"I don't think we're gonna find Flint like this," Synyc said to Evander. They'd been looking for about twenty minutes without any leads, clues, or ideas.

Evander sighed,"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Do you know what his new assignment could've been after you all had to split?"

Evander thought back to his time with Flint. They were never close, but Flint wasn't complicated. Not to him, at least. "He was a literal genius, but he got really jittery and nervous. That rules out anything having to do with violence. Honestly, they probably kept him at the Temple."

Synyc thought for a moment, trying to rack his brain for ideas, but he came up short. "If anyone knows, it'll be you," he said, looking up at Evander.

He sighed and chuckled,"Exactly."

Suddenly his comm beeped and vibrated on his wrist. Please be Alda, he thought. He and Synyc both stopped along the edge of the slowly emptying hallway as he read the message.

The blue hologram projected from his wrist a foot or so in front of him.

Found him, meet at my quarters.

Evander smiled,"She found him."

        The rendezvoused back in Alda's room. It was tidy, and like every other Jedi's.

Evander knocked and Alda let them in. Evander smiled from ear to ear and went to high five Flint, who awkwardly tried to act cool and return it.

"Got the crew back together," Alda said proudly.

Flint's smile faded a little,"Except Jolie."

Evander and Alda exchanged a worried look. "That's the thing," Evander started,"I think she's in some sort of trouble."

Flint looked confused and shocked,"How do you know?"

He sighed,"So far I've had three visions of her. In each one she appeared in an ominous black cloak, veiny pale skin, no offense Flint, and these scary Sith eyes. Eventually she had a red lightsaber. Then she started teleporting so I couldn't get away," he laughed and scratched his head,"Kept me up all night."

That's why he was so tired, Synyc thought to himself, now feeling guilty.

Flint stood,"Shes definitely in trouble. We need to find her."

"Where did she go?" Alda asked. All eyes were on Flint.

His cheeks flushed red,"How would I know?"

Alda gave him an annoyed look,"Okay mister genius, you clearly liked her! You were the only one she actually got close to. You'd know."

He looked down and began to think,"She did say she was going to a small, calm planet so she could figure everything out. It's been five years. She could be anywhere now."

Everyone frowned, a feeling of defeat setting in. Then, Alda piped in,"What if we talk to her old Master? Dan Rursi."

Just hearing his name made Evander swell with anger. "I am not giving that guy a second of my time."

Synyc could feel his Master's anger like a normal being could feel a hurricane force wind. It always worried him.

"We'll all go. You don't even have to talk. But he's the only other one that would know, and quite frankly, he's more likely to know than we are anyway," Alda added.

Synyc quietly took a step toward,"I think I've seen someone named Master Rursi teaching young Jedi Healing Powers."

"We'd better hurry to the Halls of Healing then," Flint said as he stood. They all simultaneously got up and filed out the door.

"Bet he's an ancient goblin by now," Evander muttered bitterly, making a mocking face and childishly wrinkling his nose.

Alda fought the urge to face palm and they continued on their way.

Can't believe I'm gonna meet that horrible man, Synyc thought to himself. Evander had told him Jolie's story in complete detail a little while ago. "Can we trust what he'll say?" He asked the others as they walked through the halls.

"No," Evander said, then sighed,"But we don't exactly have a better plan."

"Wait, you're a Zeltron," Flint said, turning his head towards Synyc as they walked,"I've met some that have been able to sense intentions. Can you do that?"

Synyc raised an eyebrow in confusion,"You mean try and sense if he has good or bad intent?"

Flint nodded. "Zeltrons develop that in their teenage years."

"I can definitely try. I've never actually had to though, so I can't guarantee anything."

"How is that possible?" Alda asked curiously.

Flint almost answered but remained quiet and listened to the young Jedi.

"I can feel other people's emotions. So if someone is sad, I feel a small fraction of that sadness," Synyc answered.

Alda shot Evander a brief, worried look, then nodded. "That's cool."

Synyc smiled and then kept walking. Though, he kept feeling guilt from Evander. He didn't know why. There were so many things about him that he didn't know.

They waited around for Master Rursi's class to end, then pulled him aside.

"Hello, what can I help you all with?" He asked with a smile, showing through his bushy, grey beard.

They all kept on a straight face, except Flint. He just looked awkward, as always.

