#at any given time i am dressing like 5 year old me in 1997 wishes she could have dressed

[declqn]

okay u can’t see how cute and shimmery my makeup is bc my camera sucks but ... mr. worm decided to photobomb my selfies so say ‘ello 💕

[paradoxicalpatton]

Wearing Our Hearts On Our Sleeves (Ch. 1)

Title: Wearing Our Hearts On Our Sleeves Chapter: Prologue, Chapter 1 Word Count: 2054 Ships: Logicality, Prinxiety, Dukeceit  Summary: Logan Bright, a Police Officer, is trying to find his father’s killer, and solve the case that led to his death once and for all. Throughout his investigations, Logan meets an eclectic bunch of people. A paramedic who owns 2 cats yet is deathly allergic, a 911 operator with severe social anxiety, twins who happen to be a firefighter and a forensic scientist, a cps worker who is a compulsive liar, and a 7-year-old boy who’s parents were murdered. Warnings: brief mentions of drugs, guns, and hostages. implied past murder Taglist: @tinysidestrashcaptain @avocados26 @shadycreatorrebelpersona @jadedmidnight @suicidalcitrusfruit @virgils-angels @human-being-kinda AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23046337/chapters/55408117

[July 12th 2019, 8:03 am]

Walking into the Police Precinct as an officer for the first time was, admittedly, a huge ordeal for Logan Bright. It’d been his dream for many years to follow in his father’s footsteps, to become a detective like he was, and to finally be recognised as an officer reinforced the fact that he was one step closer to achieving that goal. After he had signed in and introduced himself to the captain, Logan made his way down to the equipment room to officially receive his gun and badge, as well as the other necessary items he needed. However, as he turned around to leave the room, he was stopped by a group of 5 or so detectives, each one giving him a look up and down as if they were deciding for themselves whether or not he should be employed there.

“Well fellas, look at what we’ve got here. Fresh meat. I wonder how long this one will last.” The detectives began to laugh, making Logan feel as if he had to adjust his appearance with his posture straightening and his hands clasping together behind his back.

“Say, rookie, what’s your name?” Logan looked the man who spoke in the eye as he replied, trying to hide the proud smile threatening to form on his lips.

“Bright. Officer Logan Bright.” It was then that the laughter faded, the detectives glancing between each other as if trying to find an explanation. Only a few seconds passed before one of the detectives at the back of the group stepped forward with a look of disbelief in his eyes and hesitantly placed a hand on Logan’s shoulder.

“Logan… You’re Daniel’s son, aren’t you?” Logan nodded and a smile broke out onto the man’s face as he pulled the young officer in for a hug.

“I’m Clark, Clark Phillips, I was your father’s partner. He used to tell me so much about you. You were so little the last time I saw you.”

“You knew my father?” Logan gently hugged back before pulling away and adjusting his glasses, a small action that caused Clark to chuckle.

“I did, yes. You’re so much like him, you know?”

“No I- I didn’t know that.” Before Clark could respond, Logan’s radio crackled and a voice came through, calling Logan to go and begin his first patrol. With a quick goodbye to Clark and the rest of the Detectives, Logan was on his way, a small smile resting on his face for the rest of the day.

[March 3rd 2020, 12:38 pm]  

Logan had finally gotten back to the precinct after a busy morning on patrol. He’d been an officer there for a little under eight months and Logan had enjoyed every minute of it. And although he enjoyed structure and schedules, the monotony was starting to become just a little tedious. He’d become an officer to give back to the community, but deep down he knew he was far more focused on finding the man that destroyed his family. So Logan decided he’d talk to Clark and see if he could take a look at his father’s murder file, a small favour he could pay back one day. Luckily, Clark was kind enough to sneak out a few case files for Logan to read through when he wasn’t out on patrol.

Clark had given him the files a week ago and Logan still hadn’t read a single one. He’d had plenty of time to go through them, his patrols had been quiet and he didn’t have anything to do during his breaks, so why hadn’t he read the files yet? If he was honest, he was scared. He was scared that when he’d open up those case files that all the pain and hurt that he felt would come flooding back. He was scared of finding out what happened to his father. He was scared that he’d never find the killer.

Logan was afraid.

