Timeframe: Several weeks after receiving the holocron
Setting: Jedi Temple – Cain's quarters, the Archive Annex, garden training grounds
The First Lessons from Bastila
The holocron pulsed with amber light, revealing Bastila Shan once again—tall, centered, and intense, yet carrying a serenity earned through fire.
"The Force is not your leash. It is your reflection. If you command it like a weapon, it will rebel. If you flow with it, you can shape hearts and history alike."
Cain sat cross-legged in his darkened quarters, eyes closed, listening.
Bastila continued:
"Battle Meditation is not simply guidance. It is unity. The melding of your will with others—your strength amplifying theirs. But it only works when you understand them, when you love them as they are. No doctrine. No detachment. Just connection."
Cain breathed deeply.
That's what the Jedi are missing.
Connection. And trust in it.
Quiet Circles and Secret Lessons
He didn't speak of the holocron openly. But late at night or during isolated training breaks, Cain would gather his closest friends:
Anakin, always full of fire but learning to listen.
Barriss, heart-centered and growing curious about the Jedi's emotional disconnect.
Seris, sharpening empathy alongside her fierce ambition.
Derran, now unshakable in clarity and insight.
In the privacy of quiet gardens or reflection rooms, Cain would say things like:
"Try this: before you act, imagine your heart not as a chain—but as a compass."
He taught breathing exercises Bastila once used to channel emotions into clarity. How to anchor Battle Meditation in stillness, not control.
Anakin was the first to ask where Cain learned all this.
"An old voice. From a time the Jedi want to forget."
Anakin nodded solemnly. "Then maybe that's the time we should remember."
Meeting Others – Legends Begin
In the coming weeks, Cain met other Initiates and Padawans his age—some already rising through the Order, many of whom would become names of great weight in the Legends timeline.
Zayne Carrick –
Awkward. Uncertain. Often dismissed. But Cain saw something else: raw empathy. Cain sparred with him one day, then stayed behind to help him realign his center.
"You don't need to be faster," Cain said. "Just more certain about why you're holding the blade."
Etain Tur-Mukan –
Overwhelmed. Trying to prove herself. Carrying trauma she didn't have words for yet. Cain offered no lecture—just a silent presence during meditation and the gentle encouragement:
"You don't have to be fearless. Just honest."
Jyl Somtay (a lesser-known Padawan from pre-Clone War records)—
Competitive and always quoting the Code. Cain asked her during a training match: "Have you ever asked why the Code was written that way?"
That question stayed with her for weeks.
A Moment With Bastila
One night, alone in his quarters again, Cain activated the holocron.
Bastila's image flickered into focus.
"I shared your thoughts today," Cain whispered. "With them. My friends. I didn't teach them control—I taught them trust."
Bastila's image smiled faintly. "Good. Because that's where power begins—not in control, but in understanding."
Cain asked, "Did it scare you? When you fell?"
"Yes," she said. "But it scared me more when I realized how few in the Order would have forgiven me. If not for Revan…"
She trailed off.
Cain stared at her image, thoughtful.
Forgiveness is as powerful as any lightsaber.
And harder to master.
Plo Koon Observes
Master Plo Koon began to notice subtle changes.
Cain's fighting form had refined—not more aggressive, but more adaptive.
His mind sharper in debates, his presence more magnetic among peers.
Plo brought it up to Fay in private.
"He's changing others around him."
Fay nodded. "As he should. The Force doesn't grow by silence. It grows by influence."
"Do you trust what he's becoming?"
"I trust who he is," Fay said. "And I trust he'll never lose that."
Seeds of the Future
That evening, in the moonlit garden, Cain stood with his four closest friends.
"I've been thinking," he said quietly. "If we do nothing, the Order falls. But if we push too hard, too soon… we lose trust."
"So what's the plan?" Seris asked.
"We become the Order's conscience. Not its destroyers. We lead with compassion. We teach quietly. We offer better answers until others start asking better questions."
Barriss smiled softly. "You're trying to heal the soul of the Jedi."
"Not just that," Cain whispered. "I'm trying to give it a future."