It got worse. She wasn’t allowed to go to her normal classes, she had new ones about lightsaber fighting so she didn’t get to see Aidor all morning.

“Kevty!” Aidor called as he walked toward her. They were in different classes now, Aidor hadn’t made his lightsaber yet.

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“I know. So let’s spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out.”

“Ok,” Kevty said.

Aidor linked arms with her and they walked toward the library.

Kevty looked up from the stack of books she was reading hours later. “I still can’t find it!”

“Find what, Kev?” Aidor asked.

“Information on Lightwhips.”

Aidor raised an eyebrow. “Why do you want to know about that?”

“Um…..”

“Kevty, tell me the truth. Why do you want to know about Lightwhips?”

“Because I have one,” Kevty mumbled.

“That’s awesome!” Aidor said.

Kevty ignited the saber, turned the switch and the blade turned into a flexible whip. She handed it to Aidor.

Aidor handed the saber back. “I don’t want to accidentally cut off a limb.”

Kevty nodded and de-ignited the saber, “I haven’t told anyone yet.”

“When did you modify it?”

“I didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Aidor asked, a stunned expression on his face.

“The Force told me to build it like this.”

“Really? The Force?”

Kevty sighed, of course Aidor didn’t believe her. “Yeah, the Force told me to build it like this.”

“Ok. Let’s find some books on lightwhips then.”

Hours later they walked back to the dorms. Hugging once final time before going their separate ways. Kevty didn’t know when, if ever, she would see Aidor again. It was hard leaving her best friend behind, even though she knew it was the will of the Force.

“I’ll see you around, Stargazer,” Aidor called over his shoulder as he walked down the hall.

“I’ll see you around, Dontari,” Kevty replied, walking to her room. She went inside and started packing, only to find a prepacked bag on her bed. A note on top read

This holds all the belongings you will need on this trip.

1 water flask

1 blaster

25 days worth of ration packets

4 tunics

2 jedi robes

2 pairs of boots

1 meditation mat

Bring nothing else but this bag and your sabers.

Kevty sighed and picked up the bag. She wished she could have brought her necklace but that would have been disobeying orders. After meditating she crawled into bed and fell asleep.

Kevty woke up early, the sky was still dark when she opened her eyes. “Time to go,” she packed up her belongings, knowing they would be moved to storage, then grabbing the bag she looked around her room, it was empty of everything except for a box holding her belongings. The desk was empty and the bed was made.

Kevty knew that even if she came back to the temple she wouldn’t come back to this

room, it would be given to another padawan. She walked out the door and didn’t look back.

Sonesta waited by the ship for Kevty and the others to arrive. She was the Master who had been blessed with the opportunity to go on this mission and she was excited. She saw Kevty and waved. “Hello, Kevty!”

Kevty smiled, “Hello, Master Sonesta.”

Sonesta bowed, “How did you spend your last day at the Temple?” she asked curiously.

“I went to the library with Aidor. We spent the day studying,” Kevty said.

Sonesta nodded, “I remember when I left my training Temple. It was a hard day but it was worth it.”

“What do you mean, ‘your training temple’?”

“You were trained and raised here, but this will most likely not be where you are assigned as an adult.”

Kevty’s eyes widened, “But what about my friends?”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, Kevty, but as you grow up you grow apart. Usually by the time you are assigned a temple to serve you aren’t friends with the same people you used to be friends with.”

“Me and Aidor will ALWAYS be friends,” Kevty said firmly.

“Kevty, there’s a chance you won’t see him again for many many years,” Sonesta said quietly.

"Sometimes staying friends is the hardest part about friendship.”

A cheerful voice broke the silence.

“Hi! I’m Lira,” said a young Miralian with dark green eyes.

Kevty was startled but didn’t let it show. She bowed and said, “Hello, Lira. I’m Kevty.”

“Nice to meet you, Padawan Kevty. Hello, Master Sonesta,” Lira said, bowing to each of them.

Sonesta bowed back. “Hello, Lira. Is Elilan with you?”

“No, I don’t know where he is, I can go look for him if you want,” Lira offered.

“Thank you but no. He is old enough to look out for himself. If he fails to arrive on time that will be something to tell the council.”

Kevty watched Lira. The girl’s reddish brown hair was in a ponytail and her eyes sparkled with excitement. “How old are you, Lira?”

“I’m 15,” Lira said.

“I’m 16. I wonder if our age is the reason we have never met.”

“Most likely.”

Suddenly a white skinned, white haired boy raced up the path, carrying his bag. Kevty recognized him as the only Arkanian Offshoot in the temple.

Sonesta greeted him with a smile, “Hello, Etrin.”

“Sorry I’m late, Master Sonesta. I got the docking bays mixed up,” Etrin said with a bow to the girls.

“Hello Etrin,” Lira and Kevty said in unison.

Sonesta turned when she heard footsteps, there stood a Pantorian, her long purple hair was braided and went all the way to her waist. “Hello, Anthia.” Sonesta thought it interesting that she had the most unique of all the padawans in her group.

“Hello, Master Sonesta, hello fellow padawans,” Anthia said, looking around for someone.

“Who are you looking for?” Kevty asked.

“Elilan.”

A blue twi’lek ran toward the ship, his lekku flying out behind him. “Sorry I’m late!”

“It’s alright, Elilan. Just get on board the ship. We just need to wait for one more padawan,” Sonesta said.

A while later a pale skinned white haired woman walked toward the ship, humming softly. Her black faceial tattoos were her defining markings otherwise everything was just white or pale beige, her tunic was white and robes were light beige and pristine, as was the white hilt of her saber. “I am Jedi Wayseeker, Opaila,” she said with a small smile.

Kevty was stunned, she’d never seen anyone so different before. Then she realized, this woman was a Sarkhai. They’re were almost no Sarkhai Jedi.

Opaila smiled at Kevty. "Kevty, I would like to take you on as my padawan."