He’d spent his whole life hoping that his father would walk back through his door, that he’d finally come home after so long and rebuild a relationship that was once lost. So he was afraid of those hopes being shattered if he opened the files. Logan was tempted to give them back, to keep pretending that someday his father would return. But he’d made a promise to his mother before she died that he’d find the murderer, and Logan Bright has never broken a promise. So this was where he was now, sitting at a spare empty desk, his father’s files in front of him, and a shaky hand hovering above the manila folders; and with great hesitancy, he opened them.

[November 29th 1997, 11:54 pm]

Detective Daniel Bright pulled into the car park opposite the abandoned factory. He’d recently been investigating a case regarding one of the biggest drug dealers in all of Florida and had followed a lead to where he was currently sitting, watching and waiting for any movement at all. He was so close to finally cracking open this case if he could get even just a photo of the transaction and the parties involved.

Before he knew it, a black SUV pulled up across the road, multiple men with guns exiting the car. Daniel picked up the camera sitting on the seat next to him and started taking pictures of the men, but as he did so his blood ran cold. Emerging from the other side of the car was a young couple with guns to their heads. Any wishes Daniel had to stay in the warmth of his car and gather intel were thrown out the window, he knew more men were bound to arrive with even more guns than the last car full. So without a second thought, Daniel got out of the car, his fingers gripped tightly around his gun and made his way over to the factory, looking for another way in.

Slipping through an open window in the back of the factory, Daniel snuck along the inside of the wall, going from stacks of crates to shipping containers to find a better vantage point. Eventually, he found the perfect spot to sit and hide where he could see the couple, kneeling on the ground hand in hand. Daniel sat in silence watching and waiting until finally, the factory doors opened and another group of men walked in. As the second group got closer, one of the men from the first stepped forward. Daniel shuffled closer in an attempt to hear what was being said.

“Y’all can stop right there, that’s close enough. Where’s the boss?”

“He’s taking care of some other business real quick, he’ll be here any second now.”

Daniel carefully began to move more to the right to try and get a better look at some of the men from the second group of men when he felt cool metal touch the back of his head. Slowly, Daniel put down his gun and stood up, being sure to let whoever as behind him that he didn’t want any trouble. As he turned around the gun that was previously on the back of his head moved to his forehead, the safety clicking off as he did so.

“I’m sorry Daniel, I didn’t want to have to do this. I’m sure you understand.”

[March 3rd 2020, 10:23 pm]

Logan’s apartment that night was eerily quiet. All the lights were turned off except the television in the living room, a soft blue glow being cast across all the furniture. A plate with half-eaten dinner was left on the small dining table and all the pots and utensils used were left piled in the sink.

Quiet sobs could be heard coming from Logan’s bedroom. There, lying curled up in the fetal position under his duvet was Logan, dressed in a baggy shirt and sweatpants with tear tracks down his face. After he’d read his father’s murder files he’d gone straight back to work and kept busy for the rest of the day. Logan didn’t want to go home that night and be alone with his thoughts. He knew that the walls he’d built all those years ago would come tumbling down if he was left by himself, and that’s exactly what happened.

For 23 years Logan truly believed his father might have come home and in a heartbeat that small slither of hope he had was snatched away. That night Logan finally came to a realisation that was a long time coming, it was just something he didn’t want to admit. He was really, truly, alone. Logan doesn’t have any friends, it’s just a rule of his. He’s worried that if he lets people get too close to him that he’ll lose them. So he keeps everyone at a safe distance, but after being alone for so long, it began to take a toll on him.

Logan had moved from his position on his bed so that he was sitting in the corner of his room, staring at the adjacent wall with his legs pulled up to his chest. The tears had finally stopped, but the deep feelings of brokenness and emptiness inside of him were still there, haunting him. He wanted his Mom back. He wanted his Dad back. He wanted his family back. He wanted to fall asleep and wake up the next morning to the smell of his mother’s blueberry pancakes and the sound of his father complaining about the news. Logan just wanted to feel loved again.

Wiping his face with the back of his hands, Logan pushed himself up off the floor and slowly made his way to the bathroom, turning on the tap and splashing his face with cold water before grabbing his glasses. Once he’d dried himself off Logan walked out to the kitchen, turning on a light and rinsing off the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher and turning it on. The sound of the dishwasher beginning its cycle was more than welcome in the silent apartment, the feeling of loneliness that’d been hanging over Logan’s head slowly disappearing. As he wandered into the living room Logan picked up the large knitted blanket that he kept on the back of his sofa and wrapped it around himself before he sat down, grabbing the television remote and scrolling through Netflix until he found a documentary on space he hadn’t yet watched.

