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“Well, life is hard,” Corran said, more sarcastically than he needed to. “Sometimes you actually have to spend a week without going into battle. I’m sure you can handle it.”

“Yes, sir,” Tahiri replied, unenthusiastically. She felt a knot of hurt and resentment in her belly. Why was Corran treating her this way? Couldn’t he see it hurt?

“So Harrar and I will start in the morning,” he went on. “It shouldn’t take us more than a day or a day and a half of walking, but I can’t say how long it will be before I figure out if there’s anything useful there—maybe an hour, maybe days. I need you to stay alert here.”

“For what? Vicious fruit?”

Corran looked up, his eyes sharp. “I don’t know,” he said. “But the longer we’re here, the itchier I feel.”

“Maybe you’re bored, too.”

“It’s more than that. I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole deal. But there’s nothing I can do about it until I have some way to contact Luke.”

“If he’s still here.”

“I think he is. I get occasional glimpses.”

“So do I,” Tahiri said, “especially of Jacen. But the Force doesn’t care how far away they are. They could be back on Mon Calamari.”

“That’s not how it feels,” Corran said. “You’re going to have to trust I’ve learned a thing or two over the years.”

The angry tone startled her. “Corran, I know you’re a more experienced Jedi than I am.”

“Not the impression you give.”

“I’m sorry if I—” The knot, growing since she had first seen him again, exploded. She felt warmth on her face and realized to her utter shame that she was crying.

“Sometimes I don’t express myself very well, I think,” she said. “I mean, I’ve just integrated two personalities. I don’t have this all worked out yet.”

“Hey, easy,” Corran murmured. “I misunderstood you, that’s all.”

“No, no—Corran, you’re my hero. Ever since that time when you and Anakin and I—I thought we were friends, and then—” She stopped. She was just sounding stupid.

“Look, Tahiri—”

“I need more training,” she blurted out. “Special training. Can’t you see that? Why haven’t you ever offered—I mean you know so much more than I do …” She trailed off, both horrified and relieved that she had finally said it.

He just stared at her for a second. “I never imagined you wanted anything like that from me.”

“Well—” How could someone so smart be so stupid? “Why wouldn’t I? I need some sort of guidance, Corran. I might seem like I know what I’m doing, but I don’t.”

“I’m not a Master, Tahiri,” Corran said gently. “There are Masters who would be happy to train you.”

“You have half a chance of understanding me,” Tahiri said. “They don’t.”

“I think you’re selling them short.”

“Maybe.” She thrust her chin out defiantly. “Does that mean you don’t want me?”

“No,” Corran said. “But it’s not that simple. We’d have to ask Master Skywalker. And at the least it means you’ll stop talking back and do what I say. Do you understand that?”

“You mean you’ll take me on?”

“Provisionally, since there are no Masters around, and until I get Luke’s yes or no on the matter—if you agree to those conditions.”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I agree, then.”

“Good. Then you stay here with Nen Yim and the Prophet. The end.”

“Okay.”

Nen Yim examined the thing she had grown. It was, to all appearances, a qahsa. The differences between it and the usual item were invisible to the naked eye. She reached for it, but the faint sound of approaching footsteps gave her pause.

It was the shaped Jedi, of course. She was never far from Nen Yim, always watching. It had been a source of irritation, at first, but now it seemed somehow less of a bother. The young human’s insights had proven valuable, and had even prompted this experiment.

“Hello,” the shaper said.

“You seem in a good mood,” Tahiri replied.

The corners of Nen Yim’s mouth turned up. “That may change in a moment. I’m about to try something new. It will probably fail.”

“Is it dangerous?”

“I don’t see how it could be, but anything is possible.”

“Maybe you should wait until Corran and Harrar get back,” Tahiri suggested.

“They only left a few hours ago,” Nen Yim said.