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Knights of the Old Republic III: Revenge of the Sith - PART VI: The True Threat

Submitted by WebMistressGina on January 3, 2006 - 6:39am.

I must beg for forgiveness. I didn't intend on leaving this hanging for nearly three months, but alas it did and I am sooooo very sorry. I really do suggest you at least skim the last part, being part five, just to catch up and get you back up to speed. Again, I am very very sorry. Things got a little bogged down with work and school and I just lost the ability to think creatively. This break let me get some stuff done, so hopefully I can get back into it. I also want to say that, so far, this will be a very long fic. The plans in my head are massive and I think that's where the fic will be, though this is the over the hump chapter if you will. Things will get moving and shaking in this part and the next, so be patient, yeah?

Hope everyone had an awesome holiday and got tons of stuff from whoever dished out the gifts. Once again, I would like to thank Star Shadow for her info on the True Sith as well as their Force powers, as well as those sites that have been used previously.

*Just a note - I am aware that Naboo wasn't colonized until 3,900BBY. However, I had already had the idea of using the planet before learning this. I have tried to make it seem as though a small number of humans lived on Naboo before the large colonization. Think of Jolee on Kashyyyk before Czerka moved in. *

STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC III

REVENGE OF THE SITH

PART VI -- THE TRUE THREAT

The true species of Sith had been glorious in the days of their reign. They had nearly the entire galaxy in their grasp until their pettiness and thirst for power overwhelmed them. But they lived. They survived and led another generation of followers, though not as powerful as they themselves. They had learned much from those Jedi that had come to their planet of Korriban and had taught them about the Force; they in turn taught them how to use the Force properly -- to gain their rightful place in the universe.

In the wake of Revan's return to known space and that of the events surrounding the Jedi exile turned Sith Lord, the true species of Sith were looking forward to regaining their strength.

And they found the perfect vehicle in a very angry young man...

The mood onboard the Ebon Hawk was that of disbelief and shock. The news Revan had blurted -- that the Jedi exile turned Sith Lord was in truth in league with the true species of Sith -- had virtually floored all those that had heard it, but none as much as Revan himself.

The former master of the Jedi Order had quickly fled into the starboard dorms, still shaking from the fight they endured on Yavin. The young man just couldn't wrap his mind around what he had seen. If he didn't know better, those were Massassi warriors that had attacked them. The Massassi had been wiped out by Exar Kun in a final bid to outrun the Republic and Jedi that had followed him to the moon. And those terantateks! Revan hadn't seen those beasts since he had been made to enter Naga Sadow's tomb on Korriban for his Sith completion test.

Revan shook his head. This wasn't good. He had been right when he said he was a fool -- he had thought Ellis was smarter than this; the Sith, for Pete's sake! He was pacing back and forth, his fists clenching and unclenching in nervousness. He hadn't recovered all the information he knew about the Sith, but he had discovered and learned much as he could during those five years he'd been away.

The Sith were remarkable creatures, able to manipulate the Force like no other being adapted to it; they had adopted magic in to the aspects of the Force - They could create Force storms that could rip the space/time continuum; they could create illusions that would seem fully real to those that saw them...

They even had the ability to rip the Force from someone, as was apparent by what Bastila and Carth told him about Vrook and Ell on Dantooine.

And in Revan's searches, he had discovered they could also wipe the mind of someone, erase their memories -- like the procedure the Jedi Council had done to him all those years ago.

He didn't dare tell everyone what he had learned because he still needed to learn more and for that, he would need the help of one Visas Marr. And that meant he would need Canderous.

The former Jedi stopped his pacing, feeling Bastila coming to his hideaway. He sent her a message, saying he needed to be alone; he needed to think. She stopped her approach, but he could still feel her hovering by the door, waiting for him to once again make an appearance. But he couldn't. Only now did he realize the danger he was bringing everyone into; Bastila was right -- he had been overly confident that the problem between him and Ellis would easily be solved and was sorely disappointed when he had seen with his own eyes that Ellis was in a place that he wouldn't be easily removed from. And it was a place Revan knew better than anyone.

For he had been in that place and had only been removed by force -- or rather betrayal.

Revan fully realized that this wouldn't be as simple as he thought it would be.

The atmosphere around the planet had only just been made habitable after the destruction it had been privy to four years ago. The planet was finally able to grow to what it had been, at least slightly. The planet had been left to die, rotting corpses lay everywhere, the surface darkened by the atrocities that happened. In a word, the planet was dead.

And this was the world that Visas Marr had returned to.

The woman, who had known the loss and tragedy that stemmed from the very planet, still wasn't prepared when she had first stepped foot on its surface; the very aura of it caused her to tremble and if it wasn't for her companion that had stood next to her, she surely would've fainted. The barren wasteland of what had been a beautiful planet lay before her and it truly did bring tears to her eyes.

It had only been a little over a year since she had arrived on her birth planet and only a few months since the planet had begun to heal from the destruction that the dark lords had brought in their wake. It was still barren and Visas felt that the planet would never be as great as it had been, not that she could really tell. The attributes of a Miraluka made it so the beauty of the world could only be felt, not seen; Visas knew destruction -- just as she had felt it from the exile.

She gave a sigh, as she stood inside the doorway of the small home she managed to refurbished -- it was moderate, with a few chairs and a bed within in the back room. She was grateful for the small amount she had gotten, but she couldn't help the sadness that would come to her when she looked out onto her world.

That past year she had spent trying to find others like herself, hoping to make the deadened world alive again -- she managed to gather a few, who were doing their best to make the world into...something. The woman realized that perhaps trying to build a beautiful world was a bit optimistic when none of her people could ever really truly see it.

The beeping of her computer console alerted her to the present and she made her way over. Accepting the call, she saw a familiar grizzled face staring back at her. 'This is a surprise,' she said, a small smile on her face. 'What do I owe the pleasure of the great Mandalore?'

The man chuckled. 'I wanted to know if you'd like some company.'

'If it's yours, of course.' She wasn't sure, but she thought there was a hint of a blush.

'Not just me,' he replied, grinning. 'Friends of mine, actually.' At her raised eyebrow, he chuckled again. 'Revan's back.'

'The prodigal knight.'

'One in the same.'

'You're happy to have him back.' She stated, the smile never leaving her face.

'Don't let that get around.' He smirked.

'So when will I have the mighty Mandalore to myself?'

The man smiled softly at her. 'I'm thinking of taking a vacation,' he replied. 'When I bring Revan there, I mean.'

'Why exactly is he coming here?' she questioned.

'To speak to you,' he said, sensing her next question. 'I don't know why, but it has to do with your time in Nihilus' clutches.'

'Clutches?' she chuckled.

He smirked. 'Listen,' he whispered. 'I need to go. I've got another call coming in, I can tell.'

'I miss you.'

'I'll be there as soon as I can.' He smiled. He leaned over to cut the transmission, when she stopped him.

'Canderous...'

He looked up at her, not needing to hear the question. She wore a blindfold over her eyes; the red and black mask she had use to wear now discarded. He often wondered what color her eyes could've been had she not been born a Miraluka, knowing that the species had no eyes to speak of. He knew she could see him, at least his form and the color of his aura.

'I do have an image to uphold...' he started.

'Please?'

He sighed, trying to look put out. 'You're making me look bad.' He said. She giggled softly. 'I love you.' He said after a moment. 'And miss you, you know that.'

Her smile grew bigger. 'I know,' she whispered. 'I just like hearing you say it.'

The Mandalorian again chuckled, before giving her a wink, and closing the connection. The young woman was again left to her thoughts and they were now focused on the former Jedi and Sith, Revan. Why was he coming to see her? Canderous said that he had wanted to talk to her about her time in the Sith, but why? Surely he wasn't clamoring to be Sith Lord again, especially when it seemed that Ellis Yoly had taken that upon himself. She didn't want to think about what this could mean for the Sith or the galaxy for that matter.

Suddenly, she wasn't looking forward to this meeting.

Dustil roamed the halls of the Ebon Hawk, familiarizing himself with the layout of the ship. A part of him also wanted to know what the appeal was to this small smuggling vessel; this was the second time his father had wanted to fly it and certainly Revan had an affinity for it. Looking around, it could see the charm the little ship had.

As he made his way down the corridor towards the garage and the port dorms, he almost collided with Mission. After her stunt in the palace on Onderon, Dustil had gone out of his way to avoid her. The two hadn't spoken since. 'Sorry bout that.' He said, backing away. 'I wasn't watching where I was going.'

The Twi'lek opened her mouth for a witty retort, but stopped, closing her mouth and nodding. 'S'okay,' she muttered. 'I should've warned you so you'd know.'

The two stood awkwardly for a moment before Dustil laughed, causing Mission to look at him in confusion. 'Are you that scared of me?' he asked.

'Scared of you?'

'You know,' he said. 'Cause I'm a 'Sith boy'. Afraid I'm going to fall to the dark side again?'

'What?' she exclaimed. 'No! I mean...'

Dustil sighed. 'Look,' he whispered. 'I know you don't have a valid reason to trust me, other than my dad is the pilot, but I'd like you to at least try to give me a chance. I'm sorry about that comment I made when we first met. I shouldn't have said that and I certainly don't want you to think that's how I felt about Twi'leks, cause I don't.'

Mission giggled, amused by his ramblings on how he respected all species of life and was quite fond of Twi'leks. 'Okay, okay,' she laughed. 'I'll let you off the hook. But only if you'll accept my apology for calling you a bunch of names, which may or may not have been said to your face.'

The young man chuckled. 'I guess I'll have to, with that kind of apology.' The two shared another laugh before sobering.

'Do you think trouble's coming?' she asked, softly.

The young Jedi leaned against the side of the corridor. 'Because of what Revan said?'

Mission shrugged. 'It's more of how he acted and how he sounded than anything he said.'

'I think trouble is coming, yes,' he said, slowly. 'I could feel it when I was on Onderon.' At her questioning look, he amended with, 'Those who can wield the Force can often sense the presence of darkness, like the dark side.'

'Do you feel it stronger?' she asked. 'I mean, since...well...you know.'

Dustil just nodded. 'I think...' he began. 'I think that's why Revan is so upset. I think...' He gave her a look. 'Did something happen on Yavin 4?'

The young woman let out a shaky breath before she nodded. 'It was...really bad.' Was all she would say.

Again, the young man nodded. 'You know the stories of Yavin, correct?' Mission nodded. 'I think being on the planet may be affecting Revan. It's...difficult to...push all those feelings you get while being on a dark sided planet.'

'Wow.'

'Yeah.'

Again, the two were silent, but their stance was no longer awkward. 'You know,' Dustil began. 'I've been wandering this ship with no idea of what exactly I'm looking for. Care to show me around?' He gave her what he hoped was a dashing smile.

It must have been, for Mission smiled shyly and a small blush made its way to her cheeks. 'Well,' she said, standing straighter. 'I do know this ship like the back of my hand.'

'Then I should be in good hands.' His smile widened slightly and the blush on Mission's face just got deeper.

She nodded, before brushing past him into the main hold. Dustil could only follow.

The air was putrid and clouds cast shadows on the planet's surface, the only light coming from the cracks of the lightening from the storm. No one knew of the planet or at least no one ventured there, which made it such a wonderful hiding place.

There was also the fact that no one knew that the planet had residents; residents who had been on the planet for a thousand and fifty years. They had fled here after their empire had crumbled beneath them, just waiting for the moment in which they could return, could have the full power they had squandered away.

They had their vehicles; angry young Jedi who had come to realize their precious order was nothing but a bunch of hypocritical old men. These Jedi were easy to assemble, however only a few were able to bring about the changes they needed in order to return. One of these Jedi was Freedon Nadd, who ushered in a hierarchy on the planet Onderon. He had ruled there and had trained many of his descendants to rule by the dark side; then there was the ever talented Exar Kun, who along with his apprentice Ulic Qel-Droma, nearly destroyed the Republic. And another great talent of Darth Revan, who like Kun, had the Republic on their knees.