~*~

“Look Lo, a shooting star! Make a wish!” Logan looked up at his mother from her lap, she had her eyes closed and a soft smile on her lips.

“Mommy, what’s a shooting star?” Sarah opened her eyes and admired the young boy in her arms. Logan smiled as she turned him around, resting his head on her chest.

“They’re little pieces of rock that fly through the sky called meteors.” Daniel wrapped his arms around his wife’s shoulders and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek as he explained what shooting stars were to his son.

“Wow...” Logan tried to stifle a tired yawn by pressing his face further into his mother’s shirt, to no avail. His parents laughed quietly as Daniel carefully tried to pick Logan up so that Sarah could stand up. Once she had, the pair walked down the hallway to Logan’s room and tucked him into bed, both of them sitting on either side of the bed.

“Why doesn’t Mommy sing you a song to help you sleep, huh?” Sarah smiled at Daniel and leant down to press a kiss to Logan’s forehead before beginning to softly sing.

“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are.” Logan closed his eyes as his father joined in, the blanket around him being tucked in ever so gently.

“Anything your heart desires will come to you… If your heart is in your dream...” Logan slowly drifted off to sleep, the sound of his parents quietly singing to him comforting him.

~*~

Logan placed the television remote on the coffee table in front of him along with his glasses and pulled the blanket tighter around him, making himself comfortable lying on the sofa and closing his eyes, a sweet melody escaping his lips.

“No request is too extreme… When you wish upon a star, as dreamers do."

[atamascolily]

The cover of Junior Jedi Knights #5: Vader's Fortress by Rebecca Moesta features Anakin and Artoo dodging blaster fire while Tahiri does a bad-ass leap and Darth Vader looms in the background. So I guess this next field trip is to wherever the hell Vader's fortress is located... and given that this book was published in 1997, I'm pretty sure it isn't Mustafar.

Readers, I squealed with delight when I realized they were actually going to Bast Castle on Vjun.

[cut for length and discussion of Dark Empire]

Vjun's first appearance was in Dark Empire, but it's the main setting for Sean Stewart's Clone War-era novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004), which happens to be one of the best Legends books ever. Period. Drop everything and go read it now. Stewart's Vjun is a Dark side Gothic horror wonderland full of crumbling castles, crazed nobility, and flesh-eating moss. I love it, and you will, too.

Vjun also appears in various video games, with no less than Kyle Katarn describing it as "a big, dead, important rock". High praise, indeed.

Oh, and if you're curious, Wookiepeedia says Vjun is "pronounced as "VAH-JUHN" in Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, but in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, it is pronounced as "VUHN"".... so anything goes, really.

Anyway, so having dealt with his heritage by going to Dagobah in the last book, the logical next step is for Anakin to actually go and visit Vader's castle in person. You know, exposure therapy. Right?

Okay, let's see what the text says.

Anakin, Tahiri and Uldir are hanging out on the landing pad on Yavin IV waiting for Tionne to show up. Tahiri loves Tionne so much, she doesn't mind waiting around, and she wishes she could have gone with Tionne on this latest trip to Borgo Prime and I just... I love their relationship, okay?

Tionne has a new ship - the Lore Seeker! Anakin uses the Force to determine it's in great shape despite its odd appearance. (It has sails to harness solar wind, lol!)

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” the Jedi instructor said with a smile. “I thought so, too. But because the ship was so old, I was able to buy it from a Randoni trader for a song.”

“How much did you really pay?” Uldir asked.

Tionne shrugged.

“Just a song. Really. While I was looking for Jedi legends, I came across an ancient song that told about the very firstRan - doni merchants and the vaults where they hid their wealth. The trader was so interested that she offered me the Lore Seeker in exchange for the song. Now come help me unload my cargo, and I’ll show you some of my other treasures.”

DID I MENTION I LOVE HER???

Also, Tionne got some other stuff, too:

“You may carry this Twi’lek story-chain, Tahiri-each link tells a different part of a story. Please be very careful with it. Uldir, here is a holodisk. It holds a recording of some very old Jedi songs. Anakin, would you please carry this scroll? I’ll take the tapestry.”’

AHHHHHH, I LOVE THIS.

But Tionne found out something else important "in an old fortress on a planet called Vjun" and this is where I started SCREAMING because I know exactly where this is going and this is such a great set-up - especially since none of the kids have a clue.

