These were the first survivors of the Legacy Run to be rescued, the very ones whose fear Burryaga had detected just before he, Nib, Te’Ami, and Mikkel Sutmani nearly destroyed their passenger module. The survivors had gathered here to meet their Jedi and Republic saviors—it was both an attempt at closure and a chance for them to express their gratitude in person. It all made Burryaga uncomfortable—you didn’t thank Jedi for being Jedi.

Joss and Pikka Adren, the married Longbeam pilots, didn’t seem to have any such qualms. They looked completely at ease, already talking to some of the Legacy Run passengers. Burryaga didn’t have an issue with that, of course—they’d been an integral part of the rescue, and he was glad they were here, if for nothing else than to take some of the social load away from him.

Burryaga surveyed the Legacy Run survivors. Through the Force, he could sense the strange tension in these people—an odd mix of regret, shame, exultation, and relief. Survivor’s guilt, he supposed.

Nib greeted a young couple warmly, embracing them one after the other. As she released the second woman, she flickered her fingerstoward Burryaga, in a signal that he knew meant “advance into battle”—one of their private Master–apprentice signals.

Burryaga sighed and stepped forward, adjusting his sash, the polished weight of his lightsaber hilt a comfort in its holster at his side. It shone just as brightly as Nib’s, though his was fashioned from the amber of a white wroshyr tree from the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, with a broad crosspiece in electrum. Not that he expected to use his weapon in this place, but “advance into battle” felt pretty accurate. His master knew how much he hated gatherings like this. None of these people would be able to understand him. Sometimes that was good, because often people assumed people who didn’t speak weren’t listening. Useful when he was trying to gather intelligence—but this wasn’t actually a battle, and he wasn’t in enemy territory. It was just a strange sort of social event, and he couldn’t imagine he’d learn much no matter how many conversations he overheard.

That said, he knew Avar Kriss had asked Nib to gently inquire as to the experiences of the Legacy Run survivors, to see if any details about the disaster might manifest. Master Kriss and her partner, Elzar Mann, were looking for clues about what had happened. She thought some of the survivors could have repressed memories that might emerge with a bit of time and distance from the original event. But seeking that information was his master’s job, not his—he couldn’t see how he could ask people to tell him their stories under the circumstances. None of them could understand a word he said.