Reath tried. It was good to see everyone again. (A handful of apprentices had gone on already; he was looking forward to reuniting with Imri in particular. And Vernestra had somehow gotten herself knighted already, which was amazing, so she’d be able to show them the ropes around Starlight.) The amateur band a few apprentices had put together had actually practiced, for once, which meant they sounded pretty good. He smiled, he danced, he drank certain beverages that, while not technically forbidden, were frowned upon for Padawans his age. A small measure of indulgence wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, his master had said. Such celebrations could be embraced when they brought people together in communion and harmony.

But his gaze kept being drawn toward the one broad viewport in the room. Through its wide transparent stretch he could see the vibrant swirl of Coruscant: ships and speeders zipping by at various heights and angles, the spires of buildings, walkways so numerous they crisscrossed his view like an arachnid’s web. As long as he could remember, Reath had loved this buzz of energy—the sense that the galaxy itself had a beating heart and that he could feel its pulse all around him, every single day.

“Look within, my Padawan.” That was what Master Jora had said when Reath tried expressing this to her. “You’re just reluctant to leave the only home you’ve ever known.”

That wasn’t all of it…but it was part of it. A small part, but still. Knowing that changed nothing. Reath still wanted to be there, and nowhere else.

His chrono beeped, and his heart sank. Time to leave the party, the Archives, the Temple, the planet, and, effectively, civilization itself.

Reath didn’t manage to disentangle himself from his friends’ affectionate farewells for some time, which meant he left late for the spaceport. He dashed in, bag slung across his back, only minutes before their scheduled departure—yet somehow was the first person to show up at the designated berth. None of the other Jedi was there, nor was the ship itself.

Did he have the wrong berth number? Reath was already frantically double-checking when he heard a voice he recognized: “I was hoping I’d run into you!”

Reath turned to see a young Jedi Knight approaching—Dez Rydan, striding closer with a bag over the shoulder of his traveling robes. It didn’t look like he’d come to the spaceport to tell Reath goodbye. “Dez? What are you doing here?”

Dez grinned as he said, “Looks like we’re on the same transport to the frontier.”

“I didn’t know you were assigned out there,” Reath said. A young Knight as illustrious as Dez could go anywhere he wished.

“Just came through.” Dez shrugged. “Actually, I requested this assignment only a few days ago. Lucky it got approved in time, huh?”