Chapter 6

The two Jedi walked through the crowd, and XXXXX held the small boy as he cried. Few people in the crowd turned to look at them.

"The sooner we get back to the Temple, the better. I don't sense Deron anywhere, but I keep getting this strange feeling we're being watched," Jaron commented, looking about him nervously.

XXXXX didn't respond. The closer they got to the Yeere Spaceport in the Capital city on Reytha, the less sure she was of her next step. She kept thinking of how events had gone down back at the apartment, and although she could blame everything on the timing of the boys mother, she knew she had meant what she had said. She would never have allowed the Sith to take the boy, no matter how legal his claim had been.

And what did that mean for her? Could she now take this boy back to the Jedi? The same Jedi who would have let him fall into the hands of the Sith? But what other options did she have?

Finally they reached the Spaceport and XXXX handed the small boy to Jaron while she stepped to the ticket counter. She returned in a moment, retrieved the boy, and handed Jaron his ticket. "There was a seat open on a small planet jumper, and it leaves in an hour. Go back to the room and get your bag. And hurry," she told him, not looking in his eyes.

"Master?" Jaron questioned. "You're speaking as if you're not coming with us." He looked at the Jedi Master, holding the small child who had fallen asleep, his face buried in collar of her Jedi robes.

"I'm not. And neither is the boy." Until that moment, she hadn't been sure she was going to go through with it, but now she could never go back. Even if she changed her mind, Jaron's report would forever stain her record. She could be pretty sure she'd be relegated to doing something menial. Paperwork, or some other drudgery. Oh, it'd be important, she was sure. Something befitting her rank, but they'd keep her close where they could keep a close watch on her.

Sure, she could try to lie, tell Jaron that the flight was full and they'd catch the next one, but even if he didn't catch the falsehood, he'd suggest waiting for a flight they could all be on together, and there would be no reason to argue with his logic.

No, her path was set now. She would take the boy and leave the Jedi Order, training him the way she wished she had been trained. Embracing emotion as part of one's being, and using it, controlling it, and letting your own moral compass guide you. She wouldn't rush this boy's training. She wouldn't cram it down his throat every day of his life. She would let it come naturally, and flow easily.

She turned her attention back to Jaron. "Goodbye, Jaron. May the Force be with you." Quickly she turned and walked away. She had hoped he would do as he was told, but she could feel him following at a distance. She stepped into a cargo storage room into the spaceport and concealed her presence, hoping to lose Jaron, but he must have seen her duck into the room.

Soon he opened the door and stepped in. "I can't let you do that, Master XXXX.... I guess I shouldn't call you Master anymore, should I?" He continued, not waiting for an answer. "You don't want to come back to Coruscant? Fine, I can't stop you, but I can't let you take that kid. I have more of a right in his welfare than you do. I'm his uncle, and I'm sure you're aware that Master Trillian will never allow this either."

"Jaron, you don't want to do this," XXXX said, facing the Jedi Knight. "I'm a better swordsman than you are, and my knowledge of the Force is vastly superior as well. You know this as well as I do," she stated matter-of-factly.

"And as for Master Trillian, he's not here to voice his opinion, or to disallow me from doing anything," she said. In reality, she was confused as to why Jaron would even bring Trillian into this as he had nothing to do with bringing younglings into the Jedi Order. Why he would care completely baffled her, but she played along anyway.

Some of her confusion must have showed on her face. "You didn't know? Trillian is my father... and this child's grandfather. Look, if you won't do it for the sake of the Order, at least do it for family. Let me take the boy. I can raise him along with my son, or my wife has a sister on Corellia, I could take him there," Jaron offered.

"What's the difference? He'd end up being trained as a Jedi anyway. Look, Jaron. You've done your duty. You confronted me. Now go catch your flight. If you don't, this can only end in pain and suffering, for you, me, and maybe even the boy,"XXXX said.

Jaron stood for a moment thinking about what she was saying, and eventually his shoulders sagged a bit in resignation. He knew she was right. He could never force her to do anything, and he wasn't sure he could draw his weapon on a fellow Jedi, even one who was determined to leave the order.

"Take care of my nephew," he said, then turned and left the room.

Several hours later XXXXX left the Reythan atmosphere herself, in a ship she had purchased with Jedi funds. She knew her access to those funds would be cut off shortly and had purchased a large stockpile of gear and food and had them loaded on the ship.

Once she was out of the Reytha's gravity well and safely in hyperspace, she went back and double checked on little Gully, who was now cleaned up and wearing new, clean clothes and playing with some proper toys. She watched him for a minute, wondering if she was doing the right thing by him. She'd just have to trust in the Force to guide her decisions. Shouldn't be hard, since she'd been doing it all her life.