Star Wars: I’m in trouble !

The alley was too narrow for a clean escape. Kyl had darted into the winding maze of Coruscant's lower levels, weaving through the neon-lit underbelly of the city-planet. He had always been able to outrun, outmaneuver, and outthink his pursuers. But this time, they were faster. Smarter. Jedi.

He skidded to a stop at a dead end, his breath sharp and rapid. A flickering streetlight buzzed above him, casting long shadows against the durasteel walls. His fingers curled around the hilt of his lightsaber—his lightsaber, the one he had cleansed from the taint of the Sith recruiter. Would he use it? Could he? Fighting the Jedi wasn't his goal. Surviving was.

A voice rang out behind him. Calm. Measured. Inevitable.

"Kyl Solren."

Kyl spun, raising his weapon but not igniting it. Three figures stood at the entrance of the alley, their silhouettes unmistakable. Jedi. Their robes swayed slightly in the artificial breeze of the ventilation systems above.

"Come quietly," said the lead Jedi, a tall Mirialan with piercing green eyes. "We don't want to hurt you."

Kyl scoffed. "That's a first."

"You are not under arrest," she continued, stepping forward with careful precision. "But you are to be taken to the Jedi Temple for questioning. Do not make this harder than it needs to be."

Kyl's mind raced. He could fight—he had been training, had grown stronger. But against three Jedi? He exhaled through his nose, lowering his blade.

"You win," he muttered, letting the hilt drop to his belt. He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Let's get this over with."

The Jedi approached cautiously, placing a set of binders around his wrists. He was done running. For now.

Interrogation at the Jedi TempleThe room was sterile, minimalist, and cold in its precision. Kyl sat in the center, hands still bound, while three Jedi Masters observed him from across a long table. One of them, a dark-skinned human with a shaved head, leaned forward.

"You are untrained," Mace Windu observed. "Yet your connection to the Force is undeniable."

Kyl smirked. "Is this where you tell me I need training? That I should become one of you?"

The Jedi exchanged glances. Another spoke, an elderly Cerean with a long, furrowed brow. "We are more interested in the holocron you have been using."

Kyl frowned. "What about it?"

"Describe it," Ki-Adi-Mundi requested.

Kyl hesitated but saw no harm in answering. "It's old. The Master inside—it's a woman. She teaches combat techniques, philosophy, and history. But nothing you don't already know."

Mace Windu's gaze sharpened. "Are you certain?"

Kyl shrugged. "It's just a teacher. I thought you Jedi treasured these things, but I guess not."

Ki-Adi-Mundi leaned back. "Some holocrons hold knowledge that should remain forgotten. This one, however, appears to be of little consequence."

Mace nodded but did not seem fully convinced. "And yet, it found you. The Force does not act at random."

Kyl sighed, shifting in his seat. "Is that all you wanted? I told you, it's nothing special."

The Jedi exchanged another look before Mace spoke again. "You are dismissed. But do not leave the Temple grounds."

Kyl stood, stretching his stiff muscles. "Sure. Not like I've got anywhere to be."

A Private Talk with Master YodaThe Jedi Temple's corridors were vast, lined with elegant pillars and flowing banners depicting the Republic's history. Kyl felt out of place, a wanderer in a world that wasn't his. Yet, as he walked, he sensed something—or someone—waiting for him.

He turned a corner and found himself face-to-face with Master Yoda.

The diminutive Jedi sat on a floating meditation platform, his wise eyes studying Kyl carefully.

"Restless, you are," Yoda observed.

Kyl sighed. "What gave it away?"

A quiet chuckle escaped the ancient Master. "Much conflict in you, I sense. Direction, seeking it, you are."

Kyl leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Is that what you think? That I'm just lost?"

Yoda tilted his head. "Lost, perhaps not. Searching, yes."

Kyl scoffed. "What if I'm just surviving?"

"Survive, you do. But live, do you?"

The question made Kyl pause. He had spent his life running, fighting, and scraping by. But living? That was something else entirely.

Yoda gestured for him to sit, and Kyl hesitated before lowering himself onto the floor.

"The old Jedi Code," Yoda began, "spoke of balance. Of knowing one's self. The Force, light and dark, part of all living things, it is."

Kyl furrowed his brow. "I thought Jedi rejected the Dark Side."

Yoda nodded. "Corruption, in darkness, there is. But denial, blind, just as dangerous."

Kyl exhaled slowly. "So what are you saying? That I should just accept both?"

"Understand both," Yoda corrected. "Control, over self, most important. Know the darkness within, you must, lest it control you."

Kyl remained silent, letting the words sink in. He had spent so long fearing the darkness within him, fearing the power he had glimpsed. But was it fear that led to corruption? Or denial?

"You see something in me," Kyl finally said.

Yoda's expression remained unreadable. "A choice, I see. One only you can make."

Kyl's DecisionThat night, Kyl sat alone in the quarters the Jedi had given him. He stared at the lightsaber resting on the small table before him—the one he had purified, the one that had become his. It was not the weapon of a Sith, nor yet a Jedi's. It was something in between. Something uniquely his.

Yoda's words echoed in his mind. Understanding. Control. Choice.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't being forced to run. He wasn't being hunted or manipulated. He had a choice.

The Jedi weren't perfect—he had seen enough to know that. But perhaps there was something here worth staying for. A chance to learn, to grow. To find the balance Yoda had spoken of.

He picked up his saber and ignited it, watching the silver-white blade hum in the dim room. He wasn't a Jedi. Not yet. But maybe, just maybe, he could become something more.

With a quiet determination, Kyl deactivated the blade and set it aside. He would stay.

For now