotten about that story. Keeping his own thoughts to himself, he said, "This may have been an act of justice rather than tyranny."

"How do you mean?"

Tirien looked at Zaella, who crossed her arms. "What? How am I supposed to know?"

"Does Hadan allow masters to execute their own apprentices?"

Zaella shook her head. "No. They can torture us—them—but they only…oh.  Oh, I get it."

Tirien sensed his Padawan's irritation. "What?"

"It's to make sure people aren't getting executed when that's not what the queen wants," Zaella reasoned.

"Or to ensure that local, more barbarous justice doesn't prevail over cooler heads," Tirien added. "Whatever you think about Jedi handing down death sentences—and I agree it isn't without problems—they may have reserved capital cases to themselves to ensure execution was only ordered fairly and impartially."

Narasi crossed her arms; Tirien wondered if she or Zaella appreciated how much they looked like one another. "Hmm…"

"A more revealing question," he noted, "is which crimes are punishable by death, and whether they were before the Jedi came."

The similarities between them faded; Narasi's eyes widened in comprehension, while Zaella's narrowed into a thoughtful, withdrawn look. Tirien said, "It's a worthwhile subject of inquiry, but it will have to wait."

They ate aboard the Second Chance, then sat to meditate while Zaella pointedly went outside to sketch. Tirien tried to clear his mind of apprehension about the impending responsibility he had accepted, as well as to momentarily sideline his unrelated but equally strong apprehension about both his Padawan and Zaella Sabir—individually and in relation to one another. Tirien had sensed their minds playing off one another since the festival, but he was not sure which was dominating the other. Just as frustrating was his realization, a considerable time into meditation, that he had allowed himself to be distracted by it after all; he tried not to grumble in his mind as he returned to seeking tranquility.

They collected Zaella and returned to the Big House, where every seat in the benches was filled. The moment they crossed the threshold, before Tirien could even get out a word, one of Boss Mukka's young helpers cried out in Guudrian, and every Guudrian stood and bowed in their direction. Tirien sighed and headed for the end of the room. "Sit, please."

Boss Mukka sat in her boss's chair, but gestured to the thrones; when Tirien hesitated, she said, "They're the judgment seats. You have to sit there for judgment."

Feeling trapped and outmaneuvered, Tirien took the center throne. Narasi sat at his right, while Zaella stood beside her; when they both looked at her, she shrugged. "What? I'm not a Jedi."

Leaving that alone, Tirien took a deep breath and raised his voice. "If you're ready, we'll begin now. May the Force be with us all, and guide us to justice."

Some of the Guudrians whispered to one another, and Tirien felt safe in betting the Jedi queen did not begin that way when handing down her brand of justice, but two Guudrian men stumped forward; the elder glared at the younger, but they both bowed to Tirien. He nodded and said, "What's this case about?"

They both started talking, then tried to shout over each other. Realizing his error, Tirien raised a hand and pointed at the older man. "We'll begin with you. And you are…?"

"Frepp Dahga's son," he grunted. "This man has been farming on my fields without my permission, and he refuses to pay me! We've owned those fields since Toon Orra's daughter came here with Marekka!  He owes me for stealing my property."

Tirien looked at the farmer, who said, "Frepp hasn't used it! The land was just there, and he wasn't using it!  Oh, I'm Keen Hassa's son.  But Frepp has all this land and doesn't grow any crops; I used it and grew food!"

Tirien considered it. "Did you know the land was Frepp's?"

Keen shuffled, but under Tirien's gaze, he swallowed and nodded. "Yes, Master."

"Frepp, why weren't you using the land?"

"I didn't want to," Frepp barked. "I'm too old for all that. But it's my land, he can't just use it when he wants to!"

Murmuring in the crowd caught Tirien's attention, and he looked at Boss Mukka. "Boss Mukka, what's the law here?"

She hesitated. "Jedi justice is justice, Master. And the queen says we can own land for any reason."

"And before the queen came?"

Boss Mukka swept the room full of stares pointed her way and swallowed, but she cleared her throat and said, "Time was, before the Jedi came…land was for everyone's benefit. If you can use it for the village, use it."

