The arrival of the survivors to Coruscant was the announcement of a tragic reality. Seeing how only four of the fifteen members of this mission descended from the only two ships that managed to escape was heartbreaking. Some, like Master Yoda, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Kit Fisto, members of the council who went to receive the survivors already knew of this news, but the rest of those present could only wonder where their comrades who had not returned were. And the news was not pleasant at all.

Despite the fatigue, despite the pain, despite the wounds, Jedis and Padawans had to attend the funeral rite of the fallen, where only memories and prayers could be buried. Not a body to bury, and the only item that could be preserved was Master Iasiah's saber that Roy had used to fight the Jedi-killing general.

It was a gloomy, lonely act. More than half of the Order's members were scattered across the galaxy, fighting the countless battles of this War that never rested. Not even Plo Koon, Master Voolvif's faithful companion, could arrive in time to attend his comrade's funeral. A disastrous tragedy from which the Order would never recover.

Days later, Roy was sitting in one of the temple's many training spots. One that had a perfect view over the endless city of Coruscant. A place that, in times of peace, would have been full of young initiates, listening to the wisdom of the most experienced teachers.

However, now it was just empty space. Barely interrupted by the sound of footsteps inside the temple, or the distant noises of the bustling planetary city. Anyone could see him, and think he was meditating, but his mind was actually a chaos of thoughts.

Roy could not accept that what happened in Lorrd was a mere coincidence. It was unthinkable to him, and it was a thought he would not abandon until he obtained reliable evidence of it. In a war, powers rule, loyalties waver, and those weaker in mind easily fall prey to temptation. The history of this galaxy is full of such events. Roy himself, with his endless hours in that temple of knowledge, had discovered forbidden books in that library that no Padawan should have found. Even the clones, supposedly created to be the perfect soldiers, had suffered betrayal from one of their own on Chrystpsis.

If they were capable of betrayal, who else couldn't?

However, his thoughts should be put on hold for the moment, when the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. Roy couldn't use the Force to know who was approaching, and honestly it was someone he really didn't expect to see. So the surprise was great when her old Togruta friend sat right next to her.

Roy: - Ashoka? What are you doing here? -

Ashoka: - Yes... I'm glad to see you too. - He said with a mocking character.

Roy: - But... Sorry. It's just that they told me you'd be in Umbara. -

Ashoka: - Change of plans. Skawito and I had to return to the temple for something important. -

Roy: - Skawito? Is that what you call your teacher? -

Ashoka: - Only in trust. -

Roy: - Ha... If I give my teacher a nickname he'll probably make me train until my parts fail. -

Ashoka: - I don't doubt it. And speaking of that. How are you? -

Roy: - Good... The damage to the leg was easy to repair. Luckily nothing compromising was broken. -

Ashoka paused for a moment, as if he were thinking about his words, something that did not go unnoticed by the boy. However, she couldn't stay down at that moment.

Ashoka: - I mean... how are you... mentally. I know that Master Voolvif was someone very important to you. -

Roy let out a long sigh as he returned his gaze to the front. The memories came back to his mind. The darkness. The desperation. The fall of so many. The last look of the werewolf master as he showed himself willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. The Padawan picked up his feet and grabbed them with his arms, hiding part of his face under his limbs, revealing only his decayed organic eye, and his bionic eye shining with a faint melancholic light.

Roy: - I miss him. - He said with a dull voice, full of sadness. - He was stubborn, grumpy, and even forgot common language when he got upset... But he believed in me... When others believed that I simply wouldn't be able to do it.

The padawan's voice softens with each word, the weight of his emotions betraying his serenity, his mind remembering those moments where his body hurt like hell from the cybernetic implants. Moments when I wanted to just abandon everything, when I believed that everything I was experiencing was not fair, and it was simply not worth staying alive. And in turn, the raspy voice of the shitavaven encouraging him to stand up once again, to take his lightsaber and try again to stop the lasers of the training robots. His brain was on fire, saturated by the amount of information his bionic eye was sending him.

A tear appeared in the Padawan's own eye, and ran freely down his cheek. He didn't do anything to avoid her, he didn't want to. However, the weight of a friendly hand on his shoulder tried to give him some support.

Roy looked at his companion, and saw a small smile on his face. A slight gesture, but one that few Jedi would make. After all, a Jedi should not show any type of emotion for other beings in the galaxy, since the path of light did not conceive it. However, Ashoka knew very well the pain of losing someone he valued, as his own mentor, Master Plo Koon, was believed to be dead after the catastrophe that was Benevolence.

Roy thanked him silently with a forced smile and a sad eye, but he really appreciated the gesture. He really did feel quite lonely in that place after all, not only because it was different, but also because the war demanded the presence of most of the personnel elsewhere in the galaxy. But now his master along with the other surviving Jedi of Lorrd were in constant debate with the Council, trying to discover how such a meticulously calculated plan could fail in such a way. However, the moment was interrupted when something unexpected hit the young man's head.

