Star Wars: A New Order: Dawn of Balance (Book 9)

Chapter Eight: The Praxeum

Eventually, Sam knew that she would have to face Rhys and Sinn at some point. She remained in the cockpit long enough to calm down before turning to the controls of the ship. She set a course to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum before opening the door. Rhys whipped around, clearly stressed out.

"Are you okay? What happened in there?" Rhys asked as he stepped towards her.

Sam took a breath,"To be honest, no. I may have made a mistake in killing Zeke...I don't know..." She admitted.

"Look, he was going to call the Jedi and get us killed. If we let him go then he would have contacted the Jedi and we would all be dead...Including Zeke," Rhys told her, trying to comfort her.

"I know that. But I am no different than the Jedi now. They sacrificed their own for the needs of the many...And now I've done the same," Sam told him. Her voice is a mix of regret and cold emotion.

"Yes but the difference between you and them, is that the Jedi will allow this to continue, while you are willing to take a stand for what is truly good," Rhys told her with an encouraging smile.

Sam smiled and looked at the floor. One of the things she appreciated about him was his ability to assess a situation and come out with a completely different outlook. Rhys stepped forward and embraced her for a moment causing her heart to race. She looked at the bandage on his right arm and she swallowed hard. "We need to check that."

"I found some antibiotics and cleaned out the wounds as best I could," Rhys replied. "Both are really little bruised, but I feel okay so far."

"We need to keep a close eye on it. Let me know if you feel sick or it gets infected ok?"

"Sure," Rhys replied.

. "I need to go talk to Sinn..."

"Good idea," Rhys said as he followed her down the corridor.

Sinn stood staring out the airlock window. He turned to face Sam and Rhys. "We need to talk."

Knowing that he needed to talk things through, she replied, "That's why I'm here."

"You just killed Zeke? Just like that? You didn't even let us finish discussing what to do about him!? You just killed him? Just like that? I know he was a pain in the cargo hold, but even he didn't deserve that." Sinn paused for a moment to ponder something before he asked, "What if I didn't agree with you? Would you kill me where I stand?"

"Of course not," Sam comforted him. "Look, I hated doing what I just did...Could I have handled things different? Maybe..But I can't change it now. As far as killing you, you know that contacting the Jedi would get us all killed. Zeke literally couldn't comprehend that. You can."

Arguing back with a hypothetical question, Sinn replied, "And what if I can't? What if I were to pick up a comlink right now and call Master Jaina or the council and tell her everything you've done?"

"I'm done pretending I'm a Jedi and needlessly sacrificing people. I'm not proud of what I did, and I was exactly like the Jedi when I killed him just so we would live...I was wrong. But Sinn, now we need to move on and continue to do what's best for the galaxy. We can change the Galaxy for the better here if we can rally enough people to our cause and end the spirit," Sam told Sinn, her voice was calm and reassuring to Sinn's ears.

Sinn felt compelled to trust her. What she said was right, but for some reason felt the need to jump in and agree with what she was saying, but he held back. There was just one more question he had to ask. "How do you plan on doing that?"