A reflection.

As Xim's shuttle approached Alderaan, he was still teaching Rathari the basics of the grey side of the force when the droid pilot entered the room and asked whether they would be landing on the Republic or Empire controlled areas of the planet.

Xim left Rathari to his meditation and entered the communication area of the ship, he smiled and sent a holo communication request to both House Thul and House Organa using the information he stole from the Empire and The Republic.

The message he sent them both was simple, in return for Alderaan's independence from both the Empire and The Republic, they would need to provide a small contribution towards the army of the Grey Order and help construct a shipyard over Lehon.

House Thul instantly rejected Xim's offer while House Origana considered the offer for longer however Duke Charle Remmot Organa, the patriarch of the House at the time, remained the fiercest ally of the Republic and eventually rejected Xim's offer.

"House Rist it is then, overthrowing the entire planet will take a lot of time, a year or two at the quickest, a grand campaign is beginning I guess and I plan to take it on with a group of assassins and a single Sith apprentice. Am I crazy? Highly likely at this point, is this all really worth it?"

Xim stared at the holo terminal in front of him, his mind flashed back to his homeworld, where he played as a child, the time before he found the Holocron, a small boy fishing to survive, wishing he could see the stars. He turned his head, looking out to the stars that dotted his view,

"I can now see the stars as I wished, but at what cost I wonder? You know, the pressure never really dawns on you until you get a second to think. Why did I accept this role as easily as I did? Was it manipulation by the Holocron? The masters in it? My desire to be free? Sometimes I wish I had never entered the temple in the first place, you may be thinking that this is all a little random right?"

Xim asked no one in particular.

"I have never questioned myself before, I was arrogant in front of people many times my senior, people who I pushed way too far, Jedi, Sith, I took things in a direct and gung-ho fashion. It worked, I achieved what I wanted but I made enemies doing it, the Jedi order is hostile to me, my attitude caused that. I should have felt aggrieved, I believe I had the right to be however I went about it the wrong way, a knife in the dark is a worse enemy than a loud-mouthed brat."

He chuckled to himself as he braced to enter the orbit of the planet.

"From now on, it may be better for me to deal in the shadows, stay out of the mainstream as much as possible, at least during the civil war. The two sides will kill each other off while I consolidate my power over the planet, then sweep up at the last second, claiming it for myself and the order. I will consider this a test, to see which approach is better for me to take. I acknowledge I'm not perfect, a fool at times perhaps, it is time I change that."

Xim's body tensed as he fell backwards, his nose assaulted by a smell he hadn't smelt before, turning around, he saw an incense burning behind him, as if putting the pieces together, his mind broke free from the hypnotic effect he was under.

"I see, that is where this came from, I wonder who left this here?"

Walking to the Incense, he picked it up, the box under it had a small note next to it,

'Use this to reflect on your life so far, a final gift

- Master Vandar'

Xim stood there staring at the box, his mind replayed all of his interactions with his master, the way he was taught about the universe and the various factions, the discipline that was drilled into him, only for him to break it as soon as he could. Attacking the Jedi and his Master's rage, a small smile broke across his face as he muttered

"I won the battle against you master but it appears you won the war, making me question myself to this extent, I will try to improve myself going forwards, that I swear as your Padawan."

Xim walked back towards the centre of the room, wiping a tiny teardrop from the corner of his eye. Entering the contact information for the Duke of House Organa, when the man picked up, he looked at Xim in a confused manner, asking "Who are you and how did you get this contact information?"

Xim slightly bowed his head and stated" My name is The Watcher, I belong to the Order of the Grey, you have seen my previous message, I'm requesting to land in your spaceport along with one of My Sith apprentices."

The Duke tensed at the mention of the Sith But before he could argue Xim smiled and said" You do not need to worry about him, He has converted to my Order, we teach both the light and the Dark in an attempt to bring balance to the force, if it helps build trust, we will leave our lightsabers in a visible place, so you can see if we try to arm ourselves. I'm aware you have Jedi guards with you, they should protect you before I or my apprentice can get close enough to harm you."

Still tensed the Duke was about to reject when another voice came out from behind him.

"Ask what they are here for, you know that Thul rejected their offer to, meaning they don't have the backing of a major house and as a result can't claim the planet."

The Duke smiled slightly, "As my advisor stated, what are you landing for? You can't make a play for our planet with a single shuttle."

Xim nodded his head, thinking of the monumental challenge before him "I'm here to rescue the parents of a Jedi Padawan that is being hunted by a Sith Darth named Baras, I request that you grant me permission to land as well as extract them from the planet, they are housed in a vassal of your Dukedom."

The Duke Chuckled, "You may land, you may enter the palace and we will discuss this in person, vassal diplomacy is a touchy subject at this moment in time."

Xim smiled "All diplomacy is touchy at the moment is it not? Thank you for permitting us to land."

End of Chapter.

For those who may fear if Xim will now act as a Good Jedi, he will not, he will try to carry himself differently than before, not openly confrontational but he will not forgive slights against him either, storing them in the back of his mind, a way to motivate his rage.

I know this was a little out of the left-field but hey, blindsided you.