Morning light entered the Jedi Council chamber.
Coruscant stretched beyond the tall windows. Ships moved between the distant towers while the city below began another day.
All twelve members of the Council occupied their seats.
Reports waited before them.
Disputes within the Mid Rim.
Missing supply transports.
New restrictions passed by the Republic Senate.
Disturbances reported by Jedi throughout the galaxy.
One subject had been placed before all others.
Mace Windu looked around the chamber.
"We will begin with Knight Khan Kage."
Silence followed.
Only several days had passed since Khan stood at the center of the chamber and explained what happened upon the storm-covered world.
His report had answered many of their questions.
It had also created new ones.
Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke first.
"We have given him enough time."
Several Masters turned toward him.
"We all agree that Knight Kage withheld information from this Council."
Coleman Trebor's expression became more serious.
Ki-Adi continued.
"He was isolated with a manifestation of an ancient Sith. He returned with knowledge he refused to share and a presence within the Force that none of us could ignore."
Depa Billaba watched him.
"What are you proposing?"
"That he be summoned before us again."
Ki-Adi looked across the chamber.
"If he remains unwilling to provide a complete account, then the Council must insist."
Depa's expression tightened.
"You would compel a sixteen-year-old Knight to relive something he may not yet understand himself?"
"This concerns the Sith."
Oppo Rancisis shifted within his seat.
"The darkness surrounding that planet was greater than anything our team expected to encounter. We cannot allow personal discomfort to prevent us from understanding it."
"Personal discomfort?" Coleman repeated.
Oppo looked toward him.
"Khan remained behind while children escaped," Coleman said. "He fought alone, was nearly killed, and awakened under the control of a Sith powerful enough to defeat five Jedi."
His voice remained controlled.
"He requires time."
"And while we give him time," Ki-Adi said, "we remain ignorant of what the Sith taught him."
Coleman held his gaze.
"Trusting Khan is not the same as ignoring what happened."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"That we allow him to come forward when he is ready."
Oppo lowered his head slightly.
"And if he never becomes ready?"
Coleman had no immediate answer.
Yarael Poof entered the discussion.
"I do not believe Knight Kage intends to harm the Order."
Ki-Adi turned toward him.
"However," Yarael continued, "he remains our only source of information concerning what happened beneath those ruins."
He looked around the Council chamber.
"The Sith warrior disappeared. The artifact was destroyed. The cultists were killed."
Coleman glanced toward him.
"The surviving members of the expedition experienced only part of what occurred."
Yarael folded his hands.
"If we are to understand the danger we encountered, Khan must eventually tell us the rest."
Depa nodded.
"Eventually."
"That word may allow another danger to grow without our knowledge," Oppo said.
Adi Gallia looked between them.
"Pressing him too soon may create the very danger we fear."
Eeth Koth leaned forward.
"He has already demonstrated that he is willing to mislead the Council."
"He did not give us false information," Coleman replied.
"He gave us selected information," Eeth said. "The difference is not as great as you suggest."
"It is greater than you suggest."
Quiet disagreement moved through the chamber.
Some believed Khan had earned patience.
Others believed patience was no longer responsible.
Saesee Tiin listened without speaking.
Even Piell remained still within his seat.
Three members of the Council had yet to offer anything.
Mace Windu.
Plo Koon.
Yaddle.
Mace watched the discussion unfold.
He had seen Khan after the boy returned to the light-cruiser.
The burns.
The blood.
The way he held himself differently.
Mace knew Khan had hidden something.
He also remembered Dooku standing beside him when Khan was first brought before the Council.
A child attempting to appear unafraid.
Years had passed since then.
At times, Mace forgot how few.
Ki-Adi looked toward Plo Koon.
"You have remained quiet, Grand Master."
Plo sat with his hands resting against the arms of his chair.
"I have listened."
"And what do you believe should be done?"
Plo turned his head toward the center of the chamber.
"I understand the concern surrounding our friend Khan."
Ki-Adi waited.
"However, the decision we make today will have little effect."
The discussion stopped.
Mace looked toward him.
"And why is that?" Ki-Adi asked.
"Because Khan is not currently within the Jedi Temple."
The chamber became silent.
Ki-Adi rose from his seat.
"Where has he gone?"
Plo did not react to the sudden movement.