"But the queen made new law!" Frepp insisted. "I ask for the queen's justice!"

"I grew food!" Keen retorted. "We shouldn't be hungrier because you're old and lazy!"

"Enough!" Tirien said. Sensing he had interceded with seconds to spare—Frepp and Keen were glaring daggers at each other, and many Guudrians in the audience felt of strong emotions too—Tirien looked at his companions and asked in Huttese, "Zaella, what would you do?"

She started. "Me? I'm not—"

"—a Jedi, yes, thank you, I'd momentarily forgotten. Indulge me."

She scowled, but shrugged after a moment and said, "Let the kid off the hook. Crops don't grow overnight, right?  If Frepp doesn't even notice his fields are being used, he doesn't deserve them."

"Narasi?"

"Frepp's not the nicest guy, but…" She looked conflicted, but said, "It's still his property.  And it's the law, whether we like it or not.  He should get compensated."

The queen's law, Tirien thought. He was a Jedi Knight too, but he knew he could not push the Guudrians so far as revoking one of their queen's edict. Perhaps he could, however, bend it. Switching back to Basic, he said, "My judgment is this. For this harvest—and this harvest only—Keen will give to Frepp one third of the crops he grows on Frepp's land.  The other two thirds Keen may keep or sell as he wishes.  Frepp may choose which third he wants.  Going forward, however, you must agree on the use of land; if you don't and consciously use Frepp's land anyway, you will pay him all of the crops you grow."

Neither of the Guudrians looked or felt completely satisfied, but some of their rancor faded out of the Force, and they both bowed before they left. Boss Mukka relaxed a little, and when the Guudrians in the front row started debating who could go next, she gave Tirien a nod. Tirien felt the audience more at ease, and understood in hindsight with a touch of shame—as concerned as he was over making a mistake or rendering an injustice, the entire crowd knew he had the power to compel them to obey on pain of death-by-lightsaber whatever whim popped into his head. A few days of service projects and goodwill conversations were not enough to guarantee fair justice; only when he had ruled did they have some indication that they would not be ground underheel.

May all my decisions today be so just, Tirien hoped.

Other cases came forward, and Tirien began to suspect most of them were local matters Boss Mukka had just handed off her own plate. There were several land disputes, and Narasi's eyes started to go out of focus as Tirien worked to follow a thickly-accented recitation of the source of various seeds used without permission in the cultivation of edible flowers. After several cases involving local livestock herds, Tirien thought he could identify each of the species on sight despite having only seen half of them. There was even a personal injury case and a brawl from the festival two nights before.

Two Guudrians wanted a marriage pact, but their parents were squabbling over joint property, and Tirien endured nearly an hour of comparisons of the families' ancestry and honor in the village. At one point, when the boy's mother accused the girl of using her son out of greed for the third time, Zaella snapped and started shouting at them, and all six Guudrians were cowering in the face of her wrath when Narasi finally pulled her back. It took a few minutes and Narasi escorting Zaella outside for some air to get any of the litigants to speak again. Tirien handed down his judgment at the same time Zaella and Narasi returned, and even though he had ordered the match to proceed, everyone bowed and fled.

As the litigants left, more Guudrians filed into the hall to take the vacated seats. By the time the marriage case was finished, it was standing room only, and porters had opened the Big House's tall windows for a breeze. Stretching his neck, Tirien asked, "Next, Boss Mukka?"

"There's…there's just one more, Master Jedi," she said, and her tone drew Tirien's complete focus. "Bring her up."

Two stout Guudrians with clubs brought forward a female Guudrian. He still had difficulty judging their relative ages after four days, but he hazarded that she was a young adult. Her wrists were bound with rope and her checkered eyes lowered.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Bel—" She coughed to clear her throat. "Belka Norwee's daughter."

"And why are you here, Belka?"

Boss Mukka stood, and Tirien watched a dozen years thicken the lines on her face before she said, "Belka Norwee's daughter is accused of stealing two barrels of crops from the queen's tax store."

Only the whistle of breeze over the windowsills made a sound. Tirien looked around, but when no one else spoke and Boss Mukka did not continue, he asked, "Accused by whom?"

