The Specter of Light hummed with life — not loud, but steady. Kael had grown used to the ship's gentle vibrations, the way old systems echoed differently when powered by new purpose. Cortana's sync rate was up to 74%, and she'd already restored half of the navigation and internal mapping systems.
But today wasn't about tech.
Today was about Aris.
She stood in the ship's converted meditation chamber, now adapted with a padded floor and modular training droids still in crates along the walls. Her boots were off. Her stance wobbled.
Kael stood opposite her, a training saber in his hand — low-powered, nonlethal, set to minimal output. Aris had a saber of her own, cobbled together from leftover parts and a spare emitter taken from the shrine cache.
It wasn't elegant.
But it was real.
Aris fidgeted. "I've never held one before."
"Doesn't matter," Kael said. "You're not here to be a Jedi. You're here to learn control. Not just of this—" he raised the saber, "—but of yourself."
She nodded, but her grip was tight. Too tight.
Kael saw it instantly.
Fear.
He powered on his blade with a snap-hiss. Hers followed, a faint blue glow humming unsteadily. The blade sputtered slightly, unstable — but there.
"Let's begin."
They moved slowly at first. Simple arcs. Defensive stances. Footwork.
Cortana monitored from a small holoprojector mounted near the ceiling, offering light commentary.
"Too much weight on your front foot."
"Keep your elbow in."
"Don't anticipate. React."
Aris improved faster than expected. Her movements grew sharper, more fluid. But then Kael tested her — a feint high, followed by a sudden sweep low.
She overreacted.
The moment fear hit her nerves, the Force surged.
The walls rippled.
Wind tore through the chamber like a storm. Kael's feet dragged across the floor despite his grounding.
Her saber glowed white-hot for a split second — then exploded in a shower of sparks.
The training droid crates shattered. The lights flickered.
Kael leapt forward and pulled her into a hold, locking her arms before she could lash out again.
Aris screamed — not in pain, but rage and terror.
And then… it was over.
She collapsed into him, breathing hard, the embers of her failure burning in her eyes.
Kael didn't speak. He held her there, letting her shake, letting her cry silently into his chest until she could breathe again.
"I didn't mean to—" she started.
"I know."
"I felt like I was someone else."
Kael closed his eyes.
He remembered the Force overwhelming him in battle, the duality of Revan's legacy threatening to split his mind. Power without clarity was chaos.
He slowly released her.
"Training's over for today."
Later, Kael stood in the command room, watching the blueprints of her saber displayed mid-air. Cortana materialized quietly beside him.
"She's not ready for structured lightsaber combat," she said gently.
"I know," Kael muttered.
"But she's strong. Stronger than you expected."
He didn't respond.
Cortana continued. "You were hoping she'd take longer. That she'd ease into it. But she's accelerating — not just Force sensitivity, but raw projection. It's instinctive."
"She's also volatile."
"That's what happens when trauma is the teacher," Cortana said. "And when no Jedi are around to provide the guidebook."
Kael leaned against the console. "I'm not a Jedi. I'm barely holding my own path together."
"You're better than Revan in his prime," Cortana said. "You have clarity. Compassion. You made choices he couldn't."
He gave her a tired look. "Thanks, ghost of galactic war past."
She smiled faintly.
Down in the crew quarters, Aris sat on her bunk, knees drawn to her chest. Ghost sat beside her, unusually silent.
"I almost hurt him," she whispered.
Ghost tilted his head. "Incorrect. You could have hurt him. But you didn't."
"Because he stopped me."
"Because you stopped yourself."
Aris looked at him.
He tapped his head. "Biometric scan showed your heart rate dropped right before the surge faded. That means you shut it down."
She blinked. "Really?"
"Really," Ghost said. "Also, your saber exploded. That part was awesome."
She snorted — half a laugh, half a sob. "It was terrible."
He shrugged. "Terribly awesome."
That night, Kael stood in the meditation chamber alone, holding the fractured remains of Aris's saber.
He placed them on the new Saber Forge table Cortana had helped install.
The console pinged.
[ Crystal Fragment: Unstable | Emotionally Reactive ]Damage: Thermal Disruption – Caused by Force SurgeStatus: Recoverable – Requires Kyber Anchor or New CrystalRecommendation: Forge Emotional Core Before Next Saber Construction
Cortana appeared beside him.
"She's going to need something better," she said.
"I know."
"And someone to forge it with her."
Kael nodded slowly.
"We'll do it together. When she's ready."
Cortana looked at him, hesitating.
"There's one more thing," she said. "The ship's memory banks — they're starting to come online."
"Memory?"
She waved a hand, and the chamber dimmed.
A holo-image flickered into being: a Jedi, late thirties, wearing Old Republic robes. He stood tall, hands behind his back, facing a crew of unfamiliar faces aboard the very ship Kael now called home.
"I am Master Bel Valen," the image said. "Captain of the Specter of Light. If you're seeing this… then I have failed to return."
Kael leaned forward.
"Cortana, is this a message or an echo?"
She hesitated. "Both. Part recorded… part anchored to the Force imprint still bonded to the ship."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Can we recover the rest?"
"Eventually," Cortana said. "But it won't just be data. It'll be memory. Emotion. Maybe even his regrets."
Kael watched the holo flicker out.
"Let it come," he said. "I want to know what kind of man left this ship behind."
[ Quest Update: Echoes of the Light – Progress: 21% ]Jedi Memory Imprint Fragment UnlockedShip Systems Unlocked: Hololog Archive | Meditation Sync (Pending)Aris Sync Level: 4 (Wavering)Kael XP: +400 (Trainer Role Initiated)System Tip: Emotional Instability during saber training may trigger dangerous projections. Recommend stress-testing in simulation or non-lethal duel scenarios.New Facility Available: Combat Simulator (Installable)
Somewhere in hyperspace, across stars now growing colder, a Sith agent intercepted a Force pulse from Aris's outburst — and smiled.
"She burns brighter than I expected," he said.
The shadows around him deepened.
"Let her burn."