Of course, they want to go, and Tionne's trying to be diplomatic about it.

“Does anyone live in the fortress?” Anakin asked.

Tionne shook her head.

“Not anymore.”

“Well, if it’s really that important, don’t you think you ought to go find it?” Tahiri said. “And don’t forget that you promised to take me with you this time.”

“I’d like to go along, too,” Anakin added.

“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” Uldir said.

Tionne frowned.

“I’m not sure Master Skywalker will approve. It could be a bit dangerous."

LOLOLOLOL, since when has that ever stopped anybody in this series?? But according to Tionne, the danger isn't Sith ghosts or anything like that - it's other people trying to snag a certain treasure first.

And what is this special object? the kids want to know.

Tionne’s face lit with a wondering smile, and she gave a happy sigh.

“It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber!”

ITS A MACGUFFIN! Also, given all of Vader’s issues with Obi-wan, the fact that he kept his old master’s lightsaber in his hidden Gothic Drama Castle is... something. But I digress.

Cut to Luke, being Luke.

Luke Skywalker, dressed in a comfortable black flightsuit, sat on the stone floor in the room where he meditated and did his office work. At the moment, though, Luke was not meditating. Before him in the center of the room stood his barrel-shaped blue and white droid, ArtooDetoo. It was time for Artoo’s routine cleaning. Anakin’s older sister Jaina often helped Luke with this chore, but the Jedi Master didn’t mind doing it himself. He actually found it relaxing. With his tools neatly laid out on the floor and fresh packets of lubricant beside him, Master Skywalker opened ArtooDetoo’s front panels and got to work.

After checking the droid’s numerous electrical connections, Luke added a few gadgets and upgrades Jaina had scrounged up for Artoo: a retractable mirror attachment, a power booster for the comm unit, and a new focusing lens for the hologram projector.

I'm sure NONE of these upgrades will come in handy later on in the book. Nope. Nope. Nope. Move along, nothing to see here, just a boy and his bro-bot.

Ikrit is hanging out on top of Artoo's head during all of this, when there's a knock at the door. Luke asks him to open the door and Ikrit DOES and I don't know why I find this so adorable, but I totally do. More of this, please.

Luke looked up from the packet of slippery lubricant he held in his hand, then smiled when he saw who his visitors were.

“Come in,” he said, “all of you.”

His words seemed to open an invisible dam, because people and noises instantly flooded into his quiet room. Luke laughed as everyone tried to talk to him at once.

“Master Skywalker, I have wonderful news,” Tionne said. “You’ll never guess in a million years,” Tahiri added.

“Can I go with them?” Anakin asked.

“Yeah, me too!” Uldir said.

News of Obi-wan's lightsaber makes Luke have all kinds of Feels (and a handy flashback for those who have forgotten the movies). Luke's like, Oh, yeah, Bast Castle, I've been there before back in Dark Empire when things got weird, and Anakin FREAKS OUT. Tionne's like, huh, maybe that's why my contact said only family had a right to claim the lightsaber then.

Tionne wants Luke to come with her, but Luke is meeting with Leia for pressing NR business, so Anakin volunteers to go as the family rep. I love that Luke looks at Ikrit first, and only says okay when Ikrit nods. Of course Uldir wants to come too, and Luke is about to say no, but Tionne's like "he's just going to stow away, so you might as well and the cargo hold on my ship is too small for him plus our stuff" so Luke caves. DID I MENTION HE'S A SOFTIE?? And with Artoo and Ikrit to help, Luke feels good about it, but again, he insists on the parental permission first.

[Oh, no, I just realized that Luke might not want to go back to Vjun after all the traumatic shit that went down in Dark Empire, and that's ALSO horrifying to contemplate. Like, it's not dangerous anymore, so he's okay with sending Anakin there with supervision, but he might not be eager to re-visit it? MY HEART.]

We skip that scene, though, and jump immediately to everyone in the Lore Seeker, and Tionne teaches them about lightsabers. Nomi Sunrider is namedropped (queen!) but overall lightsabers are reified, and I don't know how I feel about that tbh, even though they are admittedly SUPER COOL LASER SWORDS BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

Fortunately, Ikrit's there to say "Not All Jedi," since I am not, which catches Tionne off guard, since she didn't know he was a Jedi master. Tionne is apologetic about treating Ikrit like a pet, but Uldir continues to be a jerk, especially when Ikrit starts sharing his own personal trauma. And then Ikrit declaims about Anakin and Tahiri's powers, but graciously includes Uldir once Uldir pokes him about it.