"The witness didn't want to speak…" Boss Mukka began, but she fell silent and bowed her head as grumbling ran through the audience and a wave of anger swept the room.

Tirien narrowed his eyes. "If there's no witness, what proof is there of this crime?"

He sensed Belka's sudden hope, but Boss Mukka said, "The queen…she can tell the truth when she asks her questions. Do all Jedi have this power?"

"I can sense if I'm being lied to," Tirien answered, "but without a witness—"

"Belka Norwee's daughter," Boss Mukka sighed, "did you do this thing?"

Belka looked from Tirien to Mukka and back, and even with their pattern of black checks Tirien could read the terror in her eyes. Jebba, who was seated in the front row but had thus far spoken only to confirm the marriage case was not against the Force's will, said gently, "Don't lie to the Jedi, daughter. It will be worse if you do."

"That's not fair!" Narasi hissed in Huttese. "They can't make her testify against herself!"

"We're not in the Republic," Tirien whispered back, though it seemed an injustice to him as well.

Belka looked up at him for a moment until she had to squeeze her eyes shut. Between shaking breaths, she forced out, "I…d-did this th-thing, Master."

Tirien ran a hand over his mouth. "Why?"

"My uglavuurs were s-sick!" Tirien, who had seen uglavuurs in the village, could well imagine the stocky quadrupeds eating their way through two barrels of crops if illness made them hungry. "I did not h-have enough to f-feed them all…"

Tirien waited, but Belka could not get anything else out, so he turned to Boss Mukka. "Anything else?"

"No, Master Jedi."

"Questions?" he asked Narasi and Zaella, but they both shook their heads. Sighing, Tirien said, "Since you've confessed, Belka, I have no choice but to find you guilty. Do you have the crops to pay back what you stole?"

The Guudrian shook her head, though she was quavering hard enough that at first Tirien could not tell. Frowning, he said, "Well then, for your punishment, you'll—"

"Forgive me, Master," Boss Mukka said, "but the queen's law has the penalty already."

"And what is the penalty?"

"Twenty lashes at the post—"

Tirien understood the crowd's muted fury now. "That seems excess—"

"—and removal of the thief's hands," Boss Mukka finished.

Tirien felt his Padawan's shock, but they were so much in sync it was hard to tell where hers ended and his own began. Narasi snarled and said, "No."

"It's the law," Zaella said in Huttese with a shrug. "She obviously knew it when she did it, and she did it anyway."

"The law is evil!"

"So what, you only enforce the law when you like it?" Zaella hissed. "Is that Jedi justice?"

"Master?!" Narasi demanded.

Tirien looked at Belka, who clutched her hands together as if the force of her grip could keep them fastened on her wrists, and then Boss Mukka, whose grave face covered the disgust inside. Jebba sat with his eyes closed and his hands raised in meditative posture, but inner peace eluded him.

"The Jedi have to serve true justice, not just what someone with enough might has said is the law," Tirien answered Zaella.

"What about the Republic? If the Republic did something you thought was unjust—"

"—then the Jedi would oppose it," Tirien said. "The Jedi have opposed the Republic when it's strayed into evil. The Republic of today is the best guarantor of peace and justice for the galaxy, and so we serve in partnership with it, but Jedi serve the Force, not the government."

"So you just get to decide right and wrong for the whole galaxy?" Zaella demanded. "And you call Sith tyrants?!"

Narasi turned on her, but Tirien caught his apprentice by the shoulder; he could not afford the courtroom becoming a feud. "We can debate the ethics of pan-galactic representative democracy as the true arbiter of absolute morality later if you wish, but this is wrong."

The Guudrians had been watching the argument without comprehension but with growing unease. He turned back Belka, shook his head, and said in Basic, "No. You committed a crime, Belka, and you'll have to make amends, but that is barbarism."

Belka gasped, gazing at him in awe and tremulous hope. Boss Mukka shuffled. "Master…I don't wish to oppose you…and of course your judgment is not unjust, but…but the queen's law—"

"The queen is not here," Tirien said. "I am. And as the only Jedi Knight present, I tell you that punishment is completely disproportionate and I will not order it."