"I assigned him an independent mission beyond the Core Worlds."
Ki-Adi stared at him.
"You allowed him to leave?"
"I did."
"After everything we discussed?"
"After listening to what Khan required."
Mace finally spoke.
"You sent him alone?"
Plo turned toward him.
"without a Jedi companion, yes."
Mace's expression remained still.
Several Council members could feel the concern beneath it.
"We agreed that no Jedi would undertake an Outer Rim assignment alone while the Sith remain unaccounted for."
"That remains true," Plo said.
Ki-Adi looked between them.
"You just said he left alone."
"He left without another Jedi."
Plo folded his hands.
"He did not leave alone."
Mace watched him.
"Who accompanied him?"
"R3-T9."
No one responded.
Ki-Adi's brow tightened.
"An astromech?"
"Yes."
Plo's voice remained completely serious.
"As long as R3-T9 accompanies him, Khan is not alone."
Ki-Adi stared at the Grand Master.
"You cannot believe that is what the Council intended."
"R3-T9 is a capable traveling companion."
"He is a droid."
"A very capable droid."
A quiet sound escaped from across the chamber.
Everyone turned.
Yaddle had raised one hand near her mouth.
Her attempt to contain her laughter had failed.
Ki-Adi looked toward her.
Yaddle slowly lowered her hand.
"Forgive me."
Amusement remained across her expression.
"For a moment, Grand Master Plo sounded very much like an old friend."
The chamber became quieter.
Everyone understood whom she meant.
Master Yoda had often followed the Council's rules in ways no one else expected.
Plo lowered his head slightly.
"I learned from a patient teacher."
"And a troublesome one," Yaddle added.
"On occasion."
The brief humor passed.
The concern surrounding Khan remained.
Ki-Adi returned to his seat.
"This is not a matter to be dismissed."
"No one is dismissing it," Plo said.
"Then explain why you sent the one Jedi carrying information about an ancient Sith beyond our reach."
"I did not send him beyond our reach."
Plo looked around the chamber.
"Khan remains a Jedi Knight. He has been assigned to provide aid to systems neglected by the Republic, observe disturbances within the Force, and report anything that concerns the Order."
"Where?" Oppo asked.
"Throughout the Outer Rim."
"That does not answer the question."
"It is the answer I possess."
Ki-Adi's expression hardened.
"You do not know where he is."
"I do not know his first destination."
"And neither does he?"
"No."
More silence followed.
Mace's gaze remained fixed upon Plo.
Plo continued.
"Khan did not come to me seeking permission to abandon the Order."
"He admitted he intended to leave?" Depa asked.
"He told me that answers he required could not be found within the Temple."
"And you agreed?" Eeth Koth asked.
"I agreed that confining him here would not provide those answers."
Ki-Adi leaned forward.
"You rewarded secrecy with freedom."
Plo faced him.
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"I answered fear with trust."
Ki-Adi said nothing.
"Khan believes that if we learn everything he experienced, we will decide what he has become before he understands it himself."
"Perhaps that decision is not his to make," Oppo said.
"Then whose decision is it?"
"The Council bears responsibility for every Jedi within the Order."
"And every Jedi bears responsibility for the path they choose."
Plo looked around the chamber.
"Khan came to me rather than disappearing. He told me that the Jedi remain his family and that the Temple remains his home."
Coleman nodded.
"That tells us more than another interrogation would."
"It does not tell us what happened on that planet," Yarael said.
"No," Plo replied. "But it gives us reason to believe he will tell us when he is ready."
Adi Gallia studied him.
"Do you believe there is darkness within him?"
The chamber waited for Plo's answer.
Plo did not avoid the question.
"Yes."
Several members shifted within their seats.
Plo continued before they could respond.
"I also believe there is grief."
His attention moved toward the center of the chamber where Khan had stood.
"Anger."
"Fear."
"And a desire to protect those whom he believes we have failed."
Ki-Adi looked toward him.
"You describe dangerous emotions."
"I describe a young Jedi who has endured more than most Knights twice his age."
Plo's voice remained quiet.
"Whether those emotions become dangerous will depend upon the choices Khan makes."
"And if he chooses incorrectly?" Eeth asked.
"Then we will help him find his way back."
Ki-Adi looked away.
"If he returns."
"He will," Coleman said.