But like others in their past, these greats had been betrayed by one of their own. So close had these refugees been to regaining their rightful place in the galaxy.

But as in the past, there was another and this time it truly seemed as though they would rise again. This exile, this Ellis Yoly, had already shaken the galaxy and all the Republic needed was a final push before it crumbled. The young man had been taught well by not only Revan and his apprentice Malak, but by the old crone Kreia. And when the young Sith Lord contacted them, they learned he was also the student of Exar Kun.

Now they sat within the housing that represented their meeting room, quite lowbrow compared to their great hall on Ziost, but in order to avoid detection, they stayed on this planet. But they gathered here to talk about the new Sith Lord -- this Darth Trayun -- and how in only a short year, he had managed to do something only their great lords had done in the past. For the moment, the young man was building silos for them, on the planets they had to flee in order to escape the hand of the Republic Fleet. They had learned from their leader that former lord Revan was to work against them.

But they had planned for this and their plan was to corrupt, slowly but surely, until the majority of the galaxy was once again until their rule. They would just call in a 'favor' to those they controlled to make sure Revan would be waylaid for a while. Then, they would find the last remaining Jedi to help dispose of Revan's meddling.

Canderous was waiting for them at the landing point on Dxun. As he had told Visas, he almost had a sixth sense that Revan would be calling him. And sure enough, only ten minutes later the former Jedi had rung in, asking for him to meet the Hawk at the landing site. He had forgone his armor as soon as he was away from the camp, reverting back to his bounty hunter digs of khaki pants and a black tank top. Visas always liked him best when he was just plain Canderous -- she had said she liked to see him without the armor; he thought she liked to ogle, but who was he to contradict a beautiful woman from staring at him?

He often thought how he never would've seen himself in this position before -- leader of his clansmen; devoted to a wonderful woman...thinking of marriage...It was just -- what was the word? Fate? -- that he and the former Sith apprentice would end up together. They spent their time finding those like themselves; they hadn't meant to fall in love, but then again, one never knows when one will fall in love. But soon, he found himself thinking about her and contacting her on Katarr, then he would visit her and help her; soon she wanted to speak to him and see him...

They managed to keep their affair secret and the Mandalorian was going to make sure it stayed that way. Revan's request for this meeting wasn't sitting well with the clan leader and he certainly didn't want to put Visas in harm's way. He had a feeling this was concerning that Jedi exile and while Canderous liked the young man, he knew he was trouble, especially if he was getting counsel from that old schutta Kreia.

No words were said as the landing lowered to the ground, letting the former bounty hunter enter the ship. It was soon raised, as was the ship as it rose in the sky. Most of the crew were already in the main hold, while Carth and Lynsel acted as pilots. The former bounty hunter raised an eyebrow when he saw everyone, saying, "Throwing a party for me? You shouldn't have."

"I didn't." replied the former knight. "I need directions to this planet, Canderous."

"Let me hang out in the cockpit." He said, heading towards the destination. Revan didn't stop him and ignored the looks he got from Dustil and Mission.

Carth wasn't surprised to see Canderous walk in ala his bounty hunter garb, though Lynsel was. She almost reached for her blaster had Carth not given a greeting to the man. The Mandalorian leader looked just as opposing out of his armor as he did inside it. He handed Carth what looked like to the navigational charts to wherever they would be heading. He then turned and walked out. "That was Mandalore?" she asked.

Carth nodded. "Shocked to see him out of uniform?" he teased.

Lynsel chuckled. "I'm not so uptight that I sleep in one, you know," she retorted. "I'm beginning to think it's pointless to obey any rules on this little adventure."

"I told you that."

They were silent until Carth looked over at her. "I can see the gears whirling in your head," he replied with a smile. "What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

The Intel officer let out a sigh. "A lot of things actually." She murmured. "I won't lie and say that Revan's behavior on Onderon didn't bother me, cause it did and I know it bothered you too. I'm just...I'm questioning what's going on here, which I'm sure is more than we know." She turned to look at him. "And I really hate not knowing something."

"I've noticed." He said, with a grin. "And I agree with you. This whole thing is making me feel..."

"Uneasy?" she finished. Carth nodded. "What's this planet we're going to?'

"Don't know." The pilot shrugged. "But whatever it is, you can bet only Revan managed to get Canderous to tag along."

"I don't like this, Carth," she whispered. "Things are...shaky at best, especially after his statement that our lone Sith Lord has the backing of the True Sith."

"After this," Carth began. "Whatever he's coming here for, you can bet when he gets back, I'm gonna find out what's going on."

In the aftermath of the destruction of the Jedi Temple, the Republic Senate had been busy; very busy indeed. They had meetings upon meetings after it was discovered that the former dark lord of the Sith and now redeemed Jedi knight had slipped through their fingers, thanks to the Jedi Order. They had worried that Revan was going to once again come back to the power he had wielded only two short years ago and the fact that the Jedi Order didn't know - or didn't want to tell them - where the errant knight had gone only put them in a more heightened sense of doom.

When a year passed and then two, the Senate members became antsy. The last time Revan had gone off, he had come back under the Sith and nearly destroyed the Republic. They couldn't let that happen again. And when the business with that other Jedi came, the Republic Senate was more than happy to look away. The Order had done nothing when one of their own had nearly destroyed the galaxy and there were many senators who remembered the days of Exar Kun and Freedon Nadd as well. All three a part of the Jedi Order and all three dangerous as hell.

So when this disgruntled Jedi laid waste to the home of the Order, the Senate wasn't too upset really. They had deserved it for all their secrets and lies and pupils that were hell-bent on ruling the galaxy...

But it didn't solve the problem of Revan. Many felt that the mysterious exile was Revan and that he was doing what he had done years earlier. Unfortunately, those rumors had been squashed by Lt. Grenn from the Telos Security Force, which Adm. Carth Onasi of the Republic Fleet corroborated. But they were still uneasy. It had been nearly over five years and there had been no word from Revan. What was he doing? Where was he? In an act of desperation, the Senate had told the Fleet to send out some people in order to look for the errant Jedi. They didn't think they would get anything, but when a Lt. Belyn from Intelligence had called in, they were happy to know Revan was found.

It was then some of the senators had insisted they keep tabs on Revan now that they had found him. Seven of the most influential senators would be in charge, but they would preside over some high ranking officials that acted as the liasion to Lt. Belyn. It was these senators that sat in one of the meeting rooms on Coruscant.

There was currently construction going on with the Senate building -- years of wars had slowly degraded the older building and they had set about making a new, more modern place. It was mushroomed shaped, about two kilometers wide. The workers were currently working on statues of the founders of the Core Worlds to adorn the walkway, as well as fixing the minor problems from the fall out of the destruction of the Jedi Temple. Because of the destruction, many senators were happy to return to their home worlds for a bit of a vacation, certain that whatever problems arose would be dealt with quickly.

It was a private meeting, therefore in a private office. The office expressed the climate of the owner -- a new specialty allowing certain aspects of a senator's home world within his office -- and that was of blue skies and fluffy clouds. The décor was of the planet Talus, one of the twin planets in the Corellia sector, and a planet known for some of its natural resources. Though the room held promise of lighter days, the meeting itself held the element of intensity.

Their leader -- or rather the man who was running this meeting -- was currently pacing slightly. The last time they had received a report from Lt. Belyn was when they were about to meet the current leader of the Mandalorians. What was that about? Didn't Ulic use Mandalorians? The man that paced seemed equally annoyed for the lack of communication. 'I get the distinct impression that something more is going on.' He stated.

'What do you mean?' asked an elderly man.

'I mean,' the younger man replied. 'When we first assigned her for this, she contacted us at every opportunity. Now, we hardly hear from her. I'm afraid she may be under Revan's influence.'

'Isn't that pilot with them?' asked another. 'The decorated admiral. He's friends with Revan.'

The young man stopped his pacing and looked at the others. 'I think it's time we talked to the 'prodigal knight',' the man responded. 'That ship of theirs, what's it called?'

'The Ebon Hawk,' replied an elder woman. 'I believe we can trace its signature to locate them.'

The young man nodded. 'Do it then.' He commanded. 'And get in touch with the Supreme Chancellor. I'm sure he'll want to know what's going on.'

Most of those gathered left soon after, except for the young man and an elder species of Mon Calamari. 'You're worried about her?' he asked.

'Of course I am,' the young man replied. 'She's on a mission with a Sith Lord and an apparent rogue Republic officer. And now she's in the hands of those Mandalorian beasts.'

'I'm sure there's nothing to worried about,' the Mon Cal said, patting the younger man on the shoulder. 'Besides, we have our own duties. We must keep Revan here by all means or at least persuade him to stay for a bit.'

The younger man nodded. 'You must remember our plans, Robert.'

'I haven't forgotten.' The man named Robert said. 'Even if my father feels differently, this is for the best. Despite the problems in the past, I have a feeling things will be different now.'

The Mon Cal nodded and headed of the room, just as a dark skinned human male poked his head in the door. 'I hate to disturb you, Mr. Belyn,' he began. 'But your father is looking for you.'

Robert nodded his head at the information. 'I'll be there shortly.'

The Hawk landed on solid ground, not too far from the small village that Canderous knew Visas would be. He led Revan and Bastila off the ship and through the nearly deserted planet. The small hut they came to was the only thing within a mile of various scattered trees and the like. When the door opened, it revealed a woman, with shoulder length brown hair and a black blindfold across her eyes. She wore a light blue sleeveless summer dress.

'Revan.'

The former knight bowed. 'Visas Marr,' he replied. 'It is a pleasure. Bastila Shan.' He continued, motioning to his lover beside him. 'And you know Canderous.'

She gave a small smile to the Mandalorian before moving aside and letting everyone in. There was a table to the left, which Visas indicated they would be sitting. The former Jedi took their seats while Visas sat across from them, Canderous standing behind her at her side. 'Would you like anything?' the young woman asked. 'I don't have much, but...'

Revan shook his head. 'We're fine.' He said. 'I think Canderous has told you why we're here.'

The young woman nodded. 'He said you wanted to know about my time under Darth Nihilus.' She stated.

'Not just that,' the knight replied. 'But it's certainly a start. I'm interested to know how he came across you, seeing as Katarr was supposed to be wiped out completely, as well as the Miraluka species.'

The Miraluka gave the former Jedi a smile. 'Straight to the heart of the matter,' she quipped. 'How much do you know about my people?'

'They're able to actually see through the Force,' Bastila spoke. 'It's said your species has been around for hundreds of years.'

'Thousands to be exact,' Visas corrected. She turned to Revan, almost peering through him, before smiling at him again. 'You don't truly want to hear about my time in the Sith.' She stated. 'There are...other reasons.'

Revan gave a bitter chuckle. 'Am I that transparent?' he asked, rhetorically. 'I need to know what you know about the Sith. Plain and simple.'

Canderous seemed to sense the conversation of dread was about to take place and he gave Visas' shoulder a squeeze, an act that did not go unnoticed by the Jedi across from them. 'Thousands of years ago,' she began. 'My species fled a dying world and went to the planet of Alpheridies -- a Sith world. From what I understand, it was a dark place and that's how my people became able to 'see' through the Force.

'Like how the Jedi can sense when danger approaches or how the Sith know when an enemy is near; we Miralukas have that as well, but it is transmitted to our sight, our visual perception. My father use to tell stories of how the first Miralukas had eyes, but the darkness that surrounded their planet made their sight useless and through the generation, we were born without visual sight, but inner sight -- the ability to perceive the environment around us without using our eyes.

'Anyways, our people moved to the Sith planet,' she continued. 'There were stories about a great library that was housed there, but it could never be proven.'

'Why not?' asked Bastila.