"Well it's…it's automatic with the crime, Master…"

"And who carries it out?"

Tirien suspected the answer, and Boss Mukka did not disappoint. "The last time we had a theft, First Knight Bras carried out the sentence."

"I will not carry out that sentence, and neither will Narasi or Zaella." Narasi nodded; Zaella sighed and crossed her arms, but said nothing. "Who here will make us?"

There were a few tentative chuckles in the crowd. Boss Mukka said, "Of course we could never make you, Master, of course not…but before First Knight Bras did it, there was…was some discussion of Kurff Wapoo's son, the butcher—"

In the crowd, Kurff's eyes widened, and he shrank down on the spot. Tirien, however, had heard enough. Getting to his feet, he took the lightsaber hilt from his belt. The snap-hiss of the green blade struck dumb every being in the room. Into the silence, he said softly, "The being who takes Belka's hands loses his own. Who will step forward to carry out the sentence?"

Tirien had never before experienced a group so cheered by his words while they took such pains to avoid making eye contact. Jebba alone from the crowd met his gaze, and again he saw the Guudrian's face twisted with conflict and confusion. Boss Mukka's shoulders slumped in relief, but that was nothing to Belka, who fell to her knees and crawled forward, weeping, to hug Tirien's ankle. "Thank you, Master! Thank you!"

Sighing, Tirien disengaged his blade and pulled Belka to her feet. "You still committed a crime," he reminded her. "You must pay back everything you stole. If you can't pay it all now, you'll pay it back over time, but I lay this debt on you until your repayment is complete."

"I understand, Master," she promised. "Thank you!"

Looking out over the crowd, Tirien said, "May the Force be with you all."

The Guudrians started to funnel out, chattering among themselves, while Tirien made his way to Boss Mukka. "I hope my rulings weren't too atypical for local matters."

"No, no, they were fine," she said, though she twisted her fingers and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "We might've handled the seed matter a little differently, but it was fine, they'll get over it…"

Lowering his voice, Tirien said, "The queen's law is unjust, Boss Mukka. You must see that too."

Her black-and-white eyes filled with apprehension and the nostrils at the crest of her head snuffled. "I…didn't agree with it when the queen first told us, but…well, she needs her crops to feed her people, doesn't she? She can take taxes…"

"Taxes, fine, but theft shouldn't be punished with maiming for life. You don't have cybernetics here, do you?"

"Sibburrrr—?"

"Mechanical replacements for hands."

Her wondering gaze was answer enough even before she asked, "They have those?"

Tirien was about to answer when a ripple of conflict in the Force drew his attention. Narasi and Zaella were sniping at each other in Huttese—too low for Tirien to make out all the words, though the volume was increasing. Forcing a calm expression for Boss Mukka, he said, "Excuse us, won't you?"

"Oh. Of course, Master." She shooed her attendants from the room, barking, "Out, out! Judgment is over, the Jedi need to be alone."

Tirien interspersed himself between Narasi and Zaella. "What now?"

"We aren't the bad guys!" Narasi snapped. "Are we?!"

"I…what?"

"If the Jedi get to decide what's right and wrong, how are you any different from this queen?" Zaella demanded.

"Because if we do it, it's not just for our own power!" Narasi replied.

"Do you even hear yourself? People are just supposed to take your word for it?"

"The Force—" Tirien tried to say.

"We don't want power!" Narasi interrupted. "Real Jedi serve people."

Zaella rolled her eyes. "Tell that to your Supreme Chancellor! How many generals and admirals are Jedi now?  And what about people like that Karr Shadeez, roaming around killing whoever they want because they decide it's right?"

"Don't talk about Master Shadeez that way!" Narasi snarled.

"Don't—"

"Enough," Tirien said. "Narasi, what's the first principle of the Jedi Code?"

Narasi arched her head back and stared upward, squeezing her hands into fists, but she hissed, "There is no emotion, there is peace."

"Try to remember that. Zaella, the last time the Jedi fought the Republic was during the Pius Dea Crusades, when the alternative was galactic non-Human genocide; if those people had succeeded, none of the three of us would be here now."

