Teach / Corrupt

The island
Verosha Aniseya (“Osha”) awakes on a makeshift bed inside a cave with a pool. She finds that the wound on her waist has been bound with a bandage. A pot bubbles nearby. Osha helps herself to a bottle. She notices a small critter, a Skura, scurrying on the cave floor. Osha retrieves one of Mae-ho Aniseya’s (“Mae”) daggers and pulls on her clothes.

Exiting the cave, she walks along a safety railing overlooking a remote seaside with nearshore islands. Osha finds herself on a remote moss-covered island while The Stranger’s starship Exile II is parked on a nearby island. Osha walks along the stony shore past a family of Skura foraging among the rocks. Osha looks as the Stranger walks along the rocky shore towards the water.

Jedi retreat
On the jungle world of Khofar, Jedi Master Sol takes his Polan-717 Jedi transport into the skies. He turns on the transmitter and contacts the Jedi Order using “Emergency Code Zero.” Soo reports that his entire team has been killed. Meanwhile, Mae walks through the ship and finds the cabin where she and Osha did their Jedi test several years ago. Bazil eyes Mae suspiciously while Sol records a message to Master Vernestra Rwoh on a holoprojector, explaining that a much larger threat ambushed his team.

Mae enters the cockpit with a hidden knife. Having difficulty sending his transmission, Sol tells “Osha” to man the ship while he resets the receiver. After Sol exits the cockpit, Mae takes the starship into space. Sol climbs down into the cabin, where he grieves over a computer. After meditating, Sol switches on the computer and exits the cabin.

Bazil attempts to reactivate Pip. When that fails, he goes to the workbench and attempts to match PIP to several power plugs. He finds the appropriate power plug, causing Pip to awaken.

Osha and the Stranger
Osha follows the Stranger to a rocky pool, where he begins to undress. She sees a long scar sliding down his back. The Stranger wades into the pool and proceeds to scrub himself. Osha notices his lightsaber among his belongings. The Stranger senses her presence through the Force and asks how it feels. Wielding the lightsaber, Osha adopts a combat stance and orders the Stranger not to move.

The Stranger flatters Osha about her lightsaber-handling techniques and asks if she left her lightsaber behind when she left the Jedi Order. The Stranger gives her the choice of not joining him but says he would like his clothes back. Osha wields the lightsaber in combat stance as the Stranger climbs out of the pool. He asks her to consider the ethics of killing an unarmed opponent.

The Stranger says he cannot read her thoughts but that her anger betrays his thoughts. While the Stranger dresses, Osha asks why he brought her to this island. When Osha asks if she is his prisoner, the Stranger counters that she is the one wielding a weapon. When Osha asks if he killed Sol, the Stranger says no. When Osha asks if he killed Mae, the Stranger says no but adds that Osha seems more concerned about Sol than her sister. The Stranger deduces that Sol was more than a teacher to Osha.

Jedi trouble
Above Khofar, the Polan-717 Jedi transport docks with its Hyperspace transport ring. Sol enters the cockpit and hugs Mae, believing her to be Osha. Sol thanks Osha for saving him and says the Stranger corrupted her sister. Sol says he challenged him and vowed to make things right by telling the Jedi High Council everything. Mae asks about everything just as the holoprojector activates. A Jedi tells the crew of the Jedi ship that they are ready to transmit. Just then, the ship experiences a power failure. At Sol’s request, Mae agrees to try to restart the ship’s systems.

Meanwhile, at the Jedi Temple, Senator Isedwa Chuwant tells Master Rwoh that Senator Rayencourt has gathered enough support for an external review of the Jedi Order. Chuwant warns that his colleagues will favor such a review. Rwoh is concerned about Rayencourt’s campaign of fear against the Jedi. Chuwant reassures Rwoh that the review will favor the Jedi since they have always been transparent with the Galactic Senate. Chuwant describes Rayencourt as an ambitious Senator grasping for power.

After terminating the holoprojector, Rwoh faces Mog Adana, who tells her that the Jedi have received a distress call from Master Sol in the Outer Rim Territories. Adana tells Rwoh that Sol appears to have lost his entire team. Rwoh tells Adana to resume communications with Sol, but the younger Jedi reports they have lost contact. Rwoh orders Adana to prepare a rescue team to travel to Khofar immediately. When Adana asks how she knows where Sol is, Rwoh replies that she sent him there.