'Because they don't know where the planet is.' Revan whispered, his eyes locked on the woman before him. 'Continue.' He told her.

'I don't know why my people left that planet,' Visas said. 'But they soon found this one. It was here, as you know, that a Jedi meeting was to take place.' She seemed to have trailed off, perhaps thinking about that day. 'I saw a lot of people about, more than usual.' She whispered. 'We had a Jedi on this planet in hiding; he befriended most of the village. There wasn't many Jedi, well if you can call about thirty to fifty Jedi many, but they were here. I don't know where they met, but they hadn't been gone long when the Ravager showed up.

'I...I'm not sure what Nihilus did or what happened in that time -- perhaps I was unconscious -- but when I was aware, I was onboard the ship and Nihilus was standing over me.' She shivered slightly, causing Canderous to grip her shoulder. 'He spoke to me, wondering how I escaped. I may have screamed at him -- you must understand; we Miraluka can feel the Force strongly as well and after he did what he had, I could feel the life of the planet die, stripped of breath everywhere.

'I must have been hysterical, but then that's...'

'You don't have to finish this.' Canderous whispered in her ear.

She shook her head in defiance. 'He made me 'see' the world,' she said, bitterly. 'Made me see for the first time the galaxy without the Force, how...horrible it was and that life was the cause of it all. He wanted me to believe in him, in his cause to destroy what lived. How was I to deter him?'

The group was silent, each of them in their own thoughts. 'Visas,' Revan whispered. 'I need to know...'

The young woman bowed her head. 'I don't know who he may have taken his orders from,' she whispered. 'But I know it was not from their former master; your former master. However, she trained Ellis in the ways of a Sith Lord. At times, I wondered if she wasn't disappointed in him.'

'How so?'

'He let his anger get the better of him,' she replied. 'I know the former handmaiden found that to be very disconcerting, as did Bao Dur. I think perhaps Kreia had another agenda that he may have not gone along with. I just know he wasn't happy when Canderous and I went with him to Telos.'

'It was almost as though he was reliving a war.' Canderous muttered, causing Revan and Bastila to look up at him. 'I never met him in battle when we went after the Republic, but I could tell by the way he gave orders that he treated this as another battle. Maybe he was a little too into it.'

'What do you mean?' Bastila asked, hesitantly.

'He killed Col. Tobin.' Whispered the Miraluka.

'He was Vaklu's kath hound,' Canderous supplied. 'I think he may have held a grunge for Tobin sending troops our way while on Onderon. But he killed him and made him suffer too. He was brutal when we met Nihilus; I hate to think what happened when he met the crone Kreia.'

Bastila turned to look at Revan, who seemed to very introspective at the moment. She couldn't sense what he was feeling, which meant he was once again blocking her from his thoughts; she could only imagine what this information was doing to him -- Ellis Yoly, from what she had gathered, had been like family to him, a brother along with Malak, and they both seemed to have betrayed him. And worse of all, his mentor -- a beloved mentor -- seems to have not only betrayed him, but was the reason his former friend was a Sith Lord bent on causing havoc and destruction.

'I'm sorry.' Came the whispered response from the Miraluka's lips.

'As am I.' Responded Revan. 'I want to help, if I can.'

'As do I.'

The former Jedi nodded, standing and holding his hand out for her to take. 'Thank you for seeing me,' he said. 'And...for what you told me.'

'I'm not sure if it helped any.' She replied.

'It did,' he said. 'It has. I hate to talk and run, but we must go. There's...there's a lot of things I need to tell the crew before they have me walk the proverbial plank. Canderous, you coming?'

The former bounty hunter shook his head. 'I'll stay, if you don't mind.' At Revan's look, he smirked. 'Don't worry. I have a way of getting back.'

The younger man nodded, sending a smile to Visas, before he and Bastila took their leave. The Miraluka gave a sigh when she felt his hands relax her shoulders; she wasn't even aware of how tense she had become during the meeting. 'I don't think he realizes what he's getting himself into.' She whispered, leaning in to his touch.

The Mandalorian chuckled. 'Actually,' he said. 'I think he has just now realized it.'

Smuggling life on Nar Shaddaa had been hit relatively hard in the last few years. The Jedi exile had made quick work of all those factions that worked under the title of the Exchange and he had also killed a heavy amount of members that worked for the corrupt organization. It was quite annoying.

That was how the remaining bosses of the Exchange saw it. At this point, there were really only two real leaders -- that of Vogga the Hutt, who had been screwed in a deal to rid himself of his rival, as well as a minor blockade on his ships; and that of Goto, the mysterious crime boss who had not only put that blockade on Vogga's ships, but had also managed to kidnap said exile and then traveled with him for the remainder of his adventure.

It had been mere luck that the black droid that acted as his 'movement' was able to get off the planet of Malachor V. He had been found shortly after he had stopped that insignificant repair droid from disrupting the natural flow of things. Oh, he knew the exile was evil, but it didn't matter. The point was to strengthen the Republic by any means necessary, even if that meant handing it over to the Sith. But those were just names of a group who believed differently from another group.

It was all politics in the end.

In the aftermath of everything, the exile's troops -- those he managed to spare apparently -- had found him fighting off a small group of storm beasts. When he had been 'rescued', he was taken for a private meeting with the exile turned new Sith Lord. In the quiet just between the man and the droid, a bargain was struck -- an agreement of sorts. Goto was a pretty wide known crime lord, as well as a politician, if not by hobby. The droid's counterpart would be the voice for the new dark lord to ensure the Republic knew it would be saved, not destroyed as some would think.

The crime boss would also help Ellis in any quests he took part in, ie any missions in which he would need the help of the Exchange. Meanwhile, the dark lord promised the Exchange would be taken care of when he ruled the galaxy.

Now, being the intelligent person he was, Goto knew when something was amiss. This young man had all but desecrated the outfit by himself; Goto could imagine what 'taking care of the Exchange' meant indeed. However, he had to admit he had met his match. The exile had bested him on his ship and again when he had gone and turned the galaxy upside down. The dark lord would be in charge now, but he also realized the stake in which he played a role in. The droid reminded him what would happen if the Republic should fall and the young man had smirked, as though he knew something the droid didn't.

He was told not to worry.

So the droid liaison for the crime boss could only secure another vessel -- one that was kindly donated by the new Sith lord himself -- and hang out above the skies of Nar Shaddaa. He still had his minions; those that wanted a chance to serve this new lord, some who wanted nothing more than to gut him like a Gamorrean pig. But all in all, this was all he needed. The exile knew the stakes and Goto was going to keep him to it.

The Republic would not, could not fall.

It just wasn't economically sound.

The Ebon Hawk managed to find a place so far out, no one could possibly find them. It was at Revan's request, as he wanted everyone present to tell them things he had only told Carth and Bastila and things he had kept to himself. He waited until Carth came out of hyperspace from Katarr and into a deadened part of the galaxy. Now, everyone stood in the main hold, waiting for whatever it was the former Jedi wanted to tell them.

He had been pacing while waiting for everyone to assemble and when they did, he still did two more paces before he turned and looked at the people that faced him.

'First, I want to say I'm sorry,' he began. 'I know my behavior has been a bit...neurotic as of late and I'm sorry for that. I also want to apologize for bringing you all together like this for this...quest or whatever it is I have you on. If I had...hell, I did know and I still...' He looked up when he saw the confused looks on their faces. 'I have a lot to tell you, so just bear with me.'

He started by giving them the history lesson, of how the true species of Sith had the galaxy in their hands at one point and how their squabbling had destroyed them from the inside. He told them about the fallen Jedi who discovered the planet of Korriban and how from that point on, various Jedi found themselves in the ranks of the Sith, him included. He told them how following the years of destruction brought by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma that the Mandalorians were again approached by the Sith -- the true species that is -- and that they were pushed into trying to take the Republic.

He went on, telling what happened when he and Malak had discovered the council would do nothing about the threat based on a vision that Master Vandar had. He told them all he could remember about those days, but it was supposition. He thought he may have studied the True Sith; thought his studies led him to Malachor, an ancient Sith planet; thought he may have even been seen by them; but he wasn't sure. Though most of his memories had returned, he still couldn't get any access to what he may have seen about the true species, more less looked up.

He then went into who Ellis Yoly was -- and why he was dangerous. He told them how Ellis was also a talented Jedi, having been knighted at seventeen -- the youngest in the history of the Order -- and how something had happened on Malachor all those years ago that...changed him. He told them how the young knight was exiled and had gone off to the Outer Rim. He also told them of his former master Kreia, who in her own bitterness and hatred, had turned to the dark side and had trained Sion and Nihilus before they turned on her. He revealed that Kreia had then used the Hawk to rescue Ellis when he had been sought by Sion aboard the Republic's Harbinger and that she had trained him, just as she had trained Sion and Nihilus.

As she had trained him.

Revan again apologized for his lackluster concern for Ellis; he knew before reaching Yavin, that the young man had changed and that he knew in his heart this would not be an easy fight. 'It was bad enough with just thinking of dealing with the Sith,' he muttered. 'They were a powerful species, using magic for their every day practices; it only gets worse when you add aspects of the Force to it. And Ellis was powerful in his own right, even if he did lose the Force for a time. I know Kreia taught him techniques and the way he killed the last Jedi masters...' He shook his head.

'Five gets you ten he had Vaklu at his beck and call,' he continued. 'Not to mention what's left of the Exchange and the Sith troops. He has two apprentices, who I'm sure are just as deadly as he is. And if he's dealing with the true species, he could even be possessed by one of them.' He could tell that bit of information shocked and surprised everyone.

'I've giving you an out.' He stated, suddenly. 'There's...there's someone I want to confer with, but...'

'Who?' Bastila asked. 'Who is it you need to see?'

The former knight looked at her, an eyebrow raised. 'Jolee Bindo.' He said, calmly. 'And I know you know where he is, Bas. But regardless of that,' he continued, turning to face everyone once more. 'Whatever planet he's on, anyone who wants out; anyone who wants off this joyride, you can get off. This is more than I bargained for, more than I expected would happen, but it's not right for me to keep you to do this if you don't want it.'

He could see Carth starting to protest, but he held up his hand to stop any argument. 'Don't tell me now,' he said. 'Wait until we land, wait until we see Jolee before you tell me. I'll let you think about it. I won't hold anything against you if none of you want to come back. Believe me, if I could turn away, I would. But I can't and I won't.' He let the words hang in the air before turning to Bastila.

'Where is he?'

The young woman let out a sigh, before saying, 'The last I heard, he was headed for Naboo. Said he had a friend there that needed help.'

Revan nodded, turning to Carth. 'Fancy a flight to Naboo?'

'They do have really good cigars,' the pilot quipped.

'Right.' Revan chuckled. 'The sooner we get there, the sooner...'

His sentence was cut off when the Hawk gave a sudden lurch. Revan and Carth stared at each in confusion, ignoring the 'What the hell was that?' from Lynsel. As one, the two men quickly hurried down the corridor to the cockpit, the others following. Upon reaching the pilot's chair, Carth began fiddling with the controls, finding nothing was responding. 'The controls are locked!' he exclaimed. 'I think we're got in a tractor beam.'

'Who the bloody hell has us in a tractor beam?!' Bastila cried.

'It looks like a Republic interdictor ship,' Carth replied. He hit the button for the ship's communicator. 'This is the Ebon Hawk requesting identity.'

'This is Commander Johnson of the Republic ship Sonar.' Came the answer.

'Damn it, PJ!' the pilot exclaimed. 'What the hell are you doing?'

'Sorry, Admiral,' the man called PJ responded. 'Orders from the Senate. Someone in their offices wants a word with your crew. I had to make it look like it we 'ambushed' you.'

'Well, thanks for the warning.' Carth replied, sarcastically.

