113 Scarif

The streaking lights quickly came to a halt as we dropped out of hyperspace. We had arrived.

I glanced to my left and found Sirius looking quite haggard and distressed. Why was he so nervous?

He looked at me with panic in his eyes. "How are we to land?"

I shrugged and gestured towards the jet black astromech that quietly sat behind us. "GT can handle it."

We fell silent as GT took over the controls. There was nothing more that we had to do. Technically, after leaving Coruscant, the ship did the rest.

Looking out the window, I had no words to describe the world before us. It was breathtaking.

The planet was a bright blue that seemed to be a precious gem amidst the black of space. Small land masses and island chains dotted the ocean blue, each of them home to a host of species undiscovered by man. The clouds were sparse, not a storm in sight.

This was a world teeming with life. It's green jungles pure and uncontaminated by man and his technology. If perfection had a picture next to it in the dictionary, this would be it.

I smiled. This is where we would be spending the next several months. While this wasn't a vacation, at least we'd be in paradise while the war is at its slowest. It would only get worse once it picks back up so we needed to be ready.

I stood up from my seat and glanced at Sirius. "I'm gonna go change into something lighter."

Sirius nodded and stood up as well. "Wonderful idea."

-5:00 PM, July 13th, 2054-

(Galactic calendar is somewhere between 3665 and 3653 BBY for anyone who's curious, some people were asking)

The hydraulic pistons hissed as the ramp opened. The evening sun burst through the opening, forcing me to squint my eyes.

Sirius didn't seem bothered as he ran down the ramp like an excited child before it had touched the ground. I smiled. This would be good for him.

Sirius was wearing a short sleeve white shirt, linen pants, slippers, and a tactical belt with both of his lightsabers and a few other small items.

I yawned and flipped the top of the sunblock bottle open before squeezing a drop into my hand. "Did they not have any spray?"

Sirius shook his head as he ran off. "Nope. I'll go scout the area."

I rolled my eyes. He definitely just wanted to explore. I then started lathering up my body. Gotta protect my pasty white skin, right?

After finishing, I put the bottle aside and disembarked. I was wearing linen pants but no shoes. My white shirt was open in the front but hanging from my waist. I had a small tactical belt on with only one of my lightsabers and nothing else. Sirius told me to only use one lightsaber for now while I learn swordsmanship.

I sucked in a deep breath and found myself energized. This air was unreal. It was fresh and unfathomably clean. Compounded on that was the ocean breeze that filled my nostrils with the most pleasant of scents.

As I stepped off of the ramp, I noticed that the sand was weirdly cool to the touch despite the sand beating down upon it. It was quite soothing. Even though I hate sand, the cool feeling between my toes was refreshing.

I looked around with a smile on my face. "So many ways to train. Hunting, fishing, dueling, building, parkour, ahhhhhhhhh."

-8:00 PM-

The fire crackled in the darkness. A stream of smoke concealed the starry night behind a curtain of haze. With each crackle, the fire flickered in the night. Shadows danced across the sand, never staying in the same place beyond the second in which it was born.

I picked up a large leave with some sliced meat on it. I had just finished cooking. I stabbed my knife into it and put it in my mouth.

My eyes widened in shock as a burst of flavor ripped through my very being. I didn't know what the lizard was called, but I needed more. Fortunately, the beast was as big as a moose so I had meat for a few days.

I heard footsteps in the sand and a slight presence approaching me. "So, how is it?"

Sirius sighed. "The sun set so fast. Anyways, what have you got there?"

I held out the leaf towards my padawan. "Some lizard that attacked me. You want some?"

I glanced over my right shoulder and found a very dirty teenager. "No thank you." He then took a bite of what looked like a fruit.

Oh, boy, it looked so juicy. "Where'd you find that?"

He dug into his pocket and tossed an untouched fruit to me. "I found an animal eating one that had fallen from a tree. It didn't keel over and die so I climbed up and grabbed some for myself."

I quickly bit into the fruit as soon as I caught it. The was an explosions of sweet flavor with a hint of tartness hanging throughout. Juices streamed down my face. "Holy shit."

Sirius nodded as he sat down on the other lawn chair I had set up. "Nature is beautiful."

I took another bite of the meat and reveled in the clash of flavors that brought on pure bliss. After a few seconds of pure enjoyment, I turned to my padawan once more. "We start training tomorrow. What shall we do first?"

He thought for a moment but then responded. "Well, you need to teach me about the force and I need to teach you swordsmanship and physical conditioning. That sound about right?"

I shook my head. "I must teach you about the world we live in as well. Power is but a useless tool without the wisdom to guide it. Besides, the force is a fickle thing so it won't be easy."

Sirius shrugged. "Neither is learning how to swing a sword."

I sighed. "Most difficult is the journey with its destination yet unknown. Knowing where you're headed allows you to plan and find the way but how can you even start without knowing where you're going? Yes, you can just start walking but what guarantee is there that you'll ever reach your destination? If you do know where you're headed, then there's only one direction that you need to head in."

Silence hung in the air for several minutes. This was just one of many lessons I planned to impart upon my padawan. He held power but lacked wisdom. It was my responsibility to guide him to the best of my ability.

After a while, he nodded. "I see. Thank you for your wisdom, master."

I smiled and nodded. "There's a reason that I'm your master when I'm barely older than you. It's not just because I'm somewhat of a natural with the force. It's because of my life experience."

Sirius tilted his head in curiosity. "How do you mean?"

I picked up a large stick that I had left upright in the sand and poked at the fire. Embers blew up into the air and danced in the wind, joining the fireflies that lit up the night. "There's more to life than the horrible suffering you've endured. Although the things you used to enjoy were taken from you, hope remains that one day they'll be returned."

I blankly stared off to the horizon. The black waves pulsed, concealing the stars that hovered just above the surface. "True loss… someone or something you love, gone to the point it's irrecoverable… it makes you think differently. You become protective of what you have and more eager to experience everything life can throw at you. It forces you to learn, to adapt, to be better. If you don't do these things, you collapse inwards and become a hollow shell of what you once were."

I turned, looking deep into my padawan's eyes. "Aside from teaching you the ways of the force, my role as your master is to impart wisdom upon you, to broaden your horizons, to help you think in ways beyond your age and life experience. That is the only way I can truly become a successful master."