The walls of the service tunnels pressed in tightly, as if the Temple endeavored to suffocate him. Used to the spacious walkways and cavernous passages of the Jedi Temple's main gallery, where he had lived and trained for so much of his life, Jerek found the narrow tunnels to be an alien view of the place the youth had come to call home. Though it was certainly part of the Temple, the maze of passages were unfamiliar to the boy, and he paused cautiously at every intersection, uncertain of the way forward.
Thus far he had been lucky in avoiding any more Clone Troopers, or the vicious creatures that had killed Vul and threatened an embattled Beck. But a Jedi could not survive on blind luck alone.
Breathing deeply, the boy quieted his mind. He did not reach out to probe his surroundings, this time Jerek did not know what he was searching for. Instead, the padawan simply listened, blocking out the outside world to hear the voice that whispered in his thought sometimes, a wise voice that knew the ways of the universe. If Jerek had the skill to confer with the Force like the Council Masters, there were a great deal many questions he would ask it. Such as the reason for the Clones attack, why so many Jedi were dying, what would happen to them, would he survive?
Instead, he asked the only question that mattered. How do I find my way?
Jerek inhaled, sensing the sweet smell of fresh water. His brow creased as he frowned, but the boy did not open his eyes. He sat still, inhaling the smell of the water, hearing it cascading gently, like a waterfall. Like thousands of waterfalls. The sound permeated his body, filling him as the scent filled his nostrils. A voice was speaking above the sound of his breathing, the deep bass of the old, Togruta teaching master, intoning dryly about the merits of proper meditation breathing. Where Jerek may have dismissed the old Jedi's lecture before as boring, now he listened to the words with pinpoint focus.
"Let your thoughts flow out of you like breath," Ulthas, the Togruta master, advised his pupils. Jerek listened with the rest of the class, taking heed of the wizened Jedi's words. His breathing slowed to deep, full breaths, each one a portal to the world around him. When he exhaled, the boy felt himself receding, disconnecting from the body he inhabited. His disembodied form looked on at the blond-haired youth before him, his clothes peppered with singe marks, his hair wild and bruises already starting to appear on his skin.
The faint voice of Ulthas continued. "Don't listen to your mind, listen to your feelings," it said, and Jerek did just that. The boy before him inhaled, and suddenly Jerek was flooded with new information. Like a creature of the earth, the scents around him told a tale, and he knew what to do. His body moved, towards the scent he had found, beyond the rotting flesh and burning ozone, his nose had picked up the smell that told him exactly where to go.
"Trust your instincts." The voice was barely a whisper now. The boy pushed forward, moving steadily towards the source, drawing a breath when the trail took a turn. There were many scents invading the padawan's sense of smell. Rotting flesh, sweat, fervor, arrogance, hunger. He ignored all of these, avoiding their presence, focusing instead on the one emotion that could only signify the remaining Jedi, the common experience they all felt now. Like hunted animals, the Jedi stank distinctly of prey. Knowing it would lead him to the surviving forces, where he had a better chance, Jerek followed the smell of prey.
Soon, the boy could go no further. His way was blocked by walls on all sides, and the route back was opposite to his course. Jerek felt the walls, searching for some way through, some hidden lever or handle that would clear the path before him. His search was to no avail, the boy found nothing useful. Desperate, he unclipped the silver cylinder attached to his waist, igniting the emerald blade once more. The metal walls curled back in response to the heat as he inserted the tip, and the rush of air from beyond told Jerek that his mark had been true. When he had finished cutting a hole big enough to crawl through, the boy deactivated the lightsaber and climbed through.
No Clone Troopers or Vornskr inhabited these passages, he could tell. Breaking into a sprint, Jerek rushed ahead, following his instincts toward the surviving Jedi just ahead.