'Hey,' PJ said. 'You know I'd rather be in a cantina right now celebrating my kid being born, but I got assigned to this. I'd like to think you're happy about the peacefulness in which I 'captured' you.'

The admiral sighed, running a hand over his face. 'Yeah, I am,' he said. 'Just...don't...scratch the paint, yeah?'

PJ chuckled on the other end. 'First class all the way, sir.' He said, closing the connection.

Lynsel, like everyone else, was surprised that the Republic had come for them. She knew she hadn't given a report in the last couple of days, but was that really cause to send half the Fleet after them? And how exactly did they know where they were? Didn't the Ebon Hawk have its signature changed? In the midst of her thinking, she looked up to find Revan staring at her. He didn't think...oh heavens, he did! Suddenly, she was shaking her head.

'I didn't,' she whispered. 'I swear I didn't. I didn't know about this. I didn't, Revan. I swear.'

He regarded her for a bit, then nodded once. 'I know.' He said. Turning to look at everyone else, he sighed, saying, 'Let's all get prettied up for our interrogation, shall we?' He then led all of them out, though Bastila gave her a questioning -- if not a scathing -- look as she followed.

'Please tell me you had nothing to do with this.'

His statement startled her; she had forgotten he was even in the same room. He was still fiddling with a few gears, his back to her. 'I didn't know about this, Carth,' she pleaded. 'I really didn't.'

'But you admit that you have been reporting about our activities to the Senate.' He turned to face her then, leaning against the center divider, arms crossed on his chest.

'I...' She couldn't lie. She was making reports to her superiors; she couldn't stop them from going to the Senate if they so choose. However, that would mean his statement was true, in a round about way. 'I have been making reports to my superiors,' she sighed. 'But I can't stop them from telling the Senate!'

'So that's why they're pulling us in?' he asked. Why was he so calm? Shouldn't he be angry or something? She couldn't take his calm manner. 'To brand Revan the new lord of the True Sith?'

'I haven't told them about that.' She stated. 'I really haven't told them anything. You have to believe me, Carth.'

He gave a chuckle that was neither happy nor humorous; it was actually very bitter. 'I have to believe you?' he asked, incredulous. 'This whole time you've been telling your superior officers, the Senate, and who knows who else all our secrets and I have to believe that you had no idea that they'd be coming for us at some point?' Again, he chuckled. 'You really are a piece of work. It's a shame you didn't serve during both wars for long term, we really could've used a firaxa like you. Are you sure your husband left you for another woman? Or was it because you were leaking his secrets?'

That was low and uncalled for, that was for damn sure. 'At least my husband stayed home,' she retorted. 'I'm surprised you got a child out of your marriage, assuming Dustil is indeed yours.' She knew as soon as the words left her mouth, they cut to his heart, and she didn't need to see the briefest flicker of pain cross his face to tell her that. But what the hell did he know? And why the hell should she care? This was why she was happier not being involved and not looking for romance or love or any of those bantha droppings.

And why the hell was she thinking about relationships and Carth Onasi in the same breath?

The two continued their stand off, too stubborn and prideful to be the first to back down. It was until they had been docked within the Sonar and when Mission had informed them they were aboard did Carth storm away from her.

From the far reaches of space, the Necrosis made its way back to Korriban, as instructed. The ship had left the moon of Yavin a week or so before, heading off to the coordinates that their leader had given them. When Ellis returned to the ship, he told his apprentices he had to schedule a meeting, one in which they weren't privy to. He had then been closed up in his room for an hour. Brianna waited for him in her own quarters, just happy the psychotic look in his eyes was gone, showing her the dull green she yearned for at that moment.

They had made love twice and afterwards, Ellis had told her they were going on a mission, but after that, he wanted to marry her. He again confessed his worries to her, his fears for her, but he had presented her with an engagement ring, one he had bought for her. Of course she said yes.

The Necrosis made its way through the Expansion Region and only when they had nearly reached the border into the Unknown Regions is when they came upon a planet. It was rather non-descript, but to Brianna, was very heavy within the dark side. She knew the others felt it was well. She was surprised when Ellis told her to stay and only took Atton with him. She felt a little put out by the request, but he smiled at her and winked, saying he would be only a minute. They returned after what felt like twenty minutes, but when they did return, they had with them a holocron of sorts.

He and Atton carried it to the scoundrel's room, Ellis telling Brianna to wait a moment. Once again, she felt put out at the treatment and decided she would rather be in her room instead of outside his wondering what they were doing.

The former handmaiden didn't know much about holocrons, but she did remember seeing Atris with tons of them, all within her chambers. She had gathered they were like libraries of information about the past, something that could be learned from. And that thought made her even angrier. Ellis was willing to show the holocron to Atton, but not her? It was nearly an hour before she saw him enter her room, apparently ready to start their newfound nightly ritual. 'You're angry.' He stated, taking in her stance and the frown on her face.

'Why have you shown Atton the holocron and not me?' she asked. 'I thought I was much higher on your list of important people.'

'You are the most important person in my life,' he whispered, stepping to her. 'That's why I'm not going to show you that until I feel you're ready for it.'

'What do you mean by that?' she asked, indignantly.

Taking her by the hand, he made her sit on the bed, while he sat next to her. 'I know you have seen a Jedi holocron, correct?' he asked. She nodded. 'I remember that Atris had you archiving them, but darling, have you seen a Sith holocron before?'

'I...I...I think so.' She stumbled. 'I remember Atris had holocrons within her chambers, but they looked different. And I felt...strange whenever I saw them.'

'Bria,' he began, using his special name for her. 'Sith holocrons emit such a strong presence of the dark side, it's said that even Jedi could be driven mad by seeing one.' Brianna let out a gasp. 'One has to be very strong in order to even open one, much less learn of its secrets. I'm not saying I don't think you're strong, my love,' he pulled her to him, tilting her chin so she could look at him. 'You're the strongest person I know. However, both Atton and I have been in the Sith before and we know the effects of relics such as these. Even seeing it, Atton became queasy and even I had a dull headache from gazing at it.

'I love you so much, my darling,' he continued. 'It wouldn't do if I lose my fiancée before she became my wife, right?'

She chuckled before embracing him. 'I'm sorry I doubted you.'

He held her tighter. 'I just want you safe,' he sighed. 'Even with my intentions. I don't want any harm to come to you.'

'You'll keep me safe.' She whispered. 'As I will keep you safe.' And perhaps save you from yourself, she thought.

'I found a world we can be married on,' he said, kissing her temple. 'It's called Ord Radama. Heard of it?'

'Can't say I have.'

'It's one of those planets within the ordinance region posts,' he continued. 'I've heard it's been colonized and cities are growing. I think it'll be easy to get lost there; to get married with no one knowing.'

'How?'

'We're heading to Korriban as we speak. I'm thinking we can stop there on the way; it's fairly close. Then we sneak away and find a minister.' He pulled back, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. 'It's not glamorous, I know,' he mumbled. 'You deserve a big wedding.'

'But who would attend?' she asked, bitterly. 'Revan made sure long ago that my parents wouldn't be there and Atris forced my hand when she sent my sisters after me.' Her gaze softened as she said, 'I know you would want this to be grand for me, but I'm happy with just the two of us before a minister. All I want is to share in everything with you; your name, your bed, your life. Nothing can be greater than that.'

Ellis bit his bottom lip to hopefully stop the surge of emotion he was feeling. She had been nothing but his joy since she had stormed aboard his ship and even now, she was declaring her love for him; that despite what he had planned, she would stand by him no matter what the consequences. 'I love you,' he choked, angry that a stray tear had managed to sneak away from his eye. He quickly ducked his head. 'I don't deserve you.'

She didn't say a word, just leaned over to kiss his tear away before touching her lips to his. You're a good man, Ellis. I only hope I can stop your own destruction.

It had been years since Revan had been on the planet of Coruscant. He was told he had been here as a child, learning about the Force and basic history before he was sent to Dantooine. The problem was he didn't remember any of that. The only imagine of Coruscant he had was six years ago when the Jedi Council had him and the crew of the Ebon Hawk sequestered.

And now, he, Bastila, and Carth were being shown to the office of one Kodis Basil, a high-ranking senator by the way they were being treated. Lynsel had followed them, saying she was being called in to a meeting with her superiors. Revan couldn't help but notice she and Carth didn't say anything to each other, the admiral clearly making a point he didn't want to speak with the young woman.

The trio couldn't help but look around at their surroundings; none of them had ever been in the Senate building before, so they were curious as to its structure. They noticed there seem to be construction going on, no doubt from the backlash cause by Nihilus' attack. The trio waked down a lighted circular hallway, passing various offices, until they reached one that seemed at the very back. The intern that led them knocked on the door, nodding at them when they heard 'Enter,' from inside the office. Opening the door, they entered the room to find the strangest looking creature standing before them.

It was an odd looking insectoid, with an elongated face, and it was leaning on a black, wooden walking stick. The creature was green in color, with some light yellow around his face. 'Come in, come in,' he said, waving them in with his boney hand. 'I take it even the great Revan has not seen one of my species before.' The insectoid laughed.

'I can't say I have ever seen anything like you,' the former Jedi replied, a smile on his face.

The insectoid bowed. 'I am Kodis Basil,' it said. 'And I am a Geonosian.'

'From Geonosis?' Revan asked.

'Aye,' said Basil. 'When we were approached to have a seat in the Senate, I was elected. I know many of my species do not like the language of humans, but I find it to be necessary in this day and age. But, we did not come to speak about my people.' Basil walked to his desk, indicating they stand before it.

'What exactly are we here to speak about?' Bastila asked.

'Very good question, my dear,' replied Basil. 'Let us talk about the mission you are on, yes?'

'What makes you think we're on a mission?' asked the knight.

'How else do you explain where you have been for the last five years?' asked the insectoid. 'And what you've been doing since your return? You've had a lot of people worried about you, Revan. Your vanishing act did not go unnoticed by the Republic.'

'I'm sure it didn't,' came the retort. 'But I had a bit of personal business to attend to, though I didn't know I'd be detained for five years.'

Basil chuckled. 'Still spirited,' he said. 'I have heard of you and your exploits. You were said to be one of the greatest Jedi in the history of the Order, coming in league with Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma.'

'I'm also said to be the greatest Sith Lord as well.' Revan quipped.

'And which did you enjoy?'

'Well, the Jedi give you three meals a day,' the knight joked. 'But the Sith let you sleep in.'

The Senator laughed, hearty and with a bit of a cackle. 'I knew I would like you,' he sputtered. ' We Geonosians feel that violence is sometimes needed in order to prove your point.' He chuckled again, before coming back to his original questioning. 'So your mission is personal?'

'Yes.'

'And why could you not go alone as before?'

Revan shrugged. 'I got lonely.'

Basil again chuckled. 'And what about Lt. Lynsel Belyn?' he asked. 'Is there a reason you need two Republic officers aiding you?'

'Lt. Belyn brought herself aboard,' Carth replied. 'It's not as though we invited her to tag along.'

'Is that so?' the insectoid asked. 'And you - Admiral Onasi, was it? And why are you on this 'mission'?'

Carth shrugged. 'Cause Revan invited me.'

'Did you really bring us in here to ask about my personal vacation?' Revan asked, a bit huffy for Basil's taste.

'I called you in here to know if you are in league with this new Sith Lord we've been hearing about.'

'Or is it that you think I'm this new Sith Lord?' came his retort.

'It has crossed the minds of many,' Basil stated, eyeing Bastila. 'Especially when I see a former Sith apprentice by your side.' He noticed the look Revan gave him. 'You must admit that there is some suspicion.'

'I admit nothing,' Revan quoted. 'But I will assure you at least, that I am not a Sith Lord. I decided to take a vacation and invited some friends to join me. Lt. Belyn, obviously under the Senate influence, decided that she needed to follow me around to make sure that I'm not evil incarnate.'