Zaella crossed her arms. "What about your Supreme Chancellor? The Jedi have taken over the Senate, right?"

"The Jedi are leading the Republic because we understand the Sith enemy best," Tirien answered, measuring his words with care. "But the Senators elect the Chancellor, and no Jedi holds a Senate seat. The Senate is still the Republic's governing body."

"Oh yeah? What if the Senate decided to split the galaxy with the Empire, like the Cold War?  Would the Jedi follow the 'Republic's governing body' then?"

Tirien had never considered that possibility, and he could feel his eyes tightening as he did. "We aren't there yet. I can only speak to what the Jedi have done, not what they might do in a possible future."

Zaella snorted. "I thought possible futures were your thing."

"The Force isn't a datafile to be read at leisure, Zaella," Tirien said. "It reveals its will in its own time, its own way. If we could perceive the future inerrantly we'd be invincible, but that invincibility would make us arrogant, so on the whole our limitations serve to prevent that very corruption you seem so concerned about."

That truth had occurred to Tirien only as he was speaking, and he was struck by the profundity of it, but Zaella did not seem as impressed. "So the Force just tells you what to do?"

Still grappling with his own realization, Tirien managed, "If you listen and have patience…and avoid the Sith trap of trying to tell the Force what to do."

"And everybody else just takes the Jedi's word for it." Her uneven lekku swayed as she shook her head. "You don't get it. I'm not saying all of this is wrong; hey, you want to run the galaxy, fine, everybody else does too.  I'm saying you're no different than us."

"What 'us'?" Narasi asked, and her tone told Tirien that in fact there was emotion, and rather less peace than he'd hoped. "You're not a Sith anymore, remember? You can't go home."

Zaella bared her teeth, but when Tirien gave her a warning look she flinched. He regretted it, but before he could mollify her she stormed out, waving a hand to bang the main doors open. Tirien pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes; the first principle was proving challenging for him, too.

Narasi blew out a breath. "It's like talking to a wall sometimes. She just doesn't get it."

"She's what her experiences have made her," Tirien said. "But you're not helping."

"Me?" Narasi's eyes widened. "What did I do?! I was defending the Order!"

"Yes, quite passionately—you know, that thing that also isn't supposed to exist?"

Narasi matched his dry look. "People here are already messed up on what the Jedi are, we can't let her make it worse."

"Let me worry about the Guudrians—"

"Why? I'm a Jedi too, it means just as much to me as it does to you."

"If you want to give them such an inspiring picture of what it is to be a Jedi, then model it with your actions," Tirien snapped. Narasi's ears lowered, and regret seized him at once. He took several seconds to focus on breathing, recentering himself before he opened his mouth again. "Narasi, there's too much going on here as it is—Guudrians misunderstanding what Jedi are supposed to be, Jedi around here somewhere ruling a planet, Zaella between worlds…I can't afford to be distracted by anything else."

She looked both annoyed and hurt. "So what, I'm just a distraction because you've got Zaella to deal with?"

Wondering how his Padawan had missed the planetary implications, Tirien tried to find the right way to put it. "Narasi, I'm stretched thin here; so much rests on so little, and I'm only one Knight. I need you to be my anchor—I need you to be the one element I can count on."

Feeling overwhelmed was new and unwelcome, and admitting weakness more so, but Tirien realized it had been the right thing to say; Narasi's eyes softened, and she bowed her head, combing her claws back through her hair and sighing. "I'm sorry, Master. I'm sorry I'm making it harder for you."

He squeezed her shoulder. "Preparing you to be a Knight is always my first priority, Narasi, but sometimes the lesson I need to teach you is that you have to hold yourself together without my help. This is one of those times.  I need you on your game."

"Yes Master." Tirien relaxed his grip, but before he could pull his hand back, she caught it with hers and raised her head. "I won't let you down."

He gave her fingers a squeeze before tugging his hand free. "Good. Now, why don't we give Zaella some time to cool down.  She's used to turning to anger to defend herself; we won't break her of that in a week."