Oppo turned toward him.
"You cannot know that."
"No," Coleman replied. "But I know what he did when the children needed him."
The room became quiet again.
Yaddle looked between the divided Masters.
"I understand the concern."
Her voice carried none of its earlier amusement.
"Khan has encountered something dangerous. He has carried part of that danger back with him."
Plo did not disagree.
"But trust cannot exist only when it is easy."
Yaddle looked toward Ki-Adi.
"If we summon him because we fear what he might become, he will hear only that we have already judged him."
"And if we do nothing?" Ki-Adi asked.
"We are not doing nothing."
Yaddle gestured toward Plo.
"Grand Master Plo gave him a mission. Khan remains connected to the Order. He has been given the freedom to search and a path that allows him to return."
She lowered her hand.
"Now that the choice has been made, I believe we should trust Khan."
Her eyes moved across the Council.
"And trust the Force."
Mace remained silent for several moments.
He did not like that Plo had allowed Khan to leave without informing him.
He liked the idea of Khan being alone in the Outer Rim even less.
But the assignment had been given.
Publicly challenging the Grand Master would only divide the Council further.
Mace looked toward Ki-Adi.
"Khan's assignment will stand."
Ki-Adi's expression tightened.
Mace continued.
"He will provide reports when circumstances permit. Those reports will be reviewed by this Council."
"And if he does not report?" Oppo asked.
"Then we determine why."
Mace looked around the chamber.
"Until we are given reason to believe otherwise, Knight Kage remains a member of this Order carrying out a mission authorized by the Grand Master."
The debate was over.
The concern was not.
Mace moved toward the next subject.
Before he could speak, Yaddle raised one hand.
"There is another matter that should be addressed."
The Council turned toward her.
Yaddle looked around the chamber.
"As all of you are aware, I have intended to step away from my position upon this Council."
No one appeared surprised.
The decision had been discussed before Khan returned.
Yaddle had served for centuries.
Her departure had only been delayed by Yoda's death and the changes that followed.
"I believe that time has arrived," she said.
Plo lowered his head respectfully.
"Your wisdom will be missed."
"I am leaving this seat, not the Order."
Yaddle showed a faint smile.
"You will still be required to endure my wisdom."
Plo's presence warmed.
"I am relieved."
Yaddle turned her attention toward Mace.
"I would recommend Master Soon Bayts as my successor."
Mace considered the name.
Soon Bayts had served the Order throughout the Republic.
He had guided younger Jedi.
Resolved conflicts without drawing weapons.
His foresight had prevented several disputes from becoming open violence.
"Master Bayts has greatly assisted this Order," Mace said. "His patience and foresight would be valuable upon the Council."
Adi Gallia nodded.
"As would his experience beyond the Core."
No one objected.
Plo looked around the chamber.
"Then Master Bayts will be invited before the Council."
Yaddle lowered her head.
"Thank you."
The meeting continued.
Reports from Jedi field teams were presented.
A dispute between two Mid Rim governments had begun moving toward resolution.
Several missing transports remained unaccounted for.
Corporate representatives were already attempting to avoid the new restrictions passed by the Senate.
A group of Jedi had discovered evidence of weapons moving through an Outer Rim trade route.
Each matter was discussed.
Assignments were approved.
Warnings were issued.
The work of the Jedi continued.
Yet Khan's absence remained within the chamber.
When the session ended, the Council members rose.
Yaddle was among the first to leave.
She stopped beside Plo before reaching the doors.
"You gave him your Delta-7."
Plo turned toward her.
"Yes."
Yaddle's eyes carried quiet amusement.
"You have not even flown it."
"Khan required it more."
"Master Yoda would have approved."
She paused.
"After questioning you for several hours."
"I expected no less."
Yaddle smiled.
Then she left.
Coleman followed Yarael from the chamber.
Ki-Adi departed without speaking to Plo.
One after another, the Masters disappeared through the doors.
Mace remained.
Plo knew he would.
The chamber doors closed.
Only the Master of the Order and the Grand Master remained.
Coruscant filled the windows beyond them.
Mace stood beside his chair.
Plo waited.
"When were you going to inform me that you allowed Khan to leave?"
"I just did."
Mace looked toward him.
Plo remained still.
"That answer may have amused Yaddle."
