“Then I leave it to Dez and Reath to handle the station boarding for now.” He put one hand on Orla’s shoulder. “Lead the way.”

After they had walked several steps away, Orla said, more quietly, “It threw me, at first. An accident in this area of space, a ship we didn’t know well—”

“I thought of it, too,” Cohmac replied. This chapter of his past was one he rarely reflected on. The parallels between this mission and the first one he and Orla had undertaken together—he’d hoped to put them aside and ignore them for the duration of the disaster.

Apparently Orla didn’t intend to let him. He should have expected no less. Cohmac could practically see the words hovering on her lips. However, before she could delve into the subject, she halted in her tracks and said, “Do you feel that? The…shadow? The chill? Reath and Dez sensed it as well.”

“It’s darkness,” Cohmac said. “I’ve felt it, too. Something on this station is bound to the dark side.”

Chapter Six

Some people were awestruck by Jedi, unable to relate to them; others could be hostile, afraid of what they didn’t understand, afraid of power they couldn’t possess. Sheltered as he’d been within the Temple, Reath often wasn’t sure how to bridge the gap and connect with regular people as, well, people.

With Nan, there was no gap at all.

“Are the Jedi soldiers? Sworn to the Republic?” She glanced down shyly as they stood beneath the canopy of leaves that sheltered the station docks. “Or do you fight only for yourselves?”

Reath shook his head. “Neither. I mean, we defend the Republic, but we work with them. Not for them. And that’s not all we do. We try to help and protect all those in need, when we can.”

This didn’t seem to make sense to Nan. “Do you accept payment?”

“We’re not mercenaries.” He had to laugh. “Is it so unimaginable that a group of people might try to do the right thing just because it is the right thing?”

“It is around here,” she said, her expression grim. Despite her youth, Nan had evidently witnessed some terrible things. “What’s that at your belt? Is it the sword we’ve heard of? The fire saber?”

He grinned. “It’s called a lightsaber. And yeah, this one’s mine.”

“Will you light it?” Nan asked, anticipation sparkling in her dark eyes.

“Not unless I have a good reason.” (It wasn’t forbidden—but if he did that, he’d draw too much attention. Master Cohmac might even think they were flirting. Actually, Reath thought Nan probably was flirting, but he was just explaining.)

“Please?” Nan’s expression could’ve melted ice. “I’d love to know how it works.”