The skies of Vjun are stormy, so it's a bumpy ride down. They land outside the castle instead of on the landing pad at the top because the weather is so awful. Anakin did his homework, and explains the situation (Dark Empire recap!):

“Did Uncle Luke tell you anything about the fortress itself?” Anakin asked.

“I don’t know much about it.”

“Well, I found out as much as I could before we left. Apparently Vader built Bast Castle as one of his private strongholds; he was a powerful man. After both he and Emperor Palpatine died, some of the Emperor’s followers brought a copy of Palpatine’s body here-a clone. This second Emperor was defeated too. Since then, the fortress has been abandoned, as far as we know.”

“I still don’t get it,” Uldir said to Anakin. “Why would your grandfather choose to build in such a desolate place?”

Oh, you sweet summer child.

They spy another shuttle, and Tahiri is forced to wear shoes again so they can climb up in the rain. It's basically the Stairs of Minas Morgul from LOTR, only the rain is turning to sleet. Artoo hates stairs and Ikrit rescues him when he falls off - but he can hack the door open, so that's good. The hall has a giant, larger-than-life statue of Darth Vader toppled over on the floor, because... drama.

Then the laser fire starts, and everybody ducks for cover. Artoo uses his newly-installed reviewed mirror to deflect the laster bolts, so they can disarm the automatic security system. Tionne steps in with her lightsaber when Artoo gets shot, and she and Ikrit start tossing random objects to block them while the kids race for the control panels and it's epic. The statue explodes and Artoo manages to hack the system right before he powers down.

Uldir clapped one hand down on Anakin’s shoulder. “Not half bad for a kid,” he said.

Quiet, you condescending fuck. Yes, I know, he's like 14, but he's still obnoxious as hell here.

Anyway, they repair Artoo, except he can't climb any more stairs (I'm so confused how he did it earlier, but okay), and they debate whether to split the party. The smart answer is always "No," but they eventually do anyway, because plot. Tahiri's just happy not to wear shoes. You'll be happy to know that the bathrooms still work. This whole thing feels like an RPG dungeon crawl and I'm HERE FOR IT.

Tahiri notices the floor's texture shifts and that turns out to be a clue and I LOVE THIS. There's a secret pit trap full of spkes, and then suddenly they're attacked by monsters. But eventually, the others find them and deduce that they're holograms. Anakin IDs himself to a door and it opens into a secret chamber... and then this happens:

At the same moment, a puff of smoke erupted in the doorway, and a dark-haired man with a neat beard, tawny eyes, and a deep purple cloak stood before them. The man threw back his head and laughed, although Anakin couldn’t see what was so funny.

“The powerful Mage of Exis Station thanks you,” he said. “I would never have found the lightsaber without your help.” He snatched the weapon from Tionne’s hand. “But I’ll take it now.”

Tahiri starts pestering this guy with questions and he is startled enough to admit he's the Mighty Orloc. Tahiri realizes he's a stage magician, but even so, he manages to open a trapdoor, sending Tionne and Ikrit elsewhere. The kids rush him, but there's smoke and when it clears, Orloc has vanished.

Ikrit and Tionne are fine, and they start looking to rejoin the kids, who are searching for them and/or Orloc. Artoo and Uldir take a tunnel while Tahiri and Anakin go up stairs. Everyone keeps tossing the stale Imperial ration bars they picked up earlier to test for traps, and the RP gamer  in me approves.

“What’s this?” Tahiri asked, pointing to a raised platform that held a huge tube made of black plasteel. Wires and hoses snaked out from the cylinder in all directions. She ran a hand along its smooth side and found some sort of control panel.

“This looks like the tubes they use to bury dead people in space,” Anakin said.

It's actually Vader's bedroom! They find a little hidden hologram of a young Luke and I just... can't even...

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The little hologram of a young Luke Skywalker turned in a slow circle, so that they could see it from every angle.

...Anakin felt a lump form in his throat. “My mom keeps holograms of me and Jacen and Jaina on her desk at work, and Dad has one of me and the twins in the Millennium Falcon. I think Darth Vader was just doing the same thing.”

“So maybe he wasn’t all bad,” Tahiri said in a soft voice.

Anakin starts to feel better about coming to Bast Castle, which is good, because he has Deep-Seated Issues that need to be resolved.

