The Jedi Temple was unusually quiet.
Not peaceful—quiet in the way that came only after exhaustion, when even the Force itself seemed to draw a slow breath between heartbeats. Kaelen stood in the Temple training hall, sweat darkening his tunic, purple blade humming softly in his hand.
Across from him, Obi-Wan Kenobi circled with patient calm, blue lightsaber held loosely but ready.
"Again," Obi-Wan said, voice even.
Kaelen lunged.
Obi-Wan parried, redirected, stepped inside Kaelen's guard, and tapped his shoulder.
"Dead," Obi-Wan said mildly.
Kaelen groaned. "You didn't even try."
Obi-Wan smiled. "I didn't need to."
Kaelen stepped back, breathing hard. "I was faster."
"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed. "And unfocused."
Kaelen frowned. "I was focused."
"You were eager," Obi-Wan corrected gently. "There's a difference."
Kaelen shut off his saber with a snap of irritation. "I'm trying to balance everything. The visions. The holocron. The war. Sometimes it feels like if I slow down, everything will fall apart."
Obi-Wan deactivated his blade as well.
"That," he said, "is exactly when you must slow down."
He gestured for Kaelen to sit.
They lowered themselves onto the mat, cross-legged, the echoes of training fading around them.
"You remind me of someone," Obi-Wan added.
Kaelen sighed. "Anakin."
"Obviously," Obi-Wan said dryly. "But also… myself, once."
Kaelen blinked. "You?"
Obi-Wan chuckled softly. "I was not always the picture of patience you see before you."
Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "Hard to imagine."
"Oh, believe me, Qui-Gon never let me forget it."
They shared a quiet smile.
Later that day, Kaelen found himself sparring with Anakin instead — a far louder, faster affair.
Anakin grinned as their blades clashed. "You're hesitating."
Kaelen deflected a strike. "You're overcommitting."
Anakin laughed and immediately overcommitted harder, forcing Kaelen back.
Ahsoka sat on a crate nearby, munching on ration fruit. "You're both wrong."
They paused.
Anakin blinked. "How?"
"You're trying to win," she said, pointing at Anakin. "You're trying to not lose," she pointed at Kaelen. "Neither of you are actually listening."
Kaelen tilted his head. "Listening to what?"
"The Force," she said simply. "You guys get so caught up in being Jedi that you forget to be Jedi."
Anakin stared at her.
"…Did you just out-wise us?"
Ahsoka smirked. "Get used to it."
HK-47, standing nearby, tilted his head.
"Clarification: The smaller Jedi unit is correct. You are both inefficient."
Anakin groaned. "Why is that thing always around?"
HK turned toward him.
"Retort: Because your survival rate improves in my presence, meatbag."
Kaelen sighed. "HK."
"Immediate Compliance: Insult mode reduced."
Anakin smirked. "You know, Kaelen, if you weren't a Jedi, I'd swear you were adopted into the Order by mistake."
Kaelen snorted. "Funny. Obi-Wan says the same thing about you."
Ahsoka laughed. "Guess that makes us siblings."
Anakin nodded. "Yeah. Weird, Force-trained siblings."
Kaelen felt something warm settle in his chest.
For once, the war felt… distant.
Lessons Beyond the Blade
That evening, Kaelen trained alone — not with a saber, but with Bastila's holocron, floating quietly before him.
He didn't activate it.
He didn't need to.
He simply sat, breathing, letting the Force flow through him instead of outward.
He felt the echo of past battles.The weight of leadership.The temptation to guide, to shape outcomes.
And he resisted.
Later, Obi-Wan found him there.
"You didn't use it," Obi-Wan observed.
Kaelen shook his head. "I wanted to. But… I don't think every moment needs that kind of influence."
Obi-Wan smiled, proud. "That may be the wisest thing you've said yet."
Kaelen looked up. "I'm still afraid I'll mess it up."
Obi-Wan placed a hand on his shoulder. "So am I. Every day."
Kaelen blinked. "You too?"
"Especially me," Obi-Wan said. "Fear doesn't make you weak, Kaelen. Ignoring it does."
Kaelen nodded slowly.
HK, Unfiltered (Briefly)
As they walked down the Temple corridor, HK followed behind them.
"Observation: Emotional bonding between Master and mentor detected. Probability of future betrayal: low. Probability of future awkwardness: high."
Obi-Wan stopped walking.
"…What?"
Kaelen pinched the bridge of his nose. "HK. Stop."
"Obedient Acknowledgment: Stopping analysis of your emotional vulnerability."
Obi-Wan sighed. "I truly don't know whether to dismantle him or thank you for keeping him under control."
Kaelen smirked. "Little of both?"
Obi-Wan chuckled.
That night, Kaelen stood at the Temple balcony, Coruscant glowing beneath him. He felt older — not in years, but in understanding.
He still had flaws.Still acted too quickly.Still struggled with doubt.
But he was learning.
Learning when to fight.When to listen.When to let go.
Behind him, Anakin's voice carried faintly as he argued with Ahsoka about starfighter maneuvers. HK interjected with an unsolicited statistical breakdown that ended in shouting.
Kaelen smiled.
For the first time in a long while, the future didn't feel like a burden.
It felt like a path.