Timeframe: Days after returning from Nizorad
Setting: Jedi Temple – Archives | Council Wing | Private garden terrace
Reflections on Forgiveness
It was night. The Jedi Temple's upper meditation garden shimmered in the glow of Coruscant's distant city towers.
Cain sat alone beneath a stone archway, eyes closed, the Force swirling softly around him like a tide.
Luke Skywalker. He was never the strongest with a blade. Never the most trained in the old ways. But he changed everything… because he believed people could be saved.
Even his father.
Especially his father.
Cain opened his eyes.
How many Jedi today still believe in forgiveness?
How many truly listen when a voice breaks the Code—but not the Light?
That night, he made a decision.
Request to the Council — A Meeting of Trust
The next day, Cain stood before Master Fay and Master Plo Koon in a private chamber. He bowed low, respectful.
"I wish to study holocrons from the restricted section," Cain said. "Bastila Shan. Nomi Sunrider. Satele Shan. Even Revan—if the Order has his."
Plo's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "You realize many of these figures walked… unconventional paths."
"I do," Cain said. "That's why I ask to study them only under your supervision. You may test me however you choose. But I believe understanding their choices—what they did right and what they failed to do—will help me become better, not worse."
Fay looked at Plo.
"This is not ambition," she said gently. "This is inquiry with integrity."
Plo Koon turned to Cain. "Then you will pass a Trial of Balance. One of your own making. If you succeed… I will grant you guided access."
Cain bowed deeply. "Thank you. I will not disappoint you."
The Garden Circle – Gathering the Friends
That evening, Cain invited his closest companions to the secluded Jedi Temple garden—the same place where they once play-trained as younglings. Now older, wiser, their robes more worn, they came without hesitation.
Anakin, confident and growing in restraint.
Seris, thoughtful and still fire-forged.
Derran, calm and calculating, eyes sharpened by war-zone politics.
Barriss, heart still pure, but gaze more watchful than before.
"Cain," Anakin said, stretching. "You called us like it was a secret mission. What's going on?"
"I want to know how your missions went," Cain replied. "What you saw. What you felt."
They went quiet. Then one by one, they spoke.
The Truths They Brought Back
Derran: "My sector's governor redirected food shipments meant for Outer Rim colonies to rich Core worlds. The Jedi who led the mission told us to stay quiet. Said 'it's not our place to interfere with politics.' I didn't agree."
Barriss: "A senator was bribing a planetary militia to attack a neutral moon for 'defense funding.' The Jedi council insisted we not escalate. We ended up healing children while the bombing continued."
Seris: "We found a rogue Knight hiding in the Mid Rim—she left the Order because she loved someone. We brought her in… but she wasn't angry. She was at peace."
Anakin was last.
"I met a child in chains. Same age I was when I left slavery. And I couldn't free him. Not without breaking the Code. I came back thinking—what was the point of freeing me if I'm still not allowed to help others like me?"
The silence that followed was heavy.
Cain looked at each of them.
"Then it's time I told you what I've been planning."
Cain's Vision
Cain stood in the center of their circle, speaking not as a leader, but as a brother.
"I've seen visions of what's coming. Of what we become if we do nothing. The Clone Wars. The Temple burning. The Jedi falling."
Anakin leaned in, eyes narrowing.
"You saw that?"
Cain nodded. "I saw all of us… dead. or worse
Anakin flinched. Seris grabbed his hand without a word.
Derran whispered, "But that hasn't happened yet."
"Right," Cain said. " "I want to change things small and big from the order to the galaxy". But until we confront the heart of the problem—the Council's fear, the Republic's rot, the Order's silence—we're just delaying collapse."
He let that sit.
Then continued.
"So here's my plan."
The Reformation Proposal
"I want to stay in the Order," Cain said. "But I want to reshape it from the inside."
He paced slowly.
"I want to create a sanctuary. A place for training new Jedi—not by stripping away emotion, but by teaching mastery through connection. Where attachment doesn't equal weakness. Where compassion doesn't make you fall."
"I'm not starting a rebellion," he added. "I'm planting a second root. One that can grow beside the tree, even if the main trunk falls."
The others looked at him—stunned, thoughtful, moved.
"Will you stand with me?" he asked.
One by one, they answered.
Barriss: "I believe in you. I always have."
Derran: "We need a future worth surviving for. Count me in."
Seris: "I've questioned everything for years. You're the only one who's ever made me feel it's okay. I'm with you."
Anakin hesitated.
Then said: "This wont be easy, that's why you will need me there to help."
The Flame Begins
That night, they meditated as one beneath the stars.
Cain's thoughts swirled with memory and purpose.
I will pass the Trial of Balance. I will study the lost Jedi.
I will build something real. And I will not let the galaxy fall again.
Not while I breathe.