Roy reacted more to the shock than to the pain itself, raising his right hand to his head as he looked at the blunt object, which turned out to be a fruit rolling near his feet. Cyborg and Togruta were equally confused, although they had some idea of ​​who it could have been, confirming their suspicions when they turned around and saw a young human, a few years younger than them with a mocking smile on his face.

Azhoka: - ¡Cal! -

Roy: - Why am I not surprised? -

Cal: - Hehe. You should have felt that coming. -

Roy: - Smug brat. -

Cal Kestis was another of the temple's many young apprentices. One who, under the tutelage of Master Jaro Tapal, took his steps along the path of light, training his skills and improving his connection with the force. Although unlike Roy and Ashoka, older and with combat experience, Kestis still remained a prankster brat who enjoyed making jokes in moments where there was no real danger of combat. And of course, like many other temple apprentices, he was unaware of Roy's condition and his almost non-existent connection with the force.

The youngest approached and sat next to the cyborg Padawan, who did not miss the opportunity to forcefully remove his hair as soon as he had it within his reach. A way to return the unexpected joke. Kestis could do little to avoid it, since in his hands he still carried other fruits that he had sneakily taken from the temple's dining room. Always doing his evil thing while his master was busy with council business.

Roy: - Anything interesting to tell? -

Kestis: - Nothing... - He said in an exasperated tone. - Everything is very boring. Since a couple of rotations we are here on Coruscant. -

Roy: - Feel lucky. -

Kesties: - But I want to go to the front, and fight the bad droids. Be a real Jedi. -

Ashoka: - Being a Jedi is much more than giving swords and defeating droids. Know? -

Kestis: - You say that because you are not here all the time. - Then, a great emotion appeared on his face. - But Master Topal said he would go with him next time! I can't wait for it! -

Ashoka and Roy looked at each other for a moment with concern. Kestis was still too young to go to a battlefield, but they couldn't say much about it, since the Togruta herself had participated in the battle of Krysptosis at a similar age at the beginning of the war. It's incredible how much can change in more than two years of conflict across the galaxy. Well, neither of them were the same young people full of enthusiasm as in the past.

Ashoka: - Just... Be careful. Alright? A battlefield is not the same as any training. -

Kestis: - I know... I know. I'm not that stupid. - He said with disinterest as he took a bite of one of the fruits with a purple rind and crunchy texture.

Roy: - It's serious, Kestis. - He intervened, with a tone of voice more severe than he wanted, immediately drawing the youngest's attention. - War is not a game. Countless lives are lost, many lose their homes and families. The clones give everything they have to win this war and no one cares and... -

Ashoka: - Roy... -

Roy hadn't realized how shaken he was, and the nonchalance of the young man next to him simply caused him to lose control. His words were full of frustration, and he had not realized this, because his gaze was lost in the void in front of him, as if he were imagining that same destruction right there, on the surface of Coruscant. And he didn't stop until the togruta's voice and her hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality.

Roy looked lost for a second, as if such abstraction had left him catatonic. But he soon came back to himself, noticing the younger padawan next to him, with a mixture of worry and fear on his face, even though he had one of his cheeks inflated by a piece of fruit inside his mouth.

Roy immediately regretted it, unable to blame Kestis for her carefree attitude. Someone who has not been in the real war does not know what it is really like. His cruelty... His insatiable thirst for blood and revenge. Unfortunately, that feeling could not be conveyed in words... Only those who have experienced it can understand the horrors and traumas that it leaves in its participants.

Roy: - I'm sorry... I... I think I need to sleep more. Just... Be careful. Alright? And listen to Master Tapal. -

Kestis: - It's... It's okay. I will do that. -

The youngest of the three answered shyly, although you could still feel the fear in his words. It was the young apprentice's first time dealing with such close war trauma, one that Roy was unable to hide at the time. After all, Ashoka herself knew about the Lorrd tragedy, but only Roy witnessed the Jedi-killing general's brutality in its most terrifying splendor. So the three remained silent, until the togruta's communicator emitted a striking beep.

Ashoka: - Well, I have to go now. My teacher needs me. Be careful, both of you. And don't do anything stupid. -

Lasted: - S... Si. -

Roy: - I'll try. -

Ashoka: - Especially you, Roy. -

Roy: - Okay, okay. I won't do anything stupid. -

Ashoka: - You better. -

Kestis: - May the force be with you. -

Ashoka: - May the Force be with you both. -

With the farewells finished, the togruta finally retreats inside the temple, leaving both padawans in a strange silence, where peace and worries mixed equally. Roy, eating the same fruit Kestis had thrown at his head, which he finished in a couple of bites once an idea crossed his mind.

Roy: - Do you want to train with wooden sticks? - The youngest could not contain his excitement.

Lasted: - Yes! -