"I did not intend it as humor."
"That makes it worse."
Plo rose from his seat.
Mace moved toward the center of the chamber.
"When did he leave?"
"Last night."
"And you waited until this morning to tell the Council?"
"Yes."
Mace stopped.
"At least tell me where he is going."
"I do not know."
Mace's expression hardened.
"Plo."
"Neither does Khan."
"That is not reassuring."
"It was not intended to be."
Mace turned toward the windows.
The Jedi Temple extended beneath them.
Somewhere beyond Coruscant, Khan's Delta-7 was already traveling through hyperspace.
"Why did he leave?" Mace asked.
"He believes he must find answers we cannot provide."
"What answers?"
"He did not tell me everything."
Mace looked back.
"You allowed him to leave while knowing he was still withholding information?"
"Yes."
"He has only just lost Dooku."
Mace's voice remained controlled.
"He was raised to Knighthood before he had time to understand that loss. And without Yoda to help through that, Khan returned to Tatooine and immediately became trapped on a world consumed by the dark side."
Plo listened.
"He is sixteen years old," Mace continued. "He barely understands what happened to him, and you allowed him to cross the Outer Rim alone."
"He is not—"
"If you mention the astromech again, this conversation will become considerably less patient."
Plo lowered his head.
"Understood."
Mace returned his attention to the city.
"What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking of what would happen if we ordered him to remain."
"He would be safe."
"Would he?"
Mace turned toward him.
"His body would remain within the Temple," Plo said. "His trust would not."
"You believe Khan would have left regardless."
"I believe he had already decided to leave."
"Then you should have brought the matter before the Council."
"And while we debated, what would Khan have heard?"
Plo moved toward the center of the chamber.
"Ki-Adi demanding his confession?"
"He has legitimate concerns."
"Yes."
"Oppo arguing that Khan's pain is less important than the information he carries?"
"That is not what Oppo said."
"It is what Khan would have heard."
Mace did not answer.
Plo stopped across from him.
"Khan did not need permission to abandon us."
His voice became quieter.
"He needed a reason to believe he could return."
Mace's expression shifted.
"I did not send him away. I gave his leaving a direction."
Plo looked toward the doors.
"He left as a Jedi Knight carrying out the work of the Order."
"And if you had refused?"
"Perhaps he would have stayed."
Plo faced Mace again.
"But he would have stayed because we placed another chain around him."
The word carried more meaning than Mace understood.
Plo did not explain it.
"Khan still sees the Jedi as his family," Plo continued. "That connection must be protected."
"Even at the risk of allowing him to face the Outer Rim alone?"
"There was risk in every choice."
Mace's gaze lowered.
"And you gave him your Delta-7."
"He required a vessel."
"We possess other vessels."
"None suited to his journey as well."
"You had not flown it."
"That did not prevent Khan from doing so."
Mace released a slow breath.
He knew Plo had made his decision.
Nothing said inside the empty chamber would bring Khan back.
"I wish he had told me."
The words carried more than frustration.
Plo heard it.
Mace had watched Khan grow within the Temple.
Corrected his form.
Questioned his decisions.
Argued with Dooku about the lessons given to him.
He had rarely shown affection openly.
That did not mean it was absent.
Plo lowered his head.
"I am sure he wished to."
"He knew where to find me."
"I do not believe courage was the problem."
"Then what was?"
Plo studied him.
"He feared disappointing you."
Mace became still.
"That was not his decision to make."
"No."
Plo looked toward the empty place where Khan had stood before the Council only days earlier.
"But it was his fear to carry."
Mace turned away.
For several moments, neither spoke.
The city continued moving beyond the windows.
Eventually, Mace looked toward the ceiling.
"When he returns, he and I will have a great deal to discuss."
"I suspect Khan already knows that."
"He should."
A small amount of tension left Mace's shoulders.
"Did he say anything before leaving?"
"He asked me to give you his regards."
Mace looked toward Plo.
"That was all?"
"He promised to return."
Mace considered the answer.
"You truly believe he will?"
"Yes."
"How can you be certain?"
Plo looked toward the closed Council doors.
"Because Khan did not leave to escape the Jedi."
The Grand Master turned toward the windows.
Far beyond Coruscant, the young Knight had begun his journey.
"He left so he could discover how to remain one."