Basil stood, walking around the desk to face the former knight. 'You must understand, Revan,' he said. 'As one warrior to another, I respect you in all aspects of your battles. But the Senate worries that perhaps you may be ushering in a new reign.'

Revan's face remained neutral, even as his body cried out. Was it possible Basil knew more than he should? 'The Senate should really be worried about other things than one's traveling schedule.'

Basil gave a grin, though it looked more like a sneer than anything else. 'You will find your lieutenant friend at the other end of the hall,' he said. 'I believe she is in a meeting of sorts.'

Revan nodded, thanking him for his time. Once outside the door and headed for the main entrance, the former Jedi began to rant. 'Something's going on, I know it.'

'You know the Senate,' Carth replied. 'They're just as sneaky as the Jedi Order, more so I think. Politics is never straight forward nor is it usually truthful.'

'I just can't believe they would pull us in just to know if we've joined the Sith,' Bastila muttered. 'I don't think they needed to ambush us and haul us in.'

'We'll hopefully find out with Lynsel.'

'How will that help?' Carth asked, obviously still sore about his conversation with her.

'Well,' Revan replied. 'We'll know what she's really up to, won't we?'

Lynsel probably shouldn't have been surprised to get the message on the Sonar that she was required to attend a meeting by her superiors nor was she surprised that some members of the Senate were seated in the room as well.

She was however surprised at the complete turn around they seemed to have and who those senators were. They had praised her for taking on this most difficult mission of spying on Revan, but she could tell they were slightly disappointed that she didn't find anything incriminating about his travels -- at least nothing that screamed 'he's going to try and take over the galaxy again!' and the fact that some of those superiors could easily tell she hadn't told them everything was very unnerving for her.

But she had to say she was definitely floored when they told her she was dismissed from this mission and that they were going to find another means of getting the information they wanted. One senator in particular had told her, 'You must understand, Lieutenant, we're afraid Revan is using his Jedi powers on you. And despite your previous 'training' in such matters, I think it has been far too long since you've been able to resist these kinds of things.'

That was when she had given her salutes and left.

She just couldn't believe it, though she was hard pressed to know what she hated most -- the fact that she had been so calmly dismissed from the mission or the fact that he had present to watch it and to take part in it. All she knew was she needed to get out of there. She knew what was truly at stake and the Senate, like the Jedi, were just patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She began walking faster, curving around the hallway, when she heard her name being called. She finally came to a stop in front of the main entrance. 'That's better,' replied the voice, turning her around to face him. 'For a minute, I truly thought you were just going to leave here without so much as a hello.'

'We have nothing to say to each other.' She spat.

'We have so much to discuss,' he said. 'It's been years since we've seen one another.'

The trio of Revan, Carth, and Bastila had only turned a corner before they stopped, taking in the scene before them. Lynsel stood, arms crossed, and an annoyed look on her face as she stood across from a man in his late thirties, early forties. He was tall, about a head taller than Lynsel, with blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing the normal dress of the senators, his clothing being a dark burgundy, but seemingly looking well on him. It seemed to the two were in a heated discussion, by the way Lynsel was frowning.

Carth wasn't sure who the man was, but it was clear to him that he was bothering her. Their apparent differences aside, he was the first to move and march over to the duo, an amused Revan and Bastila trailing behind him. 'There a problem here?' Carth asked the young woman, his eyes trained on the man that stood across from him.

'I don't believe you were asked to join this conversation,' the man replied, coolly. He meant to say more, but when his eyes glanced over, a smile replaced the previous look on his face. 'Well,' he said. 'The prodigal knight does return. I've heard much about you, Lord Revan.'

'And I so little about you.'

The man chuckled. 'Forgive me,' he replied, bowing slightly. 'Robert Belyn, senator for the planet Talus.'

'Then you should be aware that I am no longer a Sith Lord,' Revan stated.

'It's not common knowledge, unfortunately,' came the retort. 'And who is this lovely flower?'

'Bastila Shan,' replied Revan, watching as the senator went to grab her hand. 'My future wife.'

Belyn stopped, glancing over at Revan. 'Then congratulations are in order.' He then turned to address Carth. 'And this must be Adm. Onasi,' he said, looking the admiral up and down. 'I have heard nothing but praise about you.'

'I'm sorry I can't say the same about you,' he quipped. 'Oh wait. I'm not sorry at all.'

Seeing the raised eyebrows on Bastila's face and the way Revan glanced over at Lynsel made Belyn chuckle again. 'I see Zella hasn't even mentioned a word about me.'

'You've been mentioned.' Carth snarled.

Sparing a glance at Carth, Belyn continued with, 'I'm the lucky man who the dear lieutenant claimed as her beloved husband.'

'Ex -- husband,' Lynsel growled. 'You always forget the 'ex' that's in front of that. Besides, I believe I hear an intern breathing heavy. Better find her before she finds herself under someone else.'

'Still miffed about that, are you?' he asked, conversationally. 'I can see there's no reasoning with you while in front of an audience. However, seeing as you'll be here for a bit, I do hope to catch you alone some time.'

'Sure,' Lynsel replied. 'When hell freezes.'

The man smirked, bowing again to Revan and Bastila, and sending a small sneer to Carth. 'So,' Revan began. 'How was your meeting?'

'Oh just peachy,' she said, sarcastically. 'I've been kicked off. Apparently I'm way too susceptible to your Jedi charms.'

'Wait,' Carth asked. 'So they're...assigning someone new?'

'Basically.' She said. 'And I'm here to tell you to stay put until they can assign you someone.'

Revan laughed. 'You're joking.'

Lynsel smirked. 'Let's get out of here before someone sees me talking to you.'

She walked passed them and out the door, leaving them gaping at her. 'Lyn, wait!' She stopped as Carth ran up to her. 'Where you going?'

'We are on a mission, are we not?' she asked, looking at him incredulously. 'I don't like leaving things unfinished.'

'You're coming with us?' Bastila asked, surprised.

'You realize that you'll be labeled a 'rogue' officer,' Revan said, grinning slightly. 'You know how my influence is.'

Lynsel huffed. 'Right,' she said, once again heading for the Hawk. 'If you three are quite finished, we do have things to do.'

Revan clapped Carth on the back. 'Looks like our adventure is starting up again, eh Carthy?' he chuckled, slinging an arm around Bastila. The admiral watched the three head away and he couldn't help the small smile come to his face as his eyes shifted to Lynsel. He had been right on the credits.

She was something else.

Naboo seemed like the perfect place to get away. There were virtually no human species of life on the planet, meaning he could just meld away into the mountain landscapes and be at peace. Naboo reminded him of another lush planet he had lived on, one he couldn't dream of returning to. Not because he didn't enjoy it there, but there was a lot going on. It had taken years for the Czerka Corporation to be driven out of the heartland of the planet and he didn't want to temp fate by returning.

So when a friend had told him he had found a piece of land on Naboo that was out of the way, but close enough to get supplies, Jolee Bindo had jumped at the chance to travel once again. He had made his departure from the Jedi and the inner most part of the Republic to find solitude. Bah! The masters were still the same as they had been when he was a padawan. He had hoped that his being a master would show them their teachings were -- not wrong, but very flawed.

He could never understand their aversion to the concept of feelings. Yes, he understood that sometimes they could get out of control, but like everything that had two sides, so did one's emotions. That was what the masters refused to see -- that there were positive emotions, as well as negative emotions. Love wasn't a negative emotion. There was nothing like falling in love and being in love...it was filling and glorifying; he understood the power it had over a crazy couple of Jedi lovers.

Shaking his head, he gave a small sigh. He didn't want to think about them or what had led him here. That was the whole reason he came incidentally. He knew he would be easy to find within the Shadowlands of the planet and he didn't want to answer all the questions he knew Bastila to have over why he had left. Still a product of another age, that girl. He only hoped Revan had corrupted her somewhat. He sat down on a large rock that sat outside his small hut.

Something was stirring in the air and it was not to hold good tidings. He had felt last year the deaths of at least six Jedi masters and before that, the deaths of many of his fellow Jedi, including that of the Cathar Juhani. He didn't get much news out here, but he knew when trouble was coming and it seemed to be coming soon. He didn't know what was happening, but there was a disturbance in the Force of great dimensions. He couldn't know what was to happen, but he knew he was feeling uneasy.

Unknown to the former Jedi master, another refugee from the Republic had also found Naboo to be the perfect hideaway from all his troubles. He had come here after his illegal ale idea didn't go over so well and he had to skip town -- again -- and he had come here. Everyone knew that Naboo had the best cigars in the galaxy and that not too many off worlders stayed past their welcome. So he figured he'd be safe from the Exchange.

He was wrong.

Apparently there was a new guy running the business now and he wanted all lose ends severely cut. They had found him easily enough, squirming his way through valleys and mountaintops. They had cornered him and beat him pretty good until he told them he had something they might want. 'My...my sister...' he stumbled. 'She's...she's pretty cute and she...knows people.'

'What kind of people?' sneered one.

'That...that Sith Lord Revan...'

'Lord Revan?' another one asked, looking at his companions. 'All right, Griff,' he said. 'We'll lay off, but you're to stay put, got it? I think our new boss would like to know about the info you just gave us.'

He wasn't sure what the time was, but Carth knew it to be earlier than he usually woke up. He had gone to bed only a few hours after they had left Coruscant on the way to Naboo. He was having a slow time adjusting to what had just happened; the Senate suspected that Revan wasn't just on a jauntily cruise and the fact that Lynsel had just been ousted, but had decided to stay aboard. He knew some part of him -- well, a large part -- was glad at that.

And maybe that was the problem. It was just the events, it was the fact that he had been -- dare he say it? -- jealous when he discovered her ex talking to her. He had spent his night admitting to himself that he was indeed attracted to the lieutenant and would've been deeply saddened if she bent to the will of the Senate and her ex husband.

But the admiral was quickly discovering Lynsel Belyn was a lot like his wife -- determined and stubborn to the core. But she was much more, too. She was strong and skilled; he remembered how she fought on Onderon against those Dark Jedi. She seemed to just throw off any Force powers they launched at her and she was quick on her feet to not only dodge oncoming attacks, but to come out of no where with an attack of her own. She was a decent pilot, too. He could tell she was a relatively private person, just as he was, but he could tell she was starting to open up to him and he certainly was opening up to her.

This morning, he was determined to get his mind back on task. He figured Jolee would be the last person they picked up before Revan hammered out a plan of action. The former pilot got to work on making caffa for himself, then decided to make enough for at least two cups. He took a sip, taking a seat at the makeshift table they used for meals. 'Good morning,' whispered a voice, causing him to turn and smile slightly. Even this early, she was still beautiful.

'Morning,' he said, motioning his head to the replicator. 'I made some fresh caffa.'

She nodded her thanks and headed over, making herself a cup. She took a seat in the chair next to the admiral and stared long and hard into her cup of liquid. 'I don't think it's going to tell you the answers you need,' he joked, seeing her lips curl upwards.

'It seems like every other day, I'm apologizing to you.'

'It seems to be the going rate between us,' he chuckled. 'I shouldn't have made that crack about you.'

She shook her head. 'I shouldn't have said what I did,' she insisted. 'It was rude. I should have...'

'You were reacting to what I had said,' he interrupted. 'I know you had no choice and I shouldn't have said what I did.'

Lynsel sighed, shaking her head slightly. 'I really didn't know they would call us in,' she whispered. 'And I haven't exactly been truthful with giving my reports.'

'Why didn't you tell them?' he asked.

All she did was shrug. 'I don't know, really,' she said. 'Maybe...maybe I thought this wasn't something to be left up to by the Senate.'

The two sat in silence, but Carth could tell that Lynsel had something more to say. 'Lyn?'

She looked up at him. 'I should probably come clean now that I'm not official anymore, huh?' she asked.

'Come clean about what?'

