Avon woke to find Imri sitting in the copilot’s chair and Vernestra quietly explaining the various switches and knobs to him. Across from her on the other bench, Honesty was on his back snoring, his mouth hanging open in a way that would have made Avon laugh if she didn’t feel so sorry for him. He was strange, but Avon couldn’t tell if that was because all Dalnans were a little bit strange, what with their plain clothing and distrust of outsiders, or because his grief had made him tense and unapproachable. She was trying not to judge, but that was what a scientific mind did: judge, assess, analyze. J-6 used to always chastise her for the way she talked about etiquette: “It is not necessary for you to analyze why the Mon Calamari find it offensive to sneeze loudly, you just have to know that is the way they feel. Not everything needs investigation, Avon.”

But what J-6 did not quite understand was that everything did. Avon burned to understand the why of things just as much as she wanted to understand the how, and when there were no answers, a keen sense of frustration drove her to do irrational things to find the answers. It was why her mother had exiled her to Port Haileap.

“Maybe on the edge of the galaxy you’ll find what you’re looking for, darling,” Ghirra Starros had said with exasperation as she’d packed her only daughter off. “I have tried teaching you diplomacy, and it is clear you are only interested in this heedless pursuit of science. Port Haileap has a provisional lab, and Professor Glenna Kip shares some of your same questions about the Force and life in general. It will be good for you to have a mentor who has more in common with you.”

But when Avon had arrived, Professor Kip had gone off on a search for some artifact, so Avon was left to her own devices, Douglas happily adding her to the lessons he gave Imri, even though Avon had not a lick of Force sensitivity. But spending time with Imri had only made Avon even more curious about the Force and the Jedi’s kyber crystals. They were a near limitless energy source, and the possible applications were endless. It made no sense that they had not been exploited by more than just the Jedi.

So Avon was going to be the first to analyze the crystals and their properties. She would use her findings to apply for enrollment to Coruscant University and then she could go home. No more being trapped in the middle of nowhere. She could go home to hot fried hela fish for dinner and wicket ball and all the other things that made Coruscant amazing. Things that did not exist at Port Haileap. Things like civilization.

She wouldn’t be trapped on a shuttle with rapidly dwindling supplies if she’d never left Coruscant. And the realization made her feel like crying.

“Hey!”

Avon turned toward where the Jedi sat at the front of the shuttle, the two of them twisted around in their seats to look at her. “Are you hungry?” asked Vernestra.

“Is there suddenly something besides joppa stew? Did you Force-magic up something actually good?” Avon was sharper than she’d intended, and she took a deep breath to swallow her rising temper. It was her own foolish fault that she’d been sent to Port Haileap. The only person she could be angry with was herself.

“No,” Imri said with a smile, oblivious to her temper. “But the good news is we’re almost to a planet.”

“What, really?” Avon climbed off the bench and stood so she could see out the front viewing window. There, glowing in the middle of the window, was a small, lustrously green orb that appeared to orbit a couple of planets.

“I think it’s a moon, actually, and it’s really small,” Avon said, her spirits plummeting once more at the sight. “Is that a double gas giant?”

“Certainly looks like it,” said Vernestra. “Since we’re still in the Haileap system I’m guessing those are Nixus and Neralus. Which means there is nothing anywhere nearby. And with the communications out it’s not like we can tell before we land.”

“Okay, new question. Why would someone try to kill us?” Avon said. She had been turning the facts they knew over and around in her head, and she could not find a single reason for all that had happened. The more she thought about it, the more it made Avon’s heart pound. Not with fear, but with excitement. This was a mystery to be solved, an answer to be found. She knew the what, but the who and why were anyone’s guess.

“We don’t know that,” Vernestra said, too quickly, and Avon tilted her head at the older girl.

“Does the Force let you see the past? Can you find out why the Steady Wing broke apart? What the explosions were?”

Vernestra flushed. “There are some Jedi Masters who could use the Force in such a way, but no, I cannot. And besides, what difference does it make? We have bigger problems before us. This could have been an Emergence, Avon, not something else. Just another terrible accident that no one could have foreseen.”

“You don’t believe that,” Avon said. “We discussed this. If it had been an Emergence the pattern of destruction would have been different.”

“Avon,” Vernestra sighed. “Why does it matter?”

“It matters because someone killed Douglas and Honesty’s father,” Avon said, unable to believe that Vernestra could be so oblivious. “Besides, if it was an attack, how do we know that we’re safe? What if someone is just waiting for us to land so they can finish the job?”

“No one is following us. I would’ve known,” Imri said, and Avon felt terrible. She’d forgotten that Imri had scanned the wreckage of the Steady Wing for survivors and then again scanned for any signs of life amongst the stars.

But then another thought occurred to her. “What if they sent droids after us? You wouldn’t have been able to see that.”

“That’s a bit farfetched,” Vernestra said, frowning. And then she shook her head. “And if there is someone still after us we will worry about it when we have to. I have my lightsaber, and Imri has his, as well. We aren’t going to hyperspace, and we should be far enough away from any nodes that we shouldn’t see any more Emergences. Anything else, Imri and I can deal with. We can keep everyone safe.”

Avon huffed. She knew what Vernestra was doing, treating her like a kid who was afraid of the dark. The Jedi was worried, as well; the lines in the green skin of her forehead that had appeared during their escape from the Steady Wing were still there, but she somehow thought by reassuring Avon she could keep the girl calm. Avon wasn’t scared though. She was angry.

“Don’t you want to find out who killed Douglas? He died because he was trying to save us.” Avon could not believe that neither of the Jedi wanted revenge. If someone she loved had been hurt, revenge would be the only thing Avon would want. There was an old family story that Caden Starros, Avon’s great-grandfather, had followed an enemy all the way to Orondia to get his revenge after the man had stolen his ship and left him stranded on a minor moon. Whether the story was true or not, it sounded more sensible to Avon than just forgetting about being wronged.

Imri gave Avon a sad smile. “The Jedi don’t believe in vengeance. Revenge and anger belong to the dark side, and the Jedi are of the light. Everything that happens was meant to happen. The Force works in mysterious ways, but part of being a Jedi is trusting in the Force even when it’s difficult.”

Vernestra nodded and patted Imri on the arm, but Avon threw up her hands in disgust and went back to where she’d been sitting on the bench next to J-6.

“The Force is very odd,” J-6 said.

“It sure is,” Avon muttered, crossing her arms.

As she sat on the bench considering the possibility of sabotage and future danger, Avon’s eyes fell on Imri’s lightsaber. While Vernestra kept hers in a holster on her hip, Imri had stripped off his holster and formal tabard. They were both tucked into a cubbyhole across the way, a storage cube meant for blankets and the like.

Avon stared at the lightsaber and a thought began to form. She might be able to do something useful on this trip, after all.