Meanwhile, Uldir sees the lightsaber as a magical talisman that will help him become a Jedi. He abandons Artoo and confronts Orloc, who draws the blade on him. Orloc offers to teach Uldir his powers if he'll come with him. Orloc's looking for the Holocron in Vader's private quarters, and Uldir is tempted, but ultimately turns him down because he realizes Orloc is a fraud.

Anakin and Tahiri find Orloc and Uldir and Tahiri slides down a pole to confront him. Orloc attacks her with the lightsaber. Tionne and Ikrit show up, and Artoo uses a high-frequency blast to distract Orloc long enough for Ikrit to yank the lightsaber with the Force. Orloc disappears, and Uldir mentions the Holocron in Vader's private quarters. So Anakin and Tahiri take them back there.

Tionne's like, let's GTFO, but Uldir suggests they test it, which is a mistake, but Tionne agrees. OF COURSE Orloc comes back and snags it. They chase Orloc through the castle, and there's a lot of trap door shenanigans, but ultimately Artoo helps save the day and they get the holocron back, even though Orloc conveniently escapes.

(Maybe I've been watching too much Scooby-Doo, but I honestly expected Orloc to say "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your talking [lagomorph]!" ...maybe in the next book?)

Ikrit suggests they use the ships in the hangar to fly down to the Lore Seeker instead of walking. Anakin suggests Ikrit keeps the ship, since he seems to enjoy piloting, and I don't know how Ikrit is piloting this thing since he's a lagomorph, but it makes him happy, and they all make it back to Yavin in two ships without incident, which means it's time for the inspirational moral!

“It feels good to be back,” he said with a sigh. Tahiri giggled. “That was certainly more of an adventure than I had bargained for.”

Tionne looked at her two students.

“Are you sorry you came with me?”

Anakin shook his head.

“The trip was worth making. I learned some interesting things about Darth Vader.”

“I learned to trust the Force and not just my eyes and ears,” Tahiri said.

“And we did find a lightsaber and a Holocron,” Anakin said.

“And a new ship for Ikrit,” Tahiri added. “So I think we’re glad we came along, but it may be a while before we go looking for adventures again.”

HAHAHAHA, right, kids. You just keep thinking that.

Ikrit names his ship the Sunrider after Nomi Sunrider, because he, too, stans a legend. Anakin and Tahiri ask if they can take the turbolift up to the Great Temple when Luke starts walking up the outside stairs, and Luke has NO IDEA WHY THEY HATE STAIRS, and... on that note, the book ends, with Luke being VERY confused. [I like that Moesta remembers the Great Temple has outside stairs, but... THE LAYOUT STILL MAKES NO SENSE!!!]

So, I don't know how to feel about this book. PROS: I love the character details with Luke, Ikrit, Tionne and Tahiri, and I like how all of the adults continue to be responsible while still allowing opportunities for the children to be competent and show initiative. It's great to see Bast Castle, and the whole thing has the feel of a classic RPG dungeon crawl. Yay for Artoo saving the day ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, lol.

CONS: Uldir is annoying, and I wish he'd stop being such a jerk. None of the characters have ever played RPGs and it shows in their lack of genre-savvy. And I guess we'll see Orloc again in the next book, because... it feels like there wasn't much resolution of that particular plot in this book... no resolution to who Orloc actually is, or what or why. I feel like this book is part one of a two-episode plot, and I wasn't expecting that, but okay.

It's unclear if Obi-wan's lightsaber has any further plot significance or if it's just a macguffin. Ditto the holocron. But given the next book is Kenobi's Blade, I suspect Orloc's going to try and snag both, and Uldir is going to have a Not-So-Secret Test of Character about it. (To be fair, he passed the one in this book, so he's not all bad, but he's so obnoxious, it's challenging for me to give him credit where it's due.)

This book also kinda sorta falls into the "Jedi lightsaber fetish" trope, which I hate. Don't get me wrong, I love the laser swords and they are freaking awesome, but I hate how everybody latches onto "Jedi = laser sword" business as a symbol of identity. I know, I know, Star Wars is really ambivalent about whether the Jedi are Space!Samurai or Space!Monks, and I just... lean more towards the latter than the former, I guess?? But like I said, the lightsaber is more of a macguffin here, and Ikrit at least lampshades the issue a little bit, so I feel better about it.  

Also, it just occurred to me it's unclear whether Tahiri hates shoes, sand, or stairs more, lol.