As soon as the **Akatsuki** settled onto the landing pad of the spaceport, two Jedi Masters were already waiting.
Plo Koon and Luminara Unduli had expected to receive a nearly dead Jedi Knight—burned, barely alive, and likely unconscious.
Instead, they were greeted by something far stranger.
Standing at the foot of the boarding ramp was **Dagon Marek**.
He was shirtless, his powerful frame marked with bacta patches and tight white bandages wrapped around his chest, shoulders, and arms. Faint burns still traced parts of his skin, but compared to the injuries reported earlier, the damage looked almost impossible.
A hovering medical droid floated beside him, its mechanical voice continuing a steady stream of instructions.
"Patient Marek, you are required to remain at rest for no less than seventy-two standard hours. Physical exertion will significantly delay full tissue regeneration."
Dagon rolled his eyes slightly.
"I've heard that already," he said calmly. "Three times."
"Correction," the droid replied. "Five times."
Dagon sighed.
"Yes. That explains why I stopped listening after the third."
The ramp lowered fully with a soft mechanical hiss.
Plo Koon stopped in his tracks.
For a moment, even the experienced Jedi Master was silent.
"This…" he said slowly, "was not the condition I was expecting."
Dagon gave a faint smile.
"Master Plo. Master Unduli. Good to see you both."
Luminara studied him carefully, her gaze sharp.
"You were reported to be severely burned," she said. "Your survival alone is remarkable."
"Apparently I'm difficult to kill," Dagon replied dryly.
The medical droid immediately interrupted.
"Patient Marek should not be standing."
"Too late," Dagon said.
Then something unusual happened.
Both Jedi Masters suddenly felt it.
A faint ripple through the Force.
Warm.
Gentle.
Almost comforting.
It spread through the air like sunlight through water—subtle but unmistakable.
Luminara frowned slightly.
"Master Plo… do you feel that?"
"Yes," Plo Koon replied quietly.
"It is… unusual."
Before they could say more, a small orange-and-white blur ran down the ramp.
"MASTER PLO!"
Ahsoka Tano rushed forward and threw her arms around the Kel Dor Jedi.
"Ahsoka," Plo Koon said warmly. "It is good to see you safe."
She stepped back quickly, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Master! Something incredible happened!"
Plo Koon tilted his head.
"Oh?"
"I completed a trial!" she said proudly. "The Trial of Courage! We purified the corrupted crystals!"
Luminara raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Purified?"
Ahsoka nodded rapidly.
"Yes! They were dark—corrupted—but we helped them return to the light! And Master Dagon kept one. For a second lightsaber!"
She gestured excitedly toward her teacher.
Dagon simply folded his arms.
"It seemed appropriate," he said.
Plo Koon looked from Ahsoka to Dagon.
"That is… a considerable amount of information."
He rested a gentle hand on Ahsoka's shoulder.
"I believe we should discuss this privately."
Ahsoka nodded eagerly.
"Okay!"
While the Jedi spoke, Plo Koon noticed movement near the ship.
A group of senators were leaving the Akatsuki, walking quickly across the landing platform toward a waiting Corellian shuttle.
Among them was a young Pantoran woman.
Riyo Chuchi paused briefly.
For a moment she looked back toward Dagon, as if she wanted to say something.
But when she noticed the Jedi watching, her expression flushed slightly with embarrassment. Without a word, she turned and hurried after the others toward the shuttle.
Dagon watched them leave but said nothing.
Moments later, the medical droids returned with a hovering stretcher.
"This is unnecessary," Dagon muttered.
"Medical transport is required," the droid replied firmly.
"I can walk."
"Medical transport is still required."
Dagon sighed.
"Fine."
A few minutes later, the Republic gunboat lifted smoothly from the platform and glided toward the hospital complex.
Inside the craft, the atmosphere was quiet.
Dagon lay on the stretcher while the medical monitors continued their steady beeping.
Beside him stood Ahsoka.
She held her teacher's hand gently.
For the first time since the battle, her voice was quiet.
"You scared me, Master," she said softly.
Dagon turned his head slightly toward her.
"I know."
But the faint warmth in the Force still lingered around them, like a distant echo of something none of the Jedi fully understood yet.