She was hesitant for a bit, almost as though she was weighing whether to tell him or not. She had to admit she seemed to open up more to the admiral than anyone else on board. Could it be their situations were the same? They shared the same career and the same past. Deep in her mind, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would need to tell everyone.

'I wasn't exactly truthful about my part in the Jedi Civil War,' she whispered.

Carth looked at her, pretty sure she was going to tell him what he suspected. 'Is this about how you were able to throw off the Force powers sent by those dark Jedi on Onderon?' he asked. At her surprised look, he chuckled. 'I've spent the better part of seven years surrounded by Jedi,' he said. 'I think I know a little bit about the Force by now.'

Lynsel ducked her head, a small blush on her face. Why am I always blushing around him? 'I told you how I got sidelined during the Mandalorian War,' she began. 'And that I was Special Intelligence through the Jedi Civil War. What I didn't say is exactly why I was assigned to Intel.'

'I thought you said it was because of all the work you did with your ex.' Carth said.

'It was,' she said. 'At first.' She turned away from him, staring at the console within the room. 'When we learned that Revan had returned with the Sith,' she started. 'A couple of Jedi came, apparently to finally aid us with this new threat we had. I don't know what was said, but I was called in to a meeting. There wasn't many, like maybe six or seven of us, but I guess it was enough.

'The Jedi told us that we...could use the Force, on a small scale or something. They made it clear we weren't Jedi, but we could at least help ourselves by fending off a dark Jedi attack.' She turned back to him. 'So they taught us...techniques,' she said. 'Stuff that we could use to stop really bad Force powers from hurting us.'

'You mean like Force Immunity?' he asked.

Again, she shrugged. 'I don't know,' she said. 'I guess. They just taught us to defend ourselves, but...I didn't really use it.'

'You got married.' She nodded.

'And then I came back,' she said. 'It was only after the Jedi and the Republic realized what a huge threat Revan was to them as a Sith Lord. I was trained with the others and sometimes we had missions where I did need to be on guard, but then I was doing more covert stuff and...' She looked down at the tabletop. 'I wasn't home very much,' she whispered.

Carth too looked down. He knew what it felt like to be away from and have those left behind feel you've abandoned them or resentful of your absence. 'I know how that goes.' He whispered. They were once again silent with each other. 'You know,' he said. 'You took an awfully big chance coming back with us.'

'Some things are more important than others.' She replied, turning to look at him. She held his eye for a moment, her face unreadable. 'What was your wife like?'

The question caught him a little off guard, but then he figured it was probably a natural course of conversation, due to their current topic. 'She was stubborn, like you,' he said, a smile on his face. 'Determined. She had courage...And she hated it when I signed back onto the fleet at the start of the war. I had planned on... on leaving soon, to join her...' He trailed off, looking a little shy at revealing that much information.

'I know how that goes,' she smirked, repeating his earlier words.

'How did you ever marry a guy like Robert Belyn?' he asked, wincing when he heard what he had said. Worried that she was angry, Carth was surprised when he heard her chuckle.

'Robert Belyn, Jr. wasn't so bad a few years ago,' she said. 'Before he got all power hungry and maybe before he knew my heart was split between him and the Republic. He found out quickly that I'm just not built to be a housewife, which ruined his plans of having a 'token' spouse.'

'Clean the kitchen and pop out some kids?' he asked, cheekily.

Lynsel rolled her eyes. 'I don't think he wanted kids,' she chuckled. 'They ruined the image. He was trying to be a lady killer, I'm sure. In any case, that display in the Senate hall just proves he doesn't know what he lost.'

'I think he does,' Carth replied, looking her in the eye. 'But I don't think he appreciates it.'

She gave him a smile, accompanied by another blush. 'Admiral,' she said, leaning closer to him. 'Are you flirting with me?'

He returned her smile. 'I was afraid you hadn't noticed,' he joked. 'Is it working?'

She stood, heading towards the door, but she glanced over her shoulder at him. 'I'll let you know,' she replied, before leaving him chuckling in his chair.

It had seemed so easy moving from a beloved Jedi, hero to the Republic, to the most feared Sith Lord since Exar Kun. The war had made him hard, skilled at knowing when to fight and when to conquer. The answers had come to him while on Malachor; that the Jedi were weak and they had left the galaxy to die and writhe in pain. They had meant to stop anyone that tried to help the Republic. And the Senate...there was so much corruption within it that made the weakness of the council tremble in comparison.

And now, as he sat within his private quarters, he wondered if perhaps he truly was doing the right thing. Sometimes he watched as he conquered a planet, as he killed those that stood in his way, if perhaps...if perhaps he had chosen wrong. Malachor had made sense to him -- he needed to save the Republic from itself and before it destroyed itself with its flawed leaders. He knew he could make things right; the first thing he needed of course, were allies.

He was still surprised at how many Republic officers had stayed with him, how many had easily realized what he had. And when he and Malak had launched the Star Forge, their officers had been stunned with the ships they now possessed. But it wasn't enough. By now the Jedi Council had deemed him and Malak threatening enough to actually move themselves about sending people to stop them. He needed to convince Jedi to come to his side; to see what he did; to see the truth of the previous war and the war he now fought.

'Do not despair, young Revan,' replied a voice.

Revan, always on guard, turned with his red lightsaber in hand, preparing for a duel. What he didn't expect was a hunkering figure of a man -- a spirit actually -- and one that clearly dwarfed him at some where between six and seven feet. The man, if he could be called that, was a pinkish color, with what looked like a small horn extension from his chin. He was dressed in a set of royal robes that were black, but with blue trim.

Though Revan was ready to battle, his lightsaber faltered in his hand. 'Who are you, spirit?' he asked.

The apparition smirked at him. 'I have watched you, young master,' it replied. 'I see many good things from you, Lord Revan, and because of that, I would like to offer you some...assurance in your quest.'

'What kind of assurance?'

'I will supply you with the means to make sure those you wish to turn...won't be so resistant to your charms.'

Revan stared at the spirit, his lightsaber now off and hanging limply at his side. 'And what do you get in all this?' he asked.

The spirit shook his head. 'Lord Revan,' he said, bowing slightly. 'Both of our causes will be greatly advanced with a union between us. You will help our cause by continuing to be the great leader you already are.'

Revan woke, sitting up in his bed, his mind confused at the vision he just had. He knew the image to be one from his past memories, but who had he been talking to? Who was the large pink skinned man that had towered over him? Bastila stirred slightly next to him, her arm now slug around his waist. He absently stroked it as he thought over what he had seen.

Perhaps it wasn't so much the image as it was the fact Revan hadn't had a vision of his former life since being on the Ebon Hawk. The two months since his return and the reunion with Bastila and Carth had seemed to ease his troubled mind some, but now with the emergence of the True Sith species and the very fact that his former friend had aligned himself with them seemed to be bringing his memories back in full force. He rubbed a hand over his face; they would be arriving on Naboo at some point and he'd be able to see Jolee. If there was one person in the whole galaxy that could explain things to him, it was Jolee Bindo.

The ship was drifting through space, not a bump here or there. He had been wary about letting Dustil and Mission fly, as he wasn't sure about either of their flying abilities, but with the way the flight was so far, he could say he had been proven wrong. He was also surprised that both of them were willing to be together. The last he had seen, they couldn't stand to be within a five-foot radius of each other, but now it seemed as though one or both went out of their way to be near the other. Perhaps Revan had been so consumed with his own demons -- he thought Mission looked as though she was developing a crush - and that suddenly brought out a certain brotherly mode within him.

Thinking of that made him think of the woman who now shared his bunk. He knew things were a bit strained between them; he was pushing her away, he knew. He had been so out of sorts over his discovery; he worried about what he may have done to push Ellis so far; what his master may have done to lead them both down this path; what she may have done herself...in thinking those thoughts, he had withdrawn, feeling like a monster for the things he may have done...the things he may need to do if things would get worse and he had a feeling they would indeed get worse.

But looking down at the woman beside him, he could only see happiness -- happiness at her stubbornness to leave him be; happiness at her wanting to stay by him; happiness at the thought of their life together and the children they would have. And with thinking all of that, all of what she meant to him, he knew the time was right -- as odd or ironic as that may have sounded -- he knew he couldn't put off what he wanted to do, had wanted since he had seen her again.

Bastila yawned, trying to pull Revan closer to her. When she realized he was sitting up, she propped herself up on her arm. 'Why are you awake?' she asked, sleepily.

He smiled down at her. 'Just thinking,' he said. He watched as she made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a huff and then stretched out besides him. He slipped down next to her, wrapping arm around her waist and bringing her close to him. He kissed her cheek before nuzzling her neck. 'I haven't been paying you enough attention.' He murmured.

She chuckled. 'I've noticed,' she replied. 'But I figured you had been 'thinking', so I didn't want to disturb you.'

'Cheeky.'

She turned to him, stroking his cheek where he had obtained a bit of stubble. 'I've been worried about you.'

'I know, darling,' he said, bringing her closer. 'There's been so much...'

'I know.' They lay there in silence for a time, to the point where Revan had thought she had fallen back to sleep. 'What are we to do now, my love?' she asked.

The former Jedi master took a deep breath and sighed. 'I'm unsure,' he whispered. 'He has to be stopped; they have to be stopped. The True Sith nearly ruled the entire galaxy and brought unspeakable horrors upon it. If the Republic thought I, as a Sith Lord, or even that of Exar Kun were horrible, we were nothing compared to the real thing. And with Ellis leading them...'

'Revan,' Bastila asked, pulling away to look at his face. 'Could they start another war? The Republic is shaky as it is, thanks in part to your friend's antics last year; another war could...could virtually destroy it.'

He didn't respond, but then he didn't have to. The look on his face told her the answer she dreaded -- it was one she could see he dreaded as well. As a tactician, Revan could handle the Jedi and the Mandalorians and even the followers of the Sith, but he had never encountered anything like the true species of Sith. If it was anything like his experience on Yavin the first time, he wasn't sure if they alone could save the galaxy.

The rolling green hills of Naboo were the first thing the small freighter saw as they approached the planet. Bastila, ever knowledgeable about planets, informed them of the history of the planet and how it may be possible that the Rakata elders may have built ruins on the surface. Dustil was himself anxious to land; he hadn't seen his original master since the transmission they had received on Telos. In all of his time looking for him, he had never once thought of Naboo as a place Jolee would go.

He now sat in the co-pilot's chair, mirroring Mission as they approached to land. He made a glance towards Mission, watching as she seemed like a natural while sitting in the captain's chair. He turned away, realizing he could feel a slight blush creeping over him. He wasn't sure when he began feeling attracted to the Twi'lek, but he knew it needed to be stopped. After Selene...well, he didn't want to go there if possible and really, with the state things seemed to be in, he didn't want to be involved.

Ever.

Besides, they had more pressing business, such as finding an elderly black former Jedi master who would probably be as cantankerous now as he was then. That put a smile on the young man's face. Though he had only been a padawan for those few months with Jolee, he had liked the older man. He could admit now that he had been a bit wild then -- he had just left the Sith -- and he still held anger against his father and Revan for what had happened to his home and his mother. Jolee had set him straight; he forced Dustil to think about his past and his feelings and to see the future before him.

Things had happened; terrible things had been done; mistakes had been made -- but this was a 'new dawn' as Jolee had said, and that new dawn included getting to know his father again, this time as a man and not as a little boy who had grown to hate him.

And speaking of his father, Dustil was quite surprised to see his old man lusting after the lieutenant. He had thought he would be mad, upset even, with this, but Dustil found he couldn't be. When he had contacted his father on Coruscant, the two had talked once Carth got back to Telos. It had been a bit heated, of course, but in the end, Dustil had come to realize something. His father had suffered just as much, if not more, than he had with his mother's death. Carth was honest with him; he told him the thoughts of despair and yes, even suicide, that had crept into his mind those days after the Sith had come.