"You had an apprentice named Jolie Peregrine, right?" Alda asked.

He lowered his voice and his tone changed,"We should probably talk someplace else about this."

Alda nodded,"After you."

They followed him to one of his empty classrooms. He flipped the lights on, revealing plants and calming, purple lights everywhere.

He sighed,"Yes, she was my apprentice. How did you know?"

Evander crossed his arms, awaiting a response. Alda remained neutral and Flint became still as a statue, trying to uphold some physical courage.

"We were-," Alda smiled a little, looking to her Crew,"-are Explore Corps. Crew 7."

Flint spoke next,"We need to find her again."

Rursi seemed confused, and an overwhelming sensation of guilt radiated in the Force around him. "I don't know where she went."

"Did she ever mention a favorite planet?" Alda asked.

He thought for a moment. "She always admired this one planet in the Mid-Rim. Zhar. It's always been quiet, secluded, and peaceful. Mostly untouched by us."

Synyc focused hard on Master Rursi, trying to translate the feelings he was intercepting to what his intentions were.

"Thank you, that's all we need to know,"Alda said, beginning to leave with the others in tow.

"Wait-" he took a step forward, a pained expression setting into his old face,"If you find her, will you bring her to talk to me?"

Evander's hands balled into fists at his sides and he leaned forward, into his anger,"She doesn't owe you anything after what you did."

Flint looked over with a shocked expression having never seen him show this much anger in defense of anyone, let alone Jolie.

"Evander," Alda whispered,"We need to go."

Evander glared at the disgraced Jedi Master before taking a deep breath and walking out of the room. Very few people knew about what he did.

"What's the fastest way to Zhar?" Alda asked Evander as they marched through the halls.

"Corellian Run. But that won't do us any good if we can't get a ship."

"Are we allowed to just borrow one?" Synyc asked.

Flint shook his head,"Protocol says we need a few permits as well as the right to that ship so we can repair it if need be."

"Can we get our old ship back somehow?" Evander asked Flint.

He thought for a moment,"It's in the Republic's custody now. They're probably using it for the war."

"I say we just steal it," Evander said shamelessly.

"Ha ha nice joke," Alda said sarcastically. She looked over at his deadly serious expression,"Kriff. You're serious aren't you."

He nodded and smirked,"Flint, I'm gonna need you for this, but I have a plan."

"This is really not the best plan," Synyc commented as they all strolled through the hallway, Republic comm-links and their old explorer outfits on.

"Got a better one?" He retorted as he straightened his jacket out. "The computer looks empty, Flint. You good?"

He took a deep breath, holding a data drive in his hand,"Yeah."

"Remember, if we need to distract him just walk as a group behind him," Evander said.

"What about me?" Synyc asked, gesturing to his Jedi garments.

Evander squinted for an added effect,"Eh, you're getting info for the Council."

Flint gave them the thumbs up and merged into the hall, towards a computer along the wall. He plugged the data drive in and his fingers wildly flew across he small key-pad.

"You're gonna get us killed,"Alda whispered.

Flint was constantly looking over his shoulders, his eyes wide.

"He's afraid," Synyc commented quietly, his eyes never averting from him.

"Blast, I see a Clone coming around the corner," Alda said quickly as she stood. Evander and Synyc stood as well.

"Act natural," Evander whispered discreetly as the trio walked through the hall.

The Clone gave them a funny look and stopped in front of them. "What's your business here? This hall is closed for maintenance."

"Well you see, we need to escort this Jedi to retrieve some important intel on a potential base for the Jedi High Council," Evander sniffled and picked at a fingernail very nonchalantly.

"It's pretty time sensitive," Alda added, some swagger in her voice. "The skies will only be clear for so long. You know those Droids, eh?"

The Clone stared at them, unsure of what to do. "Erm-well-good luck I guess."

Once he walked away Alda and Evander high fived, cocky smiles on their faces.

"How did you guys do that?" Synyc asked, his jaw hitting the floor.

"Not our first rodeo," Alda said.

"Did I not tell you about the time we pretended to be spice dealers?" Evander asked dryly with a laugh.

Flint suddenly came speed walking behind them, holding the data drive. "I can do the rest form my quarters."

"Let's get outta here then," Evander said as they all rushed away.

Flint went back to his quarters to use his data pad and personal computer to forge the forms they needed. He suggested everyone else go pack for the potentially long trip.