"Yes Master." As they started toward the doors, Narasi frowned. "Since you've got the Guudria stuff to deal with…why don't you let me take her off your plate? I'll help her."

"Because that's going so well so far…"

Narasi rolled her eyes, but a smirk tugged at one corner of her mouth. "Okay, yeah, but we've been talking a bit…y'know, sharing stories, learning about each other. I want her to see that we're not the bad guys."

"It's the right premise," Tirien agreed as they walked out into the sunshine. "It's the same with Zaella as with Guudria, in fact; they've obviously never met real Jedi, so they have many preconceived notions we need to correct."

"Right, exactly! We were talking about sparring—"

Tirien stopped. "Narasi, you can't give her her lightsaber back."

"No, of course not! But maybe with sticks or something.  She was telling me that she's a Juyo stylist…"

They took seats under the shade of Marekka's Tree as Tirien frowned. "Juyo?"

"Yeah, you know, Form VII?"

"Yes, I know what it is, but she seems young for it."

"Well, that's what I thought, but maybe we could practice. I haven't had a chance to learn it yet."

Tirien felt a twinge of unease at that idea. "You haven't even started Form V yet."

"I know, but more knowledge is good, right?"

Seeking a way to divert her, Tirien said, "I'm surprised you have any interest in Juyo, given the two Juyo experts we've encountered."

She tilted her head. "Who?"

"The greatest Juyo stylist we've seen—probably the best in the Order—is Master Kadych."

Narasi's brows knit. "Hmm. Well, yeah, he's not my favorite person, but look how good he is!  Well, was, I guess," she corrected, lowering her eyes. "But before he got hurt, he looked pretty unstoppable."

"Darth Vandak stopped him," Tirien reminded her. "No Form is invincible."

"But if you can be so good that it takes Darth Vandak to stop you, you're still a really powerful Jedi," Narasi countered. "So it's got to be worth learning, right?"

"Narasi, aside from how dangerous it is, what are the characteristics of Juyo?" When she stopped to consider it, he answered his own question. "Chaotic, unpredictable, emotive, violent…who else have we seen whose fighting style fits that description?"

Narasi frowned for a moment, but when she got it her whole face hardened. Tirien had a vivid memory of his Padawan hanging over a chasm, screaming as death reached up for her, and the cold, mocking laugh that went with it. "Oh."

Tirien nodded. "Other than Master Kadych, she's the finest Juyo stylist I've ever seen. I can't imagine you want to be her."

"Of course not," Narasi snapped. "But…well, she's good too, you have to admit it. I mean, you're a really great swordsman, but…"

She made a face as she trailed off, but Tirien saved her. "…but I couldn't defeat her. No, you're entirely right.  She's exceptional—one of the best I've ever faced.  Mali couldn't beat her either.  But that isn't the point; the point is that Juyo fits her personality.  It's a violent style that demands an emotional well to fuel it, and it's a rare Jedi who can fight that way and hold to the light."

"But you've said my emotions are a problem sometimes, right? Maybe this is the way to channel them into something good."

"Or the way to let them conquer you." Tirien raised a hand to forestall her response. "No Juyo. I agree you should help Zaella and model Jedi conduct for her, and you can reach her better than I can.  Find another way to do it."

Narasi crossed her arms and leaned back against the rough bark of the tree, but said, "Fine, Master. It was just an idea…"

"Take some time here to meditate and clear your mind," he instructed as he got to his feet. "Then…well, I won't tell you what to do. You've been a Padawan long enough now, you know how to help people without causing an interplanetary incident.  Walk around, talk to people, and see where you can help best."

He had hoped to ease her disappointment with his trust, and she mustered half a smile for him. "You got it, Master."

Tirien left her in a meditative posture, taking off his robe and rolling up his sleeves in the afternoon's warmth while he tried to suppress the worry that he had done too much, or not enough. He regretted his harshness, but he had not lied to her; there were too many moving pieces on Guudria for him to have to watch his back, too. Narasi had proven she could overcome temptation on Circumtore, and it was time to trust her with greater freedom. If he could not trust her, then he could not trust anyone.