He told the young man how he had fallen apart and how his commanders had thought him a bit insane at one point. He talked about how his world had literally been destroyed, his wife dead and his son missing. After a while, Carth began thinking of getting back at Saul and until he became the advisor on the Endar Spire, he had spent his time searching for either Dustil or Saul Karath. In that moment, in those talks, Dustil began respecting his father again.

So when he saw his father getting the same look in watching Lynsel Belyn that he had when he used to look at his mother, Dustil didn't become upset. He was, if anything, a bit uncomfortable, but the very fact that his father could look at another woman, could begin to perhaps feel what he had for his mother after years of closing himself off...Dustil hoped that Lynsel could see how wonderful his father was. And every so often, the young Jedi would catch the Intel officer watching his father in the same way...that told him that Lynsel had indeed noticed.

Glancing again at Mission, Dustil saw she was smiling at him. She blushed prettily before turning back to her previous task. Dustil couldn't help smile at bit at that and in looking up, he saw his father -- who acted as their piloting instructor -- raise an eyebrow at him, which only caused the young man to once again start blushing. 'So this is Naboo?' he asked, his voice making a small squeak.

'Would seem so.' Carth replied, not bothering to hold back a smile. 'Bastila said it's not all that inhabited, so I guess landing somewhere won't be a problem.'

'How are we going to find Jolee in the middle of a grassy jungle?' Mission asked.

'Your guess is as good as mine.' Said the admiral.

The Twi'lek and her co-pilot managed to land the ship in an area that was wide enough, but also seemed to be out of the way. With the new dark lord and his helpers possibly looking for them, they didn't want to be out in the open where anyone could see them. After the landing, the crew gathered within the main hold, Revan and Lynsel already looking at a holo map of the planet.

'This'll be tough,' Revan said. 'As you know, Naboo is far and wide; they even supposedly have an underground water city. Looking for Jolee might take some time.'

'Bastila said the planet isn't even inhabited,' Dustil said. 'It shouldn't be hard to find a Jedi master's hut.'

'Do you know how hard it was finding Jolee in the Kashyyyk forest the first time?' Carth asked.

'If Jolee wants to be hidden, I assure you, he will be hidden.' Bastila replied.

'Right,' Revan agreed. 'So we'll just have to look for him through the Force.' Looking at Dustil, he smiled. 'And I can't think of a better way of testing that young Jedi spirit of yours, Dustil.'

'Can I go too?' Mission asked, excitedly. Blushing, she swallowed. 'I mean, I haven't seen Jolee in a while, you know and well, I kinda missed him and all and you...you know.'

Revan looked at her, his eyes trailing over to the Jedi that stood next to her, and then back to her reddened face. 'Sure,' he said. 'It'll be like a hiking trip. Sort of. And besides,' he turned to look at the map again. 'This is a nice little out of the way place. I'm sure we'll be in and out.'

The trio headed out into the sun light of the green planet, standing only a few feet from the ship. 'So,' Mission asked, looking around at the vastness of the area. 'Where do we search, all knowing leader?'

'The first and obvious choice,' their leader replied. 'The local cantina. There's always some knowledge of the planet just waiting to be spoken of by the locals. I'm sure someone's taken notice of an elderly black man with a lightsaber.'

Dustil and Mission looked skeptically at each other, before following the former Jedi over a nearby hill. It was as they saw from above -- grass and greenery all around, with a miniature settlement type area. Despite the fact that there were little to no inhabitants on the planet certainly didn't stop the trade route any. The settlement itself seemed to be a bit like the Dreshdae area of Korriban; only a few shops were set up, but there were varied by weapons and other supplies. They even had a moderate looking swoop racetrack, which Revan filed away for later. The cantina, though relatively small, seemed to be the place of congregation and a sure fire way of getting information; at least Revan thought so.

There were people standing outside -- from the looks of them, bounty hunters Canderous could love -- and inside seemed to be as crowded as it could get. The three were wary as they approached, several of the mean looking bounty hunters staring intensely at them -- mainly at Mission herself. 'Stay close and don't leave our sight.' Dustil whispered, moving closer to the Twi'lek.

The young woman gave the Jedi a shrewd look. 'I'm not a baby, you know,' she protested. 'I can take care of myself. I don't need you to get all bodyguard on me.'

'Cool it,' Revan chastised as they came to the entrance. As they tried to move through the door, the bigger of the hunters -- a Mandalorian about the size of Canderous -- blocked their path. When they tried to go around him, he just moved to block them again. 'I don't know if you know this,' Revan started. 'But you seem to be blocking the entrance. Now, if you wanted to stand here and dance with me all day, that's fine and dandy, but I would hope you'd buy dinner later.'

The Mandalorian cracked a small smile before becoming serious. 'Think you're funny, do you?' he asked. 'I don't know who you are, but I can tell you right now that you have something we want.'

'I'm sorry?'

He used his chin to gesture to Mission, who immediately shrunk back behind Dustil. 'Her.' He said. 'She belongs to the Exchange now.'

The three looked at each in confusion, before turning back to the man. 'What're you talking about?' Dustil asked, standing protectively in front of the Twi'lek. 'Everyone knows the Exchange was virtually destroyed last year by that rogue Jedi. There is no Exchange left.'

'Think that true, do you, boy?' sneered one hunter, a rough looking Rodian.

'What makes you think my Twi'lek friend here belongs to you?' Revan asked.

'Call her a payment for debts paid,' replied the Mandalorian. Dustil bristled at the notion that Mission be perceived as property, his hand going to the hilt of his hidden lightsaber; however, Revan laid a hand on his arm to stall him.

'And whose debts is she being reduced to pay, exactly?' the elder Jedi asked.

'A client of ours,' the bounty hunter responded. Again, jetting his chin out to Mission, he said, 'She knows him; it's her brother after all.'

Lynsel sat within her shared quarters, taking stock of all her things that she could now do without. Her eyes rested on her holo cube, as she surveyed it back and forth in her hand. She had had this little thing since she had been introduced to those Jedi so long ago. They told her it was like a recorder; one that only she could open and use.

'Remarkable things, those cubes.'

The statement startled her, causing the lieutenant to turn around swiftly to see Bastila walking into their quarters. Bastila nodded her head towards the cube. 'My father had one like that as well,' she continued. 'He...he left it to me and um...my mother when...he passed on. I never had one of my own, though. May I?' Lynsel blinked at her, before handing over the cube to the Jedi. 'Not very many people have holocrons,' she stated. 'They only work for those that are Force sensitive, so you can imagine how many of these are just floating around.' She handed the cube back to Lynsel, who took it cautiously.

'How long have you known?' Was the only thing the Intel officer asked.

'I've actually had my suspicions since you barged into Carth's quarters on the Sojourn.' The younger woman stated. 'Besides, it's easier to deduce that someone is Force sensitive when you are also Force sensitive. Though, I am quite curious to know how you managed to keep this a secret from your superiors.'

'It's not exactly a secret from them,' she whispered.

'I see.'

'No, I don't think you do,' the officer muttered, turning away from the younger woman and setting the cube down on her bunk.

'Enlighten me then.'

Lynsel took a deep breath. 'Perhaps this is something I should tell the whole ship,' she whispered.

'Is it imperative towards this mission?' Bastila asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lynsel thought about that. She had that unnerving feeling every time she held back information from her superiors and even more so when they requested her presence a few days earlier. She had been stunned to see her ex-husband in the meeting and even more suspicious that they were requesting her leave of the mission. Something didn't sit right with her and she thought now was a good time to tell them everything she knew.

'Yes,' she said, nodding to the Jedi's surprised look. 'Yes, I think so.'

'This is unbelievable. This is absolutely unbelievable.'

The duo of Dustil and Revan had continued on their search for the reclusive Jolee Bindo after reluctantly leaving a scared and defensive Mission in the clutches of Exchange bounty hunters. The trio had been floored to learn that Mission's own brother, Griff, had turned her over to the Exchange in lieu of back debts and in order to save his own cheap neck. Though Revan, and especially Dustil, had argued over this transaction, the two couldn't do anything conclusive. Revan remembered the last time he had dealt with the Exchange and he knew they wouldn't just let all of Griff's debts go without something in return.

So the two reluctantly told Mission they would find a way to get her back and they headed out to find Jolee, with Dustil muttering phrases and curses along the way. It seemed hours to the younger man when they stumbled upon a small hut on the outskirts of the main hub and close to a watery shore. There was smoke coming from the chimney and it struck Revan as ironic and funny to see such a sight. 'Take heart, young Jedi,' he chuckled. 'Our answers should be in front of us.'

The two men came closer to the hut, just as an elderly black man emerged from inside, shaking his head and muttering something about wood. 'You do know how to get lost, don't you, old man?' Revan joked, causing the elderly man to turn around and throw out a Force power, which both Dustil and Revan blocked with ease. 'You're getting sloppy.'

'Darn fool kids,' Jolee Bindo muttered, hiding a smile in the grey and black beard he now sported. The former Jedi master hadn't seem to have changed in the six years that Revan had seen him; perhaps a little more wrinkles and most definitely more cranky than before, but the old man looked as he did that day Revan had said goodbye. For the man in question, he couldn't express how he felt seeing the two young men that he had helped. Seeing Dustil Onasi -- taller, seemingly more confidant, and more in control of his emotions -- was a thrill; the lad had really come into his own it seemed.

And Revan -- the former Jedi turned Sith Lord turned Jedi looked better than Jolee had ever seen him. The haunted look the young man had while on Coruscant was gone, replaced with the smile that the older man just associated with him. Though Jolee was quite happy to part company once again with the Jedi, he wished he had stayed in touch to know if anyone had seen the young man and what word there was of him. Like others, he had too worried that perhaps this exile was in fact Revan, going through some sort of revenge relapse, but that thought came and went. And now that he could see with his own eyes the man he had respected, the man he had traveled with, the man he had worried over standing before him, Jolee did the only thing that made sense at the time.

He slapped Revan upside the head.

'Ow!' the former Jedi cried. 'That hurt! Why do people keep hitting me?'

'Hmph!' Jolee snorted. 'Perhaps it's to remind you of the past. Or maybe it's the fact that you're a damnedable pain that needs to be hit and hit often.'

'It's good to see you, too.' Revan muttered.

Jolee chuckled, clapping Dustil on the shoulder. 'Look at you,' he said. 'All dressed up and hanging out with him. Kids these days and what passes for fun.'

'You really should stop singing my praises,' the former Jedi muttered. 'Really.'

Again, the older man chuckled. 'It's good to see you, sonny,' he replied. 'For a while...'

'Yeah,' Revan nodded. 'It was touchy. And scary. That's actually why we came, among other things.' He shared a look with Dustil and Jolee immediately knew something was up.

'Why do I have the feeling something has hit the fan?' he asked, looking skyward. Shaking his head, he replied, gruffly, 'Well, come on. We don't have all day for you two to be lollygagging around.' He turned and welcomed the two into his modest home.

Revan began to tell Jolee what had happened, when Dustil interrupted with their immediate concern -- that being Mission. Dustil relayed everything to Jolee about members of the Exchange using Mission as some sort of pay from her brother. The elder man sat back and listened and though he was amused at Dustil's insistence on saving the young Twi'lek -- he would have to investigate that later -- he was suspicious with this new activity for the Exchange. As far as he knew, the Exchange did do some work on Naboo, but he hadn't heard of anything as of late.

'Now that you mention it,' he drawled, stroking his beard. 'The Exchange does do some business here, but from what you've told me, this exile literally wiped them out last year. However, I do find it disturbing that Mission's own brother would turn her over to the Exchange.'

'So what do we do, Master?' Dustil asked.

'Well...' Jolee began. 'I know you boys came here to retrieve me and have me tag along on whatever hair brained adventure Revan has planned, but you know the rules, sonny.'

