Now he wasn’t as sure.

Dez Rydan’s long legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, and he’d leaned his jump seat far enough back that he thought he had a chance of dozing off once they were underway. He’d expected this moment to feel more fraught, but instead he was invigorated. The mere making of a decision sometimes had as much power as any action. Purpose clarified every move, every thought.

Master Jora would no doubt say that he should be more careful. That craving adventure as he did could lead to other cravings less compatible with the role of a Jedi.

But resigning from the Zeitooine mission as suddenly as he had—questions had been asked and would be asked again.

You did what you had to do, Dez thought. If you’d stayed any longer, your frustration would’ve ripened into anger. Aren’t you done second-guessing yourself yet?

He’d thought he was. For the moment that was true. But only time would tell how long his resolution would hold.

In the cockpit, Leox nodded as the coordinates came up on their screen. A few strands of his meditation beads, draped over the landing-strut lever, swayed and clicked as Affie eased the Vessel off the landing pad and beyond the spaceport’s confines into the rush of Coruscant. “Good job, Geode,” Leox said. “I’m about ready to get off this crazy planet. It’s so built-up and busy, being outside still feels like being inside.”

“I wasn’t impressed, either,” Affie said. “We didn’t get to go around a whole lot, but still, Scover made it sound like this was the greatest place in the galaxy.”

“Great in terms of scale.” Leox nodded toward the surface of the planet as they soared away from it. “Not so much in charm, if you ask me.”

Affie couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She’d hoped to come back to Scover Byne with some insight or impression that would prove her worthiness to be one of the first members of the Guild to travel to the Galactic Core. There had to be something significant and fantastic about Coruscant, or it wouldn’t be the most important of the Core Worlds, would it? Whatever that was, Affie had missed it. Maybe their passengers would be interesting; if this “Jedi” thing meant much, at least she’d be able to tell Scover about that.

I just want to make you proud, she thought to the Guild’s owner, and her foster mother.

The atmosphere thinned. The sky darkened. The Vessel escaped Coruscant and slipped into space. Leox grabbed the hyperdrive levers and said, “Can’t wait to get away from civilization.”

With that he pulled them into hyperspace, away from the Galactic Core, into the wild.

Chapter Two