Well, at least her ship had survived the landing on Dagobah. A bit of grime and mud, some conspicuous-looking vines and tendrils, but besides that the thing was in adequate shape after a quick tinkering in the control panel. Maris looked behind her one last time before stepping onto the vessel – before leaving the place she had spent the last few months.

Yoda stood silently, calmly, on a large, mossy stone. His wizened eyes lidded halfway, and he offered a small nod. It was time for Maris to go.

The two had spoken of it last night, at some length. To continue her training, the zabrak girl would have to leave the relative safety of Dagobah and go somewhere less forgiving, more dangerous. Somewhere Force-users were not wanted. Somewhere that Maris would meet oppression and conflict. Where she could learn of herself, and the Force that seemed to eddy and fluctuate within her at all times.

The question had been where to go. Most actual settlements were now under the tyrannical dominion of the Galactic Empire, and those that were not were even less hospitable, whether their atmosphere could not sustain a zabrak, or their local fauna were unmanageably lethal.

However, as Maris Brood gave Yoda one last sulking glance and settled into the cockpit of her small vessel, one place continued to drift through her mind. A planet that she actually had the coordinates for in her control panel. A planet she had visited once before, where she might be welcome. Where the Empire only had a tenuous grip.

The home of her lost master, Shaak Ti.

Shili.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The days within her little ship were exhaustively boring, especially for the restless teen padawan. Modest water stores and even more modest rations left Maris grouchy and sulking, though she was no stranger to being alone – not after the death of her old master. Even the time spent with Yoda had felt like it was solitary, at times, as the little green creature was so cryptic and senile that his conversation was more frustrating than it was soothing.

Much of the trip she spent meditating, something she had found little time for on Dagobah. It was different now, than it had been before. The turmoil had both calmed and grown, the Light and Dark sides within her finding a sort of strange balance, but also growing in power. She thought of her last time on Shili as a young girl, thought of the last days she had spent with Shaak Ti. Reflected on the time she had spent training under Yoda, and what little of Vapaad he had taught her.

In the time she had to reflect, she realized how rushed everything had felt. Like she had drifted through these points in her life, points of emotion and conflict, and how her senses had seemed calmed and dull in between. Like the Force within her had faded, and dulled her very mind, making her experiences and memories seem bleak and unimportant.

The death of Shaak Ti. Her battle with Vader's apprentice. Her exile from Felucia. Her training with Yoda. They were the only points that seemed important. Everything else seemed to be a blur.

Maris opened her eyes, her contemplative state breaking off harshly and suddenly. Just as she had endeavored to strengthen herself, for personal relevancy if nothing else, she sensed a strong disturbance in the Force. A sort of shock to her system. She could sense life – intelligent life, not the teeming wildness of Felucia or Dagobah. She could detect sentients, the strife and sorrow that they brought with them. She could sense the Dark Side, and could feel the tendrils of darkness within her reach out towards it. That addictive flavor of rage and passion and chaos and lust. The true and complete freedom that only came from true lack of control.

She lifted herself from her small sleeping quarters, moving to the cockpit of the ship to check her location. She had recently passed a few asteroids, but it didn't look like–

No, that was it.

A planet. A sentient planet. Mountains, forests, cities.

Shili.

She had made it.