Evander and Synyc went back to their neighboring quarters.

"Your friends are really incredible," Synyc said, still marveling.

Evander chuckled and smiled,"They're pretty damn cool."

"I can't wait to meet Jolie though. She sounds like a superhero from a movie."

Evander frowned,"I don't know if we'll actually find her. Even if we do, she's bound to be bitter. Her whole life was a sham and her powers were mostly fake, not to mention her isolation when she was younger."

Synyc looked down, frowning, but still sensing some sort of guilt from Evander. "Can I ask a question?"

"That is a question."

Synyc sighed,"Okay, point taken," he looked to his master,"How come you always feel guilty?"

Evander looked down, shooting him a glare out of habit,"I'm not guilty. That's ridiculous."

"Do you realize who you're talking to?"

"Excuse me?" Evander challenged back, stopping in front of his door.

Synyc took a risk and continued. "You can't hide stuff from me."

Evander opened his door, ushering him inside and closing it behind them. "Yeah yeah yeah, I know, you're a Zeltron." He crossed his arms defensively.

Synyc made sharp eye contact, so badly wanting to get through to him. So badly wanting to solve this problem he didn't understand. "I'm your padawan!" He furrowed his brow and his lips separated in a pained expression,"I've spent every day with you for the past year. Do you honestly believe you can hide things from me?"

Evander stared him dead in the eyes. They were cold and unfeeling,"Go pack."

Feeling completely and utterly defeated, Synyc walked into the hall to his room.

Evander took a deep breathe and ran his hands through his short dreadlocks, recovering from what had just unfolded. Why am I like this? He asked himself, feeling even more guilt and shame now.

Synyc threw his clothes into his back pack, silently cursing himself. Why did I need to be a Zeltron. He could feel a fraction of Evander's current emotions, and it was even getting to him. I can't imagine how he feels.

        Finally finishing the job, Flint unplugged his data drive and grabbed his data pad.

"I'm set," he said as he slung a messenger bag over his shoulder. Everyone could hear all the metal tools inside clanging against one another.

"Let's go then. Lead the way, sir," Alda said with a cheery smile to Flint.

        "There she is," Evander said with a relieved smile as they laid their eyes on their old vessel. It was idly sitting behind a large gate.

"So far this plan has worked, but we're not there yet," Alda reminded him.

He nodded,"Right. Flint, you got this part, right?"

Flint nodded as he opened up the forms on his data pad. "Just follow me, and hopefully we'll be alright."

The five of them all filed towards the main office. There was dark glass to separate the Republic Officers managing the Hangar from the group. Flint strode over, taking deep breathes and staying calm, despite the fact that they were scamming everyone.

The glass slid up. "Forms please," a Woman with a tightly wound top-bun said as hey approached.

"Yes, right here," Flint said as he showed them his data pad.

The woman read them carefully and lingered on a few signatures, but ultimately nodded and unlocked the larger gate. "You're free to go. Be sure to be back when your lease is up."

"Yes ma'am," Flint said with a smile.

        "We're back!" Evander exclaimed with a wide, purely happy smile as they all walked up the ramp.

"Feels good," Alda remarked as she set her bag down at the table.

"They took good care of the place," Flint observed.

"I'll fire up the engines. Everyone else, go make yourselves at home," Evander turned to Synyc,"You can take Jolie's old room."

He nodded and walked off to the room.

Alda and Flint each went to their old rooms and set their bags down by the doors, then met up again in the main area, followed soon by Synyc. While Evander piloted, they engaged in a deadly game of Sabacc to pass the time.

         They'd been in the sky for a few hours now and finally made it to the Corellian run. Synyc was watching the wheel while Evander got some sleep.

"I still can't believe that man has a padawan," Alda remarked as she looked at the back of Synyc's pink and purple head.

Flint chuckled,"Defies all logic."

"He already seems happier being here," Alda said. "I was worried about him."

"Evander?"

She nodded. "Not to brag, but he was in a really dark place when I met him. I think I helped him get out of it."

Flint frowned,"I was worried too. I am happy he isn't alone, though."

Alda smiled,"Synyc seems like a caring person. If only he weren't a Zeltron, then maybe Evander would get away with, well, being him."

Flint chuckled,"It'll be good for him."

Alda smiled,"It will."