When Dustil gave them both a confused look, Revan answered with, 'He wants us to do something for him.'

The elder chuckled. 'This actually helps you as well, Revan,' he said. 'All you need to do is get rid of this Exchange problem. And of course find Mission.'

'Oh, is that all?' Dustil responded, sarcastically.

'Yes, that's all,' retorted Jolee. 'It's not like you're fighting the Sith or anything. And I've heard these Exchange thugs like picking on some of the cantina customers. Had a run in with them a few months back, but I...uh...' Here, he laughed a bit. 'I made sure they had forgotten what it was they were there for, but that's besides the point. There's something fishy going on here and I know you boys would love to find out what's going on. You do that -- plus rescuing Mission, of course -- and I'll head out with you. Simple as that.'

'Oh sure,' said Revan. 'Simple, except for the part where we have to confront these guys.'

'Are you a Jedi or aren't you?' Dustil asked.

'I'm a guy who's kinda wanted in certain places,' Revan replied, with a smirk. 'Most notably the new Sith Lord's grasp. I'm trying not to advertise.'

'You're wasting valuable time, you know.'

Both men looked at the elder. 'We're going, we're going.' Revan muttered, as he and the younger Onasi turned and headed out. Jolee watched them go, a frown soon marring his features. He didn't like this, not one bit. The feeling he had had much earlier in the year seemed to be coming back with full force and he was not liking it. Something was in the air, all right, and it wasn't going to be good.

Atton Rand was no stranger to the dangers of the Exchange or their members. After the war and the battles, he had found himself very disillusioned and very very broke. So like any war vet, he stole or intimidated in order to survive and he had found himself in the place for all of it -- Nar Shaddaa. He literally did know that planet like the back of his hand and sometimes it scared him when he did. He spent most of his time playing paazak, drinking juma, and blocking memories of a past he truly wanted to forget.

Though sometimes, he could remember his life before; when he had been a pilot within the Republic Fleet. How proud he had been to serve for the Republic and for its citizens and how he had thought highly of those people known as Jedi. It was true -- at one point in his life, he had respected them; thought they had been given greater powers in order to help the public that they serve. That all changed when the Mandalorians came.

The moment the forces started to strain, the call went out to the Jedi for help and for what. Nothing. That's when Atton's ill fated and misplaced ideologies were slammed right out of him. If it wasn't for people like Revan, Malak, and Ellis, the Republic would've fallen and they'd be speaking Mandalorian right now. So it was an easy choice when Revan and Malak came to him about serving in their army; an army where they would fight against the arrogance of the Jedi and make them pay for their idiocy. The Jedi War wasn't about the Sith -- it was about the Jedi who pushed their own into becoming Sith. It was their own fault and Revan made sure they paid for it.

Atton was greatful at times; times like this where he needed those skills Revan thought him; needed the lessons he learned from Ellis. He had never really been a leader before and when he found himself in Ellis' presence, he naturally went to his default setting of foot soldier. But Ellis, like Revan, saw potential in him and after all the crew left, it was him -- Atton Rand -- that was made second in command. And it was him that Ellis had entrusted to carry out this most important task; and it was him who would lead four others to help him with it. And it was definitely not her. He could pretend that Ellis wanted to keep Brianna safe; after all he was bedding her, but Atton liked to think it was because Brianna was soft, as in not made to handle stuff by the big boys.

Oh, he knew she was strong in spirit and that she certainly had brains and beauty, but where that may land her in the bed of the dark lord, it didn't bring success to missions. Besides, however Atton may grudgingly respect her, there was something about her he just didn't trust. And maybe it was because of that lady Jedi; the one who had made him see, made him feel what he could weld and had scared him to the point of abandoning a good thing, but for some reason Atton had the sense that Brianna was trying to...change things the way they were. In fact, if he didn't know better, he could even image her working for the Jedi -- a ridiculous notion, of course, but it still had some weight. Sometimes he would watch her watching him and he could see -- what? Sadness perhaps, then a look of pure determination that would have scared him if he knew what was behind that look.

Shaking his head clear, Atton forced his attention back on his task, putting up his mental shields once again and preparing himself for the job at hand. Ellis had given him this job specifically -- to have a talk with their 'friend' as it were and to make sure that the Exchange ran with a...different set of programs. Atton and the four marauders that accompanied him were to take care of their previous financial backer, as Ellis had put it 'We won't need him for the future outcome.' The former scoundrel wondered if maybe his master was getting soft -- letting off a known crime boss -- however, when he thought about it, Atton saw the reasoning. Ellis had plans for them and for the universe and he knew it had to do with those 'meetings' he seemed to be called away for. So, like the good follower he was, Atton didn't say anything, knowing the answers to his questions may be more than he bargained for.

At the moment, the quintet of assassins were stalking through a long, black hallway. Goto seemed to have hidden himself within the planet of Nal Hutta, keeping very close with the operations happening on the fifth moon of Nar Shaddaa. Ellis had been insistent to know the location of this 'silent partner' of theirs and Atton wasn't too surprised when he managed to trace the crime lord to the Hutt planet. It was certainly a stick to Vogga, who was still struggling and stuck on the moon. The planet itself was a far cry from the rain forest and trees that had been there before the Hutts reigned. The air was highly polluted, prompting Atton and his team to wear breath masks -- though Atton was being trained with breath control -- and the grounds were swamp filled bogs. There were tall structures signaling the industrial workings, which were also the cause of the ill-advised travel to the planet.

Amongst it all was a large building set off from the hustle of the factories, almost hidden against it. It had metal shielding to protect against the acid rain that fell, as well as strengthened supports to keep from corroding. From their distance, the group could see that this small fortress was heavily guarded by attack droids and sentries; however a command console hovered nearby and with Atton's stealth ability, it was easy to disable them, but it was much more fun to turn them against themselves and their master. Atton quickly enabled a command to do so after their 'talk' was concluded and he and his group headed inside.

The inside of the building reminded Atton of Goto's ship, the one he had gone on with Bao-Dur in order to rescue Ellis. The halls seemed to be winding and there were doors everywhere. Already the group had encountered several attack droids and several of the 'interrogation' droids that Goto himself supplied to the crew of the Ebon Hawk. The trek did seem unending until Atton was able to use the computer console to locate the main chamber of the building. That trek seemed to have even more security, this time the group dealt with sentries, interrogators, attack, and assassin droids. If not for Brianna teaching the scoundrel heal, he would've lost his entire group. The door before them loomed and Atton took great pleasure in walking through it.

He hated droids; especially that big, black eyesore.

'I see the exile is much more resourceful than I thought,' came the voice, though the appearance of the crime lord could not be seen. 'However, one would think he'd be much smarter than this.'

'Let's just say Darth Trayun has some ends to cut,' Atton replied, with a smirk. 'Beginning with you.'

The crime boss laughed, before revealing himself to the group. 'I'm sure that your acquaintance would love to have a specimen such as myself.' He replied. Before the quintet hovered one of the black interrogation droids -- the same one that aligned himself with the former Jedi exile.

Dustil wasn't having a good time. Not at all. He had figured joining Revan would entail danger, of course. From the way his father and Bastila had described their adventures with him, he knew it would be just a whirlwind time. Of course, he hadn't figured in the former Jedi turned Sith Lord that would be hunting Revan down, nor did he take into account an ancient race of Sith also coming after them, and he certainly didn't think he'd be sitting in a stuffy cantina, talking to a Mandalorian bounty hunter about buying back a young Twi'lek woman. When he and the former dark lord had left Jolee's hut, he had hoped they were going down to break Mission out of whatever jail they had put her in. He had horrible images of what these thugs would do to her and he wrestled with himself on whether or not these thoughts were attributed to his worry and concern for her or with something else.

All he knew was that he would do whatever it took to free her.

So when Revan had casually walked into the cantina and up to the Mandalorian that had stopped them earlier, Dustil figured they were getting somewhere and it would be so very easy to teach these guys a lesson. But apparently that was way too easy for Revan, who approached the bounty hunter with talk of an offer he couldn't refuse.

Which of course he refused.

The three now sat in the back of the cantina -- the obvious hole for the Exchange -- trying to make the bounty hunter see reason, to which he only laughed. Leaning across the table to them, he asked, 'Do you guys take me for an idiot? I may be a bounty hunter, but really, have some respect.' He leaned back and steadied them both. 'Don't think I don't know what you two are,' he said, smiling with they showed no signs of knowledge. 'There's still a bounty, you know, especially with your 'friend' looking for you.' He chuckled. 'I could easily just turn you over and collect my credits, but you know...call me sentimental, but I respect you...Jayden, was it? Heard you were a good smuggler in your day, despite the...problems you had with your former associates. And...you gave us a good run for our money, I'll give you that.

'So...for all that, I guess I could...keep your secret and maybe help you out a little.'

'You're too kind,' Revan drawled. 'What do we have to do?'

'The way I see it,' the Mandalorian said, thoughtfully. 'This is all Griff's fault. See, he owes a package that he very conveniently forgot to give us, so we had to take something of his, you know how that works. You get me that package and you get your girl.'

'What's in the package?' Dustil asked, suspicious. 'Why is it so special?'

'I believe, kid, that's privileged information.'

'We'll do it.' Revan replied, stopping Dustil's protests. 'Where's Griff hiding out these days?'

'Rumor had it he fled the planet,' the bounty hunter said, leaning forward towards them once again. 'But I have some connections and I know he's hanging out close to the hangers and all. He's trying to skip, but no one's too keen on letting him.'

'Where's the spaceport?'

'Not too far from here,' the Mandalorian answered. 'It's kinda hidden, you know; Exchange territory, that's why no one's letting him go.' The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a key card. 'Take this,' he said. 'It'll get you into the hanger and all. Like I said, no one knows about it, so sometimes he tries his luck to get off, but we won't let him. We like keeping an eye on him. You get him to give you that package and I'll go see about getting his sister out.'

Revan gave Dustil a look, knowing the young man wasn't happy about doing a job for the Exchange, but if it meant getting Mission out of the hands of the notorious syndicate. The two left the cantina on their search towards the secret hanger, once again being amazed by the scenery of the planet and the fact that it seemed only mercs and bounty hunters ever managed to stay. The planet itself was a mystery to some, most notably the Republic, though most in the galaxy knew the best cigars were manufactured there, as well as some other 'choice' materials.

The hanger was where the Mandalorian bounty hunter said it would be, disguised as a closed off building. Revan slid the card into the reader, causing the door to wheel open. Inside were a few speeders and few freighter ships like the Hawk. There were some people milling around, mechanics mostly, and they seemed quite content with their work they didn't bother to see that the duo had walked in. Revan scanned the area, finding it to be pretty open and easy enough to find someone. Sure enough, to their right, he spied a green Twi'lek male standing to the side and watching one of the speeders from across the way. He was turned away from them, which Revan would use to their advantage. He nudged his young companion and gestured to the Twi'lek, noting that Dustil seemed to become angrier at seeing the brother who caused this.

For Griff Vao, it was another day of trying to get off the planet. After being discovered by the Exchange, he knew he needed to high tail it out of there. He had no idea if they would even find Mission, let alone him once he made his escape. Unfortunately, it seemed as though everyone knew who he was and that meant that just asking to leave wasn't going to happen, so he needed the next best thing: he needed to steal one of those speeders and get to the other side of the planet if possible. Then he could at least lie low until something came along. He was so absorbed in his thinking, he didn't hear the two men come up from behind and only when he heard a whooshing sound did he turn around and found himself met with a lightsaber at his throat.

'Hello Griff,' Revan replied, grinning when the Twi'lek's eyes bugged out. Revan remembered Griff Vao very well; well enough to remember that the brother of his friend had stiffed them out of 2500 credits for a drink that wasn't even properly made. To Revan, the money hadn't been important -- they had more than