The the hospital was tense. Three female Jedi Knights, recently rescued, huddled together at the center, their breathing shallow and uneven. The trauma of combat had left them rattled, but the darkness that now gripped them was something else entirely—a shadow in the Force that made them dangerous to themselves and anyone nearby.
I turned to Ahsoka.
"You'll observe from here," I said. "Keep a safe distance. Don't interfere unless I call for help."
Her lekku twitched nervously, but she nodded, settling behind a barricade of grav-platforms with a few clone troopers on overwatch. I gestured to the squad, their stun rifles primed, ready to respond in case any of the Knights went feral.
"Stay calm," I murmured under my breath. "Stay in control."
I focused. The Force walking technique I had been perfecting pulsed through me—a delicate balance of empathy, projection, and will. I stepped forward, letting my presence expand, reaching into the psychic haze that clouded the three Jedi.
The darkness hit me immediately: fear, trauma, suppressed anger, and despair tangled into a single, oppressive weight. It clawed at me, pulling at my edges like a tide of blackened water. But I held firm, letting my connection to the Force anchor me.
Slowly, deliberately, I began the extraction. Not with violence, not by ripping the darkness free, but by walking alongside it, guiding it out. It flowed unwillingly, latching onto me like a parasite, but I remained a calm center, a steady pulse.
The first Jedi—human, light-skinned, violet-eyed—stumbled as the dark weight left her mind. She gasped and collapsed to her knees, shivering.
The second, a Zeltron, trembled violently, her empathic senses reacting to every fragment of released fear.
The third, Pantoran, blinked rapidly, as if waking from a nightmare.
I didn't rush. The process had to be careful. Too fast, and the darkness could lash back. Too slow, and it might fester further. Step by step, I led the darkness out of their psyches and into the void, where it dissipated harmlessly.
When I finished, I released my concentration.
The three Knights now sat quietly, wide-eyed and pale, but no longer aggressive. Their energy was still tense, but it was human fear, not the lethal, unhinged fury from before.
I exhaled and turned to Ahsoka.
"They're no longer a threat," I said. "But they're frightened. Afraid. Do not underestimate that. Keep your distance for now."
She nodded, visibly relieved. "They could have gone feral…"
"Yes," I agreed, "and that's why you were here. Good observation. The troops did well, too—ready to intervene if needed."
I knelt in front of the Knights, speaking softly. "You're safe now. I am here. You survived. Nothing more will harm you while I am present."
Unbeknownst to anyone present, each of the three felt an instinctive, almost visceral response as my presence enveloped them. In fleeting visions, they saw themselves surrounded by calm, light, and protection—a shield against the darkness. In that instant, their subconscious minds associated that protection with me. A spark ignited in each: the sense that this figure who had saved them, who had taken the darkness from them, was uniquely connected to them.
I stood and gave a subtle nod. "Council will need to know the losses," I said. "And we'll need proper healing chambers to restore full strength. But for now, let them rest. The darkness has been removed."
As they settled, quiet and wary, I allowed a small, private thought to cross my mind: each of them, in the hidden depths of their own minds, had already declared—without words, without even conscious recognition—that the figure who had protected them would always be central to their lives.
I glanced at Ahsoka, who had witnessed the technique in full. Her wide eyes were a mix of awe and disbelief.
"You…" she whispered, voice trembling slightly. "I've never seen the Force used like that."
"Few have," I admitted. "And fewer still understand its consequences."
For now, the field was calm. The darkness had been drawn out, the immediate threat neutralized. But the Force is never truly quiet, and I knew that what had been planted in the minds of these three would shape events long before the Council or anyone else realized what had transpired.
And somewhere deep inside, even as I turned away, I could sense the silent, unspoken connection that had taken root.