Questions and riddles
While walking along the stony beach, Osha questions the Stranger, who confirms that he was a Jedi in the past. When Osha says she has never heard of him, the Stranger replies it was long ago. Osha asks why the Stranger brought her here. The Stranger throws the question back at her before remarking that everyone seems interested in her. Osha warns that Master Sol will look for her and that he is strong in the Force.

The Stranger disagrees that Sol’s strength lies in the Force and counters that it is her strength in the Force. He says someone should teach her to harness her strength in the Force. Pointing to his starship, the Stranger suggests she swim to the vessel if she wants to reach it before sundown or wait for the tide to go out. The Stranger continues walking and asks if she is hungry. Osha turns her neck to stare at the ship before continuing her walk.

Meanwhile, Mae enters an engine room aboard the Jedi transport. She looks clueless at the chaotic array of control panels and cooling fans. She finds Pip charging in a power plug. Bazil approaches her from behind. After gesturing at her, he grabs her leg. Bazil stomps on her foot and runs off with a flashlight. An engine valve shoots grease at Mae’s face, causing her to squeal. Mae resets Pip to factory settings and attaches Pip’s head to a droid body. She tells the reprogrammed droid to check on the ship’s power systems.

A philosophical discussion
Osha follows the Stranger back into the cave on the unknown island world. She asks what he meant when he referred to her strength in the Force. The Stranger says that he means exactly what he said. Osha recalls the Jedi teaching that strength in the Force requires constant training, or it will fade. The Stranger responds that the Jedi teach there is only one way to access the Force and that if Force wielders do not do it their way, it fades. The Stranger stirs soup in the pot.

The Stranger tells Osha that there is another way to use the Force. Below the surface of consciousness are powerful emotions such as anger, fear, loss, and desire. Osha responds that is the path to the dark side. As the Stranger puts a piece of food in his mouth, he replies that it is semantics. When Osha confronts him for murdering her friends, the Stranger admits to killing Jedi for threatening his existence. When Osha adds that he killed Yord Fandar, the Stranger reminds her that Fandar did not hesitate to turn her in for a crime that she did not commit. When Osha adds that she killed Jecki Lon, the Stranger says the fight was inevitable. He adds that Osha would have had the same relationship with Lon that she had with Master Sol, which he describes as one-sided.

The Stranger asks Osha why she loves people who can only go so far. He offers Osha a bowl of soup. The Stranger says that Osha has more potential than the Jedi realize. Osha says she is not her sister Mae and is not as easily corrupted. She exits the cave to the rock outcrop and stares at the sea. The Stranger follows her and reminds her she is still holding his lightsaber. He says that she stayed here to do something. The Stranger dares Osha to stab him with his lightsaber.

Osha counters that a Jedi does not attack the unarmed. The Stranger grabs her and asks why she still thinks of herself as a Jedi despite them rejecting her. Osha counters that she willingly left the Jedi Order. When the Stranger questions her motives, Osha demands that she let him go. The Stranger says she feels pain and anger, which define her identity. The Stranger says that is why the Jedi threw her away. When Osha disagrees, the Stranger repeatedly asks why she is not a Jedi. Osha shouts that she failed and ignites the Stranger’s lightsaber. She uses the blade to trap him against a rock face. As she stares at him fiercely, the Stranger says that he understands. He explains that he lost everything but adds that is when one becomes “truly free.” After staring at the Stranger’s face, Osha withdraws the blade and switches it off.

Jedi on the way
On Coruscant, Master Rwoh arrives at the spaceport in field dress, where she meets up with Mog and other Jedi, including a Selkath. Mog says he has not heard from Master Sol but that their team is ready to depart in 20 minutes. Mog is concerned that Rwoh is accompanying them and warns that people can get nauseous during hyperspace travel. Rwoh counters that she does not get sick but finds it unsettling. When Mog suggests that Sol’s team’s casualties are due to the planet’s uncharted environment, Rwoh reassures him that he does not need to take it personally and says that she hopes it is alright with him. The group approaches a parked starship.

Mae’s cover blown
Back on Master Sol’s ship, Bazil moves through an access conduit with a torchlight. On the floor above, Mae notices the lights shining through the floor grates. Master Sol calls to her, and she follows him into the bunk quarters. Mae tells Sol that she ran a diagnostic on the ship and will have to restart the systems, which she estimates will take five minutes. Sol meditates and regrets not sensing the Stranger’s true intentions when they first met him on Olega. Mae says that desire can cloud a person’s mind and only see what you want to see. Mae says that the Stranger fooled them all.

Sol notices that “Osha” has found her Pip droid, which beeps in binary. Sol notices that “Osha” has a loving relationship with Pip even though he is a machine. He rises from his bunk. Mae says that she has always been like that, even when she was little. Sol agrees. Pretending to be Osha, Mae says she had to lose much of herself to become a Jedi, even if she did not know it then. Sol apologizes, prompting Mae to say how she could feel it any other way. Sol sighs. When Mae asks if Sol has told her everything that happened on Brendok, he replies that she was very young. Mae replies that she is not young now and asks him to tell her the full story.

At that moment, the ship’s lights and systems reboot. Sol lowers his head while Mae walks away and heads to the ship’s cockpit. Mae speaks to the comms and asks if anyone can hear her. Master Rwoh responds on the comms. Before Mae can continue, Sol stuns her with a blaster. Bazil follows him. Sol recognizes Mae as an imposter posing as her sister, Osha. Master Rwoh tells Sol that help is on the way and tells him to leave the transponder. Sol switches off the comms unit and activates the hyperdrive lever, causing the Jedi transport to jump into hyperspace.

Moments later, a silver Jedi starship with red markings exits hyperspace and descends into Khofar’s atmosphere. After speaking with the locals, Mog informs Master Rwoh that an umbramoth colony hatched last night and terrorized the local settlement. He speculates that if the Jedi had been near that colony, that could explain the large number of casualties incurred by Sol’s team. Rwoh accepts this as a theory. The Jedi trek down the hill into the jungle below.

Steps further
At the Stranger’s cave, Osha has a bowl of soup while the Stranger repairs his damaged helmet with an electrical tool. When Osha asks if he made the same pitch to Mae, the Stranger admits that he made the mistake of thinking that she wanted more than revenge. He says that he thought Mae wanted what he wanted, prompting Osha to probe further. The Stranger explained that he wanted the power of two. When Osha asks how he got that scar on his back, the Stranger says it was caused by someone who threw him away. Osha asks if it was his Jedi Master who was responsible.

The Stranger changes the topic, explaining that his helmet was made from cortosis. Cortosis is lightsaber-resistant and ideal for serving as material for a sensory deprivation headpiece. When Osha asks if cortosis blocks out all their senses, the Stranger confirms this, allowing one to get closer to the Force with discretion. The Stranger invites her to try out a cortosis headpiece. Osha still does not trust the Stranger, but he encourages her to learn to trust herself. The Stranger walks away with his box and tool, leaving Osha to gaze at the cortosis headpiece on the table.

Aftermath of a massacre
Meanwhile, on Khofar, Master Rwoh and her landing party reach Kelnacca’s shelter, where they find the remains of Sol’s team, including Lon and Fandar. Rwoh and Mog find more Jedi remains within a forest clearing. She also finds the site of the Stranger’s Force push against the Jedi. Mog reports that there is no sign of Osha or Mae and speculates that they must still be at large. Mog believes the opponent the Jedi were fighting could generate an explosion and take on several Jedi. He describes their opponent’s power as extraordinary but his skills as erratic. Mog says that their opponent’s sole aim was to leave no survivors.

An umbramoth dives at them, but Rwoh uses her lightsaber whip to kill the creature by slicing it in half. Rwoh notices that a lightsaber killed the fallen Jedi and asks Mog what it tells them. Mog surmises that a powerful Jedi has fallen. Mog asks if she thinks Master Sol is responsible, which Rwoh describes as an extraordinary accusation. Mog asks who else would have the power to slay so many Jedi. When Rwoh remarks this is something to tip the scales, Mog asks why Sol would send them a distress signal. Rwoh says it is time to get back to the ship and that they should prepare the bodies for burial.

Meanwhile, aboard Sol’s Jedi transport, Mae awakes to find herself restrained on a medal table. She finds Sol sitting in the lounge area. Master Sol tells Mae that he has no intention of harming her. He tells her that they need to find her master and save Osha. But first, he says that they will need to talk. Sol says that he has spent the past 16 years thinking of what he would say to her if they had the opportunity to meet. Sol tells Mae that she is going to listen.

The Choice
In the Stranger’s cave, Osha approaches his cortosis helmet, touching its scars and scorch marks. She notices a vein of cortosis nearby. After studying the helmet, she slowly dons the helmet and breathes deeply. The meager light through the narrow eye slits slowly fades out.