No one else on the Ghost crew stayed up for very long. Hera only remained awake long enough to dock on a Rebel cruiser once the escort jumped out of hyperspace before she went to sleep as well. Ezra was awake for the landing, though, and he took the opportunity to explore.

One thing Ezra immediately appreciated was that this ship had more life to it than the Star Destroyers ever had. Not everything was black and white here, and there was some variety to the people on board. There was no set uniform as far as he could tell, and not everyone was human either. He liked it already.

Even cooler: people knew him! He would pass someone in the hallway and some of them would either notice him or his lightsaber and strike up a conversation. Quite a few of them commented on how young he was, but they usually meant well. They told him they thought it was cool that he was a part of the Rebellion as a kid, most people were adults when they joined. Ezra decided not to tell them the only reason he had met the other rebels was because he didn't have anywhere else to go.

After about half an hour, he had a pretty good grasp of the ship. It was a lot less cramped than the Ghost was, if not a little less cozy. Ezra was about to head back to get some shut-eye when turned the corner to see Master Skywalker walking down a hall. He planned to turn around and maybe go a different way. He didn't need to bother the Jedi if he didn't have to. Master Skywalker was probably going to bed too.

The Jedi Knight had different plans. He must have sensed Ezra behind him because he turned around, a good-natured smile on his face. "Sneaking around, are we?"

"I was just heading back to the Ghost, I didn't mean to bother you...sir," Ezra explained, coming out from behind the corner. No use in hiding now.

"It's all right, Ezra," Anakin laughed, "I was teasing. I'm sorry. What do you think of the cruiser?"

Shrugging, Ezra walked up to the Jedi to make conversation. "Better than a Star Destroyer. I dunno, I've never been on big ships like this that much."

Right, right. Anakin had to remember that this was a kid, and not like the Younglings or Padawans at the Temple. They didn't get out as much as he had. "Captain Syndulla mentioned you grew up on Lothal. I'm guessing you didn't get the chance to travel much."

He laughed nervously, rubbing his arm. "Not really. I had never left Lothal until I met the others."

"There's a first time for everything," conceded the Fulcrum, his gaze drifting down to Ezra's belt. "For example, how long ago did you construct that lightsaber?"

"This?" Ezra pulled it off its clip, looking down at it. "About a month ago. I'm not very good with it yet."

"You've managed to hold your own against the Grand Inquisitor," he reminded him. "From what your captain told me, you and Kanan defeated him before we got to you."

Brushing his hand against two scars on his cheek, he admitted, "It was mostly Kanan, actually. I just...well, it was mostly Kanan."

Anakin got the idea. He meant to talk to Kanan about it earlier, but the conversation had gone another way. "Still, the Grand Inquisitor never killed you. That says something about how much you've learned. Either that or the Inquisitor wasn't as skilled as I thought he was."

"I'm pretty sure it was me," laughed Ezra, although the second option amused him.

"May I?" Anakin asked, referring to the lightsaber. Ezra handed it over to him, and Anakin brushed his thumb over the saber-blaster. He had wondered why the weapon had a handle the way it did, but upon further inspection it made sense. "Did you come up with the built-in blaster?"

The Jedi Knight saw his chest swell with pride. "Well, I didn't have a blaster for a long time. I figured I might as well."

It wasn't half bad, in Anakin's opinion, especially for a fifteen-year-old. "It's resourceful. I suppose you would have to be if you've lived on Lothal by yourself for so long." He thought for a moment longer before asking, confused, "Where did you find your crystal? I didn't know Lothal had any kyber crystal concentrations."

"Well, I didn't find it," he confessed as Anakin turned the weapon over. "Kanan and I visited an old Jedi Temple, and after talking with someone I was...given it, I think."

"Someone?"

"Well, all I know is they had a deep voice and that they knew a lot about Jedi." Ezra saw Anakin's face contort as he handed the lightsaber back. "Kanan said Master Yoda was the one to talk to him, and he thinks he gave me the crystal too."

Anakin didn't know why Yoda was getting involved. He had walked away from the Order and denied the Jedi Way as he left. If he was choosing to stand by that decision then he had released his right to advise future Jedi or hand out crystals. Anakin would have asked more, but he didn't know for certain what had happened In the end, he only told him, "I'm glad you received a crystal then. If you found it in a Jedi temple then I believe it was for a reason."

Having forgotten about the mysterious voice he had spoken to that day, Ezra asked, "When did Padawans usually get their lightsaber crystals, back during the Clone War?"

Oh, man, that was a while ago. "It depended on the Padawan, but usually around ten years old."

"Ten?!?"

"Don't worry, Ezra, it's not your fault. You only started training a few months ago."

"When did they used to start training?"

"Basic training in the Force usually started when Younglings turned five."

"FIVE???"

Anakin didn't mean to laugh but Ezra's face was just too good. The poor kid had no idea what the Jedi culture used to be like. Probably for the better, but it was really funny at the moment.

"Why didn't Kanan tell me any of this?"

"He probably didn't want to make you feel like you needed to rush your training," Anakin told him, inviting him into a room adjacent to the hallway. This conversation was probably going to go on for a while and they were blocking the walkway. "A short training is better than a rushed one. You need to realize, though, not all of the memories about the Order were good ones, especially with what happened during the Jedi Purge. I doubt it's easy for Kanan to remember."

"I thought he liked the Jedi Order," Ezra objected, sitting down on a bench along the wall.

Sitting opposite him, Anakin tried to explain. "Except it's gone now. For all the Rebellion knows, the only three Jedi left are on this cruiser. It's hard to remember something you've lost. It's not your fault for being curious, but it's not Kanan's fault for not wanting to answer either."

Well, that made sense. It was the same reason Ezra didn't always want to talk about his parents. Still, if Master Skywalker was willing to answer..."What was it like being a Padawan in the Order?"

He knew this question would probably come, along with many others. Ezra was a lot like Kanan when he was a kid: very inquisitive and energetic. If Ahsoka could learn to help Kanan though, so could Anakin. "Nearly every Jedi started as a Youngling. They were not assigned to a teacher, but many Masters and Knights would give lessons to classes of Younglings."

"How old were they?"

"They started teaching them when they were five years old, as I said earlier, but they were brought to the temple younger than that. Some Younglings weren't a year old when they arrived at the temple."

"Why so young?" Ezra asked, leaning forward on his knees. "What about their parents, their homes?"

He's attached to them, Anakin realized, recognizing the concern in his voice. He made a mental note as he answered. "Not many people understood the Force, but there were bounty hunters and pirates who would kidnap Force-sensitive Younglings and sell them for money. The Jedi Order tried to get to Younglings before that happened, but that meant taking them away from their homes. One of the reasons they did this so early was that as they got older, they wouldn't remember as much about their families. You can't miss what you never realize you had."

"But that's so mean to the kids," he objected, looking down. "Don't they miss having a family?"

Anakin nodded, not denying that the logic behind this decision was twisted. "Those who were old enough to, yes. Most of them forgot, though. The Order became a much larger family, in a way. Most Jedi lived in the Coruscant temple their whole lives. It's similar to how the Ghost crew became your family. When you live that long with the same people, they become your home."

He still thought it was crazy to take kids away from their parents, but Ezra saw his point. He had only known Kanan and the others for a few months but they took care of each other as if they had been together their whole lives. Even Chopper could get a little sentimental.

"From then on, Younglings were taught how to use the Force. They learned how to meditate and move things with their mind, as well as sense other people around them. When their teachers believed they were ready, groups of Younglings would be sent to the ice planet Illum to seek out a kyber crystal. If they succeeded, they were allowed to build a lightsaber and start training with it."

"And then they became a Padawan?"

"Not yet," Anakin answered, grinning at his eagerness. "They underwent more training, eventually going through the Padawan Trials. It was a series of tests meant to determine if a Youngling was ready to study under a graduated Jedi Knight or Master," he explained, right as Ezra opened his mouth to ask what the Trials were. "If they passed the Trials, they waited until they were either chosen by or assigned to a Jedi. Once that happens, they become a Padawan and it was up to their master to train them to be a Knight. Padawans could be chosen when they were anywhere from ten to sixteen years old, depending on the circumstances. Their training would usually finish around age twenty."

"When did they know a Padawan was ready to be a Knight?"

"They underwent another series of tests, the Trials of Knighthood. If they passed, they were knighted and then allowed to take on an apprentice of their own if they wanted."

"Just like that?"

"Sometimes," he grinned, having been one of those cases. "Again, it was a case-by-case basis. No two Jedi went through the same thing."

"And what about Masters? How did that happen?"

That was much more complicated, but Anakin did his best to answer anyway. "Most Knights started by taking on a Padawan to teach. By showing that they were a good teacher and wise in the Force, they could be considered to sit on the Jedi Council and earn the rank of Master. Others tried to specialize in a specific area of the Force and earned the rank in their own right. If the Council felt they had mastered their chosen aspect, they could grant the rank that way as well."

"Did you ever become a Master?"

Anakin laughed, mostly at his past self. "No, I wasn't even close. I never taught a Padawan to Knighthood, and because of the Clone War, I didn't even try to master part of the Force. Between that and how young I was, I was a long way off from that rank."

That was news to Ezra. "But Kanan called you 'Master Skywalker'."

"Padawans and Younglings referred to both Knights and Masters as 'Master' out of respect," he explained, shaking his head. "Old habits die hard, I guess. Kanan never went through the Trials of Knighthood, but he's old enough that probably would have by now. If there was a Jedi Master in the Rebellion, I would have suggested that he be knighted for tradition's sake. Surviving this long definitely is enough to substitute for the Trials."

"But you can't do that?"

This was something Anakin refused to disrupt. He wanted to be a friend to the other Jedi, but he was not his master and he was not a Master, so he did not have the authority to make that decision. He also didn't want to stand in Depa Billaba's place. "Not me. I hope we can find a survivor of the Order with the right to do so, but I won't make that decision."

In all honesty, Anakin knew there was a Jedi Master who could do what Ezra wanted. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin's master and closest friend, was still alive and in hiding, but he was training not one but two Padawans of his own. He didn't dare speak for Obi-Wan or promise that he would do anything. At any rate, he wasn't officially in the Rebellion and the Empire needed to continue believing he was dead for the time being. As far as anyone could know, the only Jedi alive were Anakin, Kanan, and Ezra.

"You should get some sleep," advised Anakin. "You've had a long day, and I wouldn't be surprised if Rebel leadership starts giving your crew missions first thing tomorrow."

"Why so soon?" Ezra asked, but standing and stretching as Anakin opened the door for him. "We just got here!"

"The Empire won't wait for you to recover," reminded Anakin. "Between missions and your training with Kanan, you'll probably be kept busy for quite a while."

Anakin was heading to the command center to report to leadership, but Ezra walked with him for a little bit. "The Inquisitor is dead, though. Kanan killed him a few hours ago."

Not wanting to worry him with the things bearing on his mind, Anakin simply said, "Which is why training you now while we have the chance is more important than ever. There's always more to learn, Ezra."

"No kidding," he muttered, turning the corner. "Thanks, Master Skywalker!"

"Goodnight, Padawan Bridger," he returned, making the kid smile as he walked towards his ship. It was a small thing, but as a kid who had never been a part of the Jedi Order